When I came downstairs this morning to let the dogs out, I decided to check on the fermentation of yesterday’s beer (Fat Tire clone). It’s not what I had expected to find.

It turns out the Wyeast American Wheat Ale yeast that we used is a VERY active yeast, active enough that it blew the lid right off the fermenter. What’s really shocking is that I figured this sort of thing typically happens for higher gravity ales, where this one’s gravity was 1.050.

I was able to quickly switch from an airlock to a blow-off.

Recently picked up a magnetic stir plate and Erlenmeyer flask from Stir Starters.

In a few weeks we’re going to try and brew a beer with an estimated original gravity of 1.107! (Largest we’ve tried yet.)
From my research, one thing is recommended more than all others…a yeast starter. And one of the most efficient ways to make a starter is using a stir plate.

I was told, “It’s easier than you think.” That was enough to truly ignite the interest in brewing. At the present, this site will be used to document both the good and the bad, in an attempt to learn through trial and error. Who knows what the future will bring.

While I do believe that the original quote to spark my interest was an oversimplification, in a way it’s very true. It is easier than one might think to make beer that is far superior to the MBCs of the world…but I can already see that doing so in a consistent way takes quite a bit of planning and skill.

*The programming pun is intended.