Reddit mentions: The best beer brewing ingredients

Most of the stuff I've been brewing lately is a little complicated for beginners. Skeeter pee is absolutely fantastic once you've built up some confidence with the basics and bought a few supplies off Amazon or from a local supply store.

One of the biggest problems I had with my earliest brews was the sulfur smell and overall yeasty taste (still quite drinkable though!). To avoid that, make sure your yeast has some nutrient and do a round or two of putting your finished hooch in the fridge then gently pouring off the liquid into another container without disturbing the sediment on the bottom. For nutrient I like to either barely boil the yeast sediment from a previous batch or toss in some boiled fruit like cantaloupe or peaches. The go-to recommendations for nutrients on r/prisonhooch are boiled/mashed raisins or tomato paste. I'd lean toward tomato paste if you don't want to tinker with anything else. I haven't done A/B testing to determine how much of a difference it makes, but I like to throw in at least a quarter cup of guava nectar... at the very least it probably doesn't hurt anything.

So, a basic recipe would look like this:

1. 1 gallon apple juice - just go to Walmart or whatever grocery store is convenient and pick up whatever is cheapest (as long as it doesn't have preservatives, most don't)
   
   
2. pour out about 4 cups of the juice to make room for all the sugar you're going to add
   
   
3. add 2 cups of sugar, cap it, and shake vigorously until it's all dissolved
   
   
4. add a packet/teaspoon of yeast. If you have fancy cider/wine yeast then use that, but bread yeast will work just fine. Add whatever you have for nutrients. Boiled yeast and fruits or tomato paste/ketchup, just give your yeast a little something to chew on. Cap it and shake it again to get everything intermixed.
   
   
5. loosen the cap just enough for air to escape. You can rig up a balloon air lock (or even a real airlock) if you really want to, but I've never had an issue with just a loose cap. put it somewhere that's not too hot and not too cold. mid-70s F is ideal.
   
   
6. You should see lots of bubbles after a couple of days. Let it bubble away until there is noticeably less activity: time to step feed.
   
   
7. Add two more cups of sugar and shake until it's all dissolved. Your yeast may or may not be able to tolerate eating all of this. Baking yeast might die off as the alcohol content rises. I spent $46 for a lifetime supply of EC-1118 wine yeast and haven't regretted it in the least.
   
   
8. You should see some renewed fermentation... just let it sit with a vented cap until you're not seeing any more bubbles and pour yourself a little taste. If it's still sweet, then the fermentation is stalled and it's probably as strong as you're going to get with the yeast/techniques being used. If it's really dry then you're all set, but you might want to back sweeten it before you drink it. You can add a little simple syrup or other sweetener to taste.
   
   
9. Move it to the fridge for the 'cold crash'. Let all the sediment fall to the bottom then either siphon it to another container (vinyl tubing is dirt cheap at most hardware stores) or gently pour it off while doing your best to not disturb the layer at the bottom. You can do this a couple of times until no more sediment falls to the bottom.
   
   Another simple thing to brew is tepache, a 'wine' made from pineapple scraps. Whenever I cut up a pineapple I save the skins in the freezer. After I fill up a freezer bag (3-ish pineapples) I use them for the hooch.
   
   You'll want a decent sized vessel, 2-3 gallon size is ideal. Walmart has some beverage dispensers around this size, and they're usually on sale this time of year. It's tempting to just brew it in a bucket and make a 5 gallon batch, but this stuff really doesn't store well and you should only brew what you'll drink reasonably soon. I like a bit of a vinegary taste like you get with kombucha, so I use the native yeast that lives on the pineapple skin and just feed it as much sugar as it can handle. The final ABV can vary from batch to batch. Cover the pineapple skins with water, leaving a decent bit of room at the top for bubbles/foam. Start with 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup white sugar, stir until dissolved then keep it somewhere warm, and once you've got a good fermentation going you can add some more sugar. There will be a foamy/scummy layer on the top but it's completely normal and harmless. You can just scoop it off and give everything a good stir.
   
