Today I brewed up a batch of Black Pearl Porter.

I ended up having to do a thick mash and double batch sparge in order to fit 13# of grain in my 5 gallon igloo. It came out decent though - I got 72% brewhouse efficiency and put about 5.25 gallons in the primary at 1.063.

I was worried about my yeast - I did a starter on a batch of Irish Ale yeast I had harvested from my last batch of Oatmeal Stout. It never really seemed to take off, though there was some sign of life in the 12-24 hour period. No krausen though, and no foam at the 36 hour point when I pitched it. But after 12 hours the thing was chugging to beat the band, so I guess you just never know.

Now I need to hit my hefeweizen so I have an empty keg when this puppy gets done. I think I'll invite the guys from the shop over after work on Friday...