re: Homebrewing: In-Process Thread

Other tidbits from brewday:

I planned to make a 7 gallon batch so I can easily get 5 or 5.5 gallons into the fermenter without having to screen out the gunk in the kettle. Worked like a champ this time. I had plenty of wort to go in the fermenter, almost too much even. I didn't account for the starter volume (first time using a starter), so the fermenter is damn near full. Had quite a bit of krausen coming out of the blowout tube this morning. I started using a milk jug to put the blow off tubing in to control "splatter" during the first couple days of fermentation, and that is working well. Last time I used a small bucket, it got a little messy. No worries now though.

The starter worked out well. Not sure when the magic started but I know it got up to speed much faster. Don't see any reason not to use one from now on. Maybe one day I will get a flat bottomed flask and a stir plate, but really wasn't any trouble to swirl around the growler when I passed by.