   It only takes a few days- maybe a week or so. When it's ready it'll be somewhat fizzy and sweet and delicious over ice. The longer you let it sit the more vinegary it will taste, and if you just let it go indefinitely you can get a tasty pineapple vinegar if you want to branch out with your fermentation experiments. Adding cloves, mint, vanilla, and other spices can also give good results. If you search the subreddit, several people posted about making their own tepache over the summer.
   
   I just realized I wrote half a novel :P That should at least get you started...

For this batch I used beer yeast. Saizon yeast to be exact. Although I just inoculated it with the muck that came out of a batch of saizon beer. You can buy yeast packets at your local beer brewing supply or order them. Technically you can use bread yeast from the grocery store, but a lot of people don't like the flavor. If you like dry wines you might not care though.

I personally don't give a rats ass what kind of yeast it is, I use whatever I can get easiest :-D

Once you have everything ready, activate your yeast beast. Mix up some sugar water, get it to about 110f or so. I just use like a cereal bowl and a tablespoon of sugar or so. Mix the yeast in and let it sit for awhile. If you leave it for a long time (like over night) cover it but realistically half hour is fine in my experience.

Alright, so get like 1lb of black raspberry. Mash it up, add some water and strain it through a cheesecloth or old tshirt or whatever.

Mix that with water so you have about 1 gallon of liquid. Add 3lbs of sugar, mix till all or most of the sugar is dissolved.

Have this in whatever container you're gonna ferment it in. Make sure it has like 3+ inches of room at the top. It will foam and stuff and it can shoot out the top if you don't leave room.

Inoculate with your activated yeast. Create some sort of air-lock system that let's it breath but doesn't let shit fall in.

How long it needs to ferment depends on various factors like how the yeast does, the room temperature, roll the dice etc.

The yeast will keep going until it either runs out of sugar, it gets cold (like 35f-ish) or the alcohol content gets high enough to stop it, which it won't with this recipe, although it will slow down a lot after 15% abv.

If you wanna do a big batch just get a brewing bucket from your local beer brewing supply store. Like $15-20 and you'll be set. Bucket, lid and air lock. 2 liter bottles work fine, basically anything with a screw on lid works fine.

My recommendation is to brew in clear 2 liter bottles. Rinse them out with hot water right before using. I don't bother with soap or whatever just hot water.

Keep the bottle somewhere you can see it, like kitchen counter. You'll see it start to bubble, that's c02 produced as the yeast eats the sugar. Feel free to sample it now and then. Both the alcohol content and flavor will drastically change over time. I drink that shit soon as it's not too sweet sometimes. Some people won't touch it till it's been re-bottled and aged for a few months. It does change flavor a lot but i don't care much.

Oh, don't use chlorinated water. If you only have it, just fill up a container, make sure it doesn't have a lid and let it air out for like 2-3 days, till the bleachy smell is gone. Or use a water filter, or buy filter watered I guess.

Once the bubbles stop or you feel ready to bottle it in the fridge. The yeast will go dormant overnight and then sink to the bottom. Then you pour off the top, leaving the yeast at the bottom. Some anal people will re-do this several times to make it super clear. Again, I don't give a fuck. Sometimes I don't even bottle it. I have one of these things. The idea is you brew beer in a regular bucket, then pour off the top leaving most of the yeasty shit behind, then let it settle in that bucket and the tap sits up an inch or so, so what ended up in that bucket sits below so it doesn't go in your bottles.

I however, just fill up my wine glass right out of the tap, no fucks given. I will end up bottling it so i can make room to brew more though, but for now it's convenient.

OK so I got the idea from a THIS post a couple days ago here in /r/mead about a S'mores mead...and I knew I had found my next experiment.

These are the ingredients.

For chocolate I used 8 ounces of THIS from vitamin shoppe. They used the full on nibs in the video, but I felt the powder would release the chocolaty deliciousness better.

I used 2.5 pounds of honey

I used a whole box of graham crackers (14.4 ounces) I couldn't find any preservative free so I'm hoping for the best with these.

I used THESE yuppie marshmallows because they had no preservatives.

1.5 gallons of mineral water


For my yeast starter

1L of water

2Tb of Dady Distillers yeast &
2TB of Red Star Bread Yeast

1/4 cup of Dry Malt Extract

I had to figure out how to toast my marshmallows...I live in a condo with an electric stove...so no fire. I decided to try broiling them. They came out OK for not having access to open flame.

