Rolled Up Irish Red: Second Brew

After the disaster that was my first brew, my second brew seemed to turn out well.  It's fermenting like crazy right now - already lost a good 1/2 gallon to fermentation.  I tweaked the recipe a tad between first and second brew, adding some pale malt to the steeping mixture and actually doing a partial mash instead of just steeping the grains.  Also, I made a starter with 2 packs of yeast this time around - no chances on that front!  If fermentation and color are any indication, this should be a pretty good brew!

Yeast Starter

I have now discovered the need for a good yeast starter on any brew with a high OG.  My Rolled Up Irish Red had an OG of 1.070 when I pitched one vial of White Labs #004 Irish Ale yeast.  After 24 hours, it isn't even twitching.  Now, I know it will probably start in the next 24 hours or so, but that's at least a day of fermenting lost which screws up my brew schedule.

So, from now on, I will be making a yeast starter the day before I brew.  I doubt I'll only do this for the big OG beers, but for all that I do.  That seems like it would just make life a lot simpler.