1) First time making a starter. Attempted to make 2000ml starter to double the pitch cells so I could split them and save the second half for the next batch. Accidentally boiled over when i added yeast nutrient so I ended up with about 1500ml that I'm just going to pitch all. Pitched a ballooned smackpack, saw some bubbles but no krausen. I used a stir plate for about 24 hours and didn't really see any activity, although I wasn't watching often. I crashed in the fridge and there was a large yeast cake on the bottom. I decanted about 80% of the wort off and put into another mason jar and back into the fridge.
1) Added salts and heated water
2) Reached strike temp of 160 and mashed in. Mash temp stayed fairly even around 153-154. I realized I had the burner on low but think that was fine and didn't hurt anything.
Mash PH: 5.6
3) Held up bag and mashed out to 170 and lightly squeezed before cranking heat to boil
4) Boil was standard, added hops
5) Added hop stands following temps listed using an immersion chiller to continually lower - temps weren't perfect but were within a few degrees. The last hop stand I just ran the chiller to finish cooling to ~70
6) Transferred to fermenter and got about 3.25 gallons then aerated using an aeration pump for about 30 mins
7) Had yeast out warming to room temp and hooked fermenter to temp probe and placed in temp chamber - I use a heater wrap and have a cubic freezer rigged with an inkbird heat/cool thermometer
8) Once beer stabilized at 65, I pitched yeast