I heated up the honey and the water to around 200 degrees and then added the crushed graham crackers and the chocolate powder, and then added in the marshmallows. The spoon wasn't up to the task of getting them to dissolve, so I broke out the hand blender which worked much better. Seriously guys...get a decent stick blender if you want to brew...they are worth the money, having a detachable head makes it SOOOO much easier to clean.

I had originally started with 1 gallon of water instead of 1.5, and it was SUPER thick so I decided to add another 8 cups of water to thin it out a little bit. Once in the carboy I realized that this might come out either horribly bad...or amazing...this stuff is totally opaque...so I have NO idea how it's going to ferment. It was thick and viscous like my old banana mead but that turned out alright so I'm hopeful!!

The must came out with a specific gravity of about 1.090, so it should ferment bone dry with around 12% alcohol. I am going to back sweeten this with Lactose for a creamy mouth feel.

When making my starter, I realized that my DME had solidified into a block...I broke the block up with the back of a knife and tossed it into my food processor after a few minutes of letting it run while I drank a beer, most of the chunks were pulverized. It wasn't perfect but whatever, the yeast won't care. With my finish started whirring along on my stir plate I'm going to pitch the yeast tomorrow, but I figure with a solid yeast starter this brew at least has a chance to ferment...as far as fermenting into something delicious...that remains to be seen.

I'll add more pictures as the process goes along!

UPDATE 1

I pitched this morning before work, there was definitely a sheen of oil at the top of the must, I hit it with a wine whip and poured in my 1 liter starter. I moved it to the sink just in case this turns into something...energetic.

UPDATE 2

I got home from work...and my house smelled like chocolate...I immediately knew there was going to be a mess...it's a DAMN good thing I left it in the sink this morning.

It not only overflowed...but it actually sprayed out of the damn airlock...I'm not actually sure how that happened...but it's everywhere. With my wife coming home soon, I cleaned up before I had a chance to take pictures...you know...don't want to give anyone any ammo about my hobby not being a good idea...

I decided to vacuum degass it by racking into a 6.5 gallon carboy instead of the 3 gallon carboy...when I pulled the airlock out...it actually erupted...again...after I cleaned everything up....all over the wall, all over the clean dishes...all over my shirt. This is a SERIOUSLY effervescent fermentation. I used my vacuum pump to siphon it from the smaller carboy into the large one and swapped my S-type airlock for a traditional 3 piece one. They're easier to clean.

I now have a 6.5 gallon carboy sitting in my sink.

Update 3

So one week in...fermentation has absolutely stopped. I checked the airlock this morning, and it hasn't moved at all, I watched it for like 20 minutes...not even a single bubble. I am going to check the gravity when i get home...we'll see what it's at!

This hops variety pack isn't close to $50.00, but it sure will help provide 1.21 Gigawatts of awesome to my budding brew hobby!

Thanks for the contest and happy payday weekend!

You can use bread yeast, but from my googling, the end result will likely taste like bread. Maybe that could be a good thing, but I've never tried it. And you don't want to close the lid really tight!!! The fermentation will produce CO2 gases which will increase the pressure inside the container. I'd guess your friend just got/gets lucky that it never exploded? You need to make an airlock - something that will let the extra CO2 gases out, but will not let nasty air bacteria come in and ruin your tasty juice. I did it by getting a large regular balloon, poking a tiny hole in it with a thumb tack, then fitting the opening of the balloon over the bottle top and duct taping it secure.

Two weeks is usually enough if you don't add any sugar, three should be good if you do. The sugar doesn't really make it sweeter, it just also gets fermented so that the product becomes more alcoholic ( = more drunk!).

The yeast I used was Lalvin EC-1118, which is really, really cheap for what you can make. It's been over a year, but I believe one gram is sufficient for one gallon of juice, so that link would be for 50 gallons! You can also buy a single pack if you don't want to get all of them now.

