First batch is in the bucket.

I think I killed one pack of yeast, by putting it in water that was to hot. After 30 minutes in a yeast starter setup there was no activity so I dumped it and used another pack.

Other than that everything went pretty well

I pre-froze two ice cream buckets full of boiled water, and poured the hot wort over that. worked great and it splashed really well

I used honey as opposed to sugar and tap water, which is well water. So we will see what happens.

Congrats!

How hot was it? 120*F will kill the yeast, but 90*F will just produce off-flavors. Of course pitching a second packet of yeast will only help.

I did not measure the temperature, but it was definitely over 120 degrees F. The water I used was in a pot that I had boiled and was still sitting on the burner. It was what I have heard called a blond moment.