OK, so I'll start my weblog with a blog about yeast starters. I made four yeast starters last night, but in an unusual way - I made all-grain yeast starters. Why would I take the extra time to mash some grains just to make a yeast starter?

Well, I'm writing a story on partial mashing for an upcoming issue of BYO and was trying out a couple partial mashes with some pale malt. After trying out the options I wanted to try out and taking the temperature measurements I wanted to take, I ended up with a couple gallons of wort. Not wanting to waste it, I brought the wort to a boil, added some old Willamette hops and made some starter wort. I've got the ingredients for a few batches of beer, so hopefully I'll be using these starters soon.

If I can editorialize a bit here - and, given that this is my blog, I think I can - I'd just like say that running a good fermentation is the aspect that most often separates good homebrew from bad homebrew. And, pitching an adequate amount of yeast is one of the biggest keys to conducting a good fermentation (especially for big beers). So, I always make a yeast starter whenever I brew. It takes a little more time and energy, but - for me - it's totally worth it.