Pitch that Yeast! Fermentation.

I've tried several makes of yeast and finally settled on 'Gervin English Ale Yeast'. It ferments well, produces a fairly neutral flavour which I like, and settles well.

Starter Bottle

Half and hour from the end of the boil I take about 250mls of wort from the boiler and cool it under the cold tap:

Meanwhile I hydrate the dried yeast in some warm water (35°C) containing ½ teaspoon of sugar. After 15 minutes, I mix this with the cooled wort in the starter bottle.

By the time the main batch of beer is ready for pitching, the starter is fermenting well.

Pitching

The starter bottle is mixed into the bulk wort....

...which is then transferred to a temperature controlled cupboard for the next 10 days.

After 24 hours the beer is fermenting well:

The temperature of the cupboard is maintained at about 22-23°C for the first 24 hrs (to ensure that the yeast gets a good start), then reduced to 20°C for the rest of the fermentation (to get the best flavour characteristics from the yeast). I monitor the cupboard temperature using a digital max/min thermometer (this is actually an aquarium thermometer bought from thermometers direct for around £10).