A little counter-intuitively, spending money(for a grain mill) is probably the best cost saving move I made. getting 2row at $30/50lbs is pretty incomparable in the long term. That's ~$4 in savings per batch, on just the two row. probably a dollar or so on the specialty grains per batch also. A Cereal Killer/Barley Crusher pays for itself after 125 gallons brewed on the two row alone.

Yeast harvesting on the other hand, i felt wasn't worth the savings. Though i'd love for someone to show me the light, but here's my math.

• $8 Liquid yeast + $13 3lb DME = $21, without any additional yeast nutrients
  
  Makes enough for 9 overbuilt starters(151g of DME per starter, using the default values on http://www.brewunited.com/yeast_calculator.php with an overbuild value of 100billion cells)
  
  Personally, I generally use SNBCs yeast for almost all my brews. So WLP001 or US-05. $10/3pk on Prime. So, $30 vs $21 for the same 9 batches, so you save $1 per batch, again assuming you're not using any other yeast nutrients. But I can brew at a moments notice, not needing to plan an extra 30 minutes a day or two in advance of when i'm going to brew. And the dry packs take up hardly any space in comparison.
  
  Again, I'd love for someone to convince me going with overbuilt starters again(i can always have an extra pack of dry around for the spontaneous brew session) but the math just didn't seem worth it.

I can help as my friend and I have tried several fruity IPAs. Since this is your first fruit beer I would keep it very simple. That way you know it will be enjoyable and you can tweak it if you want more malt flavor, more hop flavor or aroma, or more fruit.

Regular DME and Chinook hops are a great choice because they have some great characteristics but won't overshadow the tangerine. You also don't want to have a beer that is too malty because it will again overshadow the fruit.

One very important recommendation I would make: do not try to use fruit. Use extract like [this] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06WRPC2KT/ref=sxr_rr_xsim_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=3008523062&pd_rd_wg=62l79&pf_rd_r=WKFP3SGH44XBYT0FA7MC&pf_rd_s=desktop-rhs-carousels&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=B015RTMJ0M&pd_rd_w=Wxax1&pf_rd_i=peanut%2Bbutter%2Bextract&pd_rd_r=3b1db39e-a455-438d-bddc-427202f57b65&ie=UTF8&qid=1510151139&sr=1&th=1). We tried to use fruit multiple times and especially with the bitter fruits you get a lot of weird reactions during fermentation if you do it incorrectly. Pickup several flavors while you're at it. I made a PB stout with this stuff and it was phenomenal and a blueberry wheat was also amazing.

You will get a lot cleaner flavor because you can add it after fermentation is over right before you keg or bottle. Add a few drops to a bud light and get the flavor ratio correct for your taste and get a feel for how it effects the beer. I usually add 3 oz for a 5 gallon batch of most of those extracts.

Here is a recipe outline that I would do if I were you:

Light DME to bring gravity to 1.05 or 1.06. Boil for 60 minutes. Use an online calculator to see how much DME this will take to reach these gravities.

Add 1 oz chinook 30 minutes from flameout.
1 oz chinook 5 minutes from flameout
1 oz chinook whirlpool for 15 minutes

*Ferment at 67 degrees with any ale yeast (us-05) but I like vermont ale, 1318, and 007 for my IPAs if you are feeling fancy.

Add extract to bottling bucket or keg.

Post #2:

Preparation:

getting the supplies

Agar agar powder. [US](https://www.amazon.com/Telephone-Product-Thailand-Powder-Ounce/dp/B01KMHY2OU/) [Europe](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Special-Ingredients-Premium-Gelatine-European/dp/B00EZMPMNE)

Always start with agar! And don't throw old fully colonized plates out. Some contaminants (e.g. mycogone, AKA wet bubble disease will only show up after full colonization (white blobs oozing yellow/orange fluid). and that one (mycogone) will fck up your grow hard, been there done that...

Light malt extract. [US](https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Light-Dried-Malt-Extract/dp/B007XYGBXQ/) [Europe](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Balliihoo-Light-Spraymalt-1Kg-Bag/dp/B0153BASSY/)

Containers for no pour agar (Pasty Plates). [US](https://www.amazon.com/Glad-Food-Storage-Containers-Round/dp/B000WGBMMM/) [Europe](https://www.flaschenbauer.de/einmachglaeser/sturzglaeser/sturzglas-225-ml-to-82) (maybe use Google translate on that site). Also if you are in North America there are Glad mini rounds, they are used in the original Pasty Plate tek. They also have [430ml jars](https://www.flaschenbauer.de/einmachglaeser/sturzglaeser/sturzglas-430-ml-to-82) suitable as substrate containers

A pressure cooker. Good ones are a b**ch to find in Europe. I wouldn't buy [that one](https://www.ebay.de/itm/Pressure-cooker-17L-Stainless-steel-Made-In-Turkey-Largest-Size/133128864948) or similar constructed ones, they are complete s**t, build up next to no pressure and need ungodly amounts of water. I have two of them, but had to do some haphazard MacGyveresqe hacking to get them to sterilize properly, I'll bring that up later.

I also have a Fagor Alu 22 (22 liters, fits eleven quart bottles), but I think that model went out of production in 2017 without a replacement. IMHO the only sane option in Europe right now, would be to order a Presto from the US, they're ~80€ + 40€ shipping, so not that bad. [Presto 23 quart PC](https://www.amazon.com/Presto-Aluminum-23-Quart-Pressure-Canner/dp/B073NCFL2L/)

Also on US websites like shroomery, you'll always read something like "sterilize 90min @ 15 psi". Pressure cookers in Europe usually have no gauges and only go to 50-70 kPa (~7-10 psi). It isn't as bad as it sounds, since sterilization time isn't linear with pressure/temperature. I've found I can get away with 120 min sterilization time for grains, 75 min for PF sub and 30 min for agar.

Scalpel handle and blades. [US](https://www.amazon.com/100-Scalpel-Blades-One-Handle/dp/B01MPX3JTI/) [Europe](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Swann-Morton-Handle-5-10-Blades/dp/B004OIAVJY/)

(optional) inoculation loop. [US](https://www.amazon.com/OESS-Reusable-Inoculating-Inoculation-Bacterial/dp/B071DCS7TW) [Europe1](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Akozon-Inoculation-Inoculating-Microbiology-Laboratory/dp/B07KM7F8VH) [Europe2](https://www.amazon.co.uk/sourcingmap%C2%AE-Inoculating-Microbiology-Tissue-Culture/dp/B071X44DS4/)

Tyvek (for filtered lids). [US](https://www.amazon.com/Dupont-Tyvek-105gm-A5-Sheets/dp/B07418F31G/) [Europe](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tyvek-75gm-Bumper-pack-sheets/dp/B004EXTKSW/)

(optional) oster blender attachments used for PF slurry or LI. [China](https://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Head-Ice-Crushing-Crusher-Blade-Replacement-Part-For-Oster-Osterizer-Blender/182451440105)

3M Micropore tape (for filtered lids and monotub holes). [US](https://www.amazon.com/3M-1530-1-Micropore-Tape-Pack/dp/B0082A9FEM/) [Europe](https://www.amazon.co.uk/3M-Micropore-Surgical-First-Medical/dp/B01KYK2666/)

A spray bottle for soapy water. [US](https://www.amazon.com/Tolco-Bottle-Frosted-Assorted-Colors/dp/B000H88PCU/) [Europe](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Leifheit-72416-Laundry-Sprayer/dp/B0049PB11Y/)

Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), 70%. [US](https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Brand-Isopropyl-Antiseptic-Technical/dp/B07NFSFBXQ/) (dilute down to 70%, that percentage is best for sanitization [EU](https://www.amazon.co.uk/We-Can-Source-Ltd-Fingerprints/dp/B07PGB5X6Y/)

A rack to elevate your agar dishes while you do transfers, like these that come with microwave ovens (contaminants tend to collect on the SABs bottom).

A slightly wet towel to put the SAB on. Some people disagree on this, I use the towel to absorb the sprayed soap/water mix and not having that run off the table.

A clear box that's modified as a SAB. I use this one as a SAB, maybe they ship outside Germany. Anyway the manufacturer is kis.it (builds the monotub too), so I think they might be available elsewhere in Europe: https://www.obi.de/aufbewahrungsboxen/obi-allzweckbox-santos-transparent-oversize-140-l/p/3333341?template=PDP&box=box4

More clear boxes used to fruit bottles (basically a monotub, just with individual substrate containers). I use these as unmodded monos (no holes, no flipped lid, lids not latched): https://www.obi.de/aufbewahrungsboxen/obi-allzweckbox-cadiz-l-mit-4-rollen-transparent/p/1930387.

Butane torch [US](https://www.amazon.com/Multipurpose-MDee-Culinary-Refillable-Adjustable/dp/B07MNN2B43) [Europe](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kollea-Adjustable-Refillable-Blowtorch-Soldering/dp/B07QC1T6H5)

Bottles (can be wide mouth pint mason jars (US), quart Ziplock PP5 containers (US) or [these (which I use)](https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Round-Food-Containers-Plastic-Clear-Storage-Tubs-with-Lids-Deli-Pots-2oz-to-32oz/232308091965)

>How long can I keep the glc syringe before they go bad?

Few months, up to a year if kept in the fridge. I'd recommend putting it into a jar though since there will be air. Without air, yet being in a nutrient solution, the myc will die (not quickly, it'd take a long time) and any potential anaerobic bacteria will take over. The good thing about GLC is that there shouldn't be any anaerobic bacteria present in the first place.

>how exactly do i go about making an LC jar

I use a mason jar, drill two holes, one will have the self healing injection port (made with high temp silicone) and the other will be for the syringe filter that you secure with the same silicone. I use these filters. Whatever filter you use, just make sure it's synthetic and hydrophobic. The idea is that when you draw LC out, the volume has to be replaced with something (creates a vacuum) so the filter will filter the incoming air (HEPA is 0.3 micron, those are 0.22). I've tried micropore tape before, it works but when you shake the jar, it'll get on the tape and bacteria will grow.

I use 1tsp malt extract to 500ml water. (Note that there are some guides that recommend using 1tbsp malt to 300-500ml water. I prefer to have my mycelium in low nutrients until I'm putting them to grain). Heat the water on a stove to just below boiling, add the malt, stir it well, then pour into the jars. It's ok to have sediment, I actually like sediment since those are "anchors" for the mycelium to grow on. Fill it about 1/2 to a little over half, add a small piece of broken glass, pebble or a small screw that won't corrode from the LC (this will help break up the myc when swirling/shaking), wrap the top with foil and PC for 15-20m. Let it cool then add however much you want from the GLC. GLC is preferable as a starter since the idea is that a fully colonised jar won't have any contamination to carry over to the LC. Let it colonise for a week or two then you can put it in the fridge for longer storage. I made four master P. galindoi LC jars about two months ago and put them in the fridge. I checked them last week and they've barely grown.

If you can't get access to malt extract, you can also boil some potatoes and use that water as your LC. Many people have had success with using karo/dextrose/honey as their nutrient but I've never had much success with it. It's worth a shot, though, if you can't get malt. I wasn't able to find malt where I live so had to get it online.

To piggy back on u/stormbeforedawn's comment.

This is the equipment I used that I've had good luck with so far. It's what he recommended, I'm just providing links to the specific product I used.

• 2 gal primary bucket
  
  
• 1 gal secondary glass
  
  
• Autosiphon
  
  
• racking cane
  
  
• Hydrometer
  
  
• Starsan
  
  
• GoFerm
  
  
• I used Fermaid O, not Fermaid K, because I was following a specific nutrient regimen. It's called TONSA 2.0. Popular, but apparently not cost efficient with larger batches. People better at this than I can answer nutrient schedule questions.
  
  
• Bubbler/Airlock.
  
  
• Bottles and cap method are your preferance. You can get bottles of tons of shapes, colors and styles. Corked, capped, swingtop, etc. Just make sure the bottles are food-safe and not decorative hobby/thrift store stuff. If you use corks, same rule, don't use decorative stuff. You'll want #8 agglomerated cork and a hand corker tool to put the corks on. #9 corks work too, but you'll need heavy tools (like a floor corker) to do that..

Agar is definitely the way to go. A good technique for making your plates is Pastywhyte's Easy Agar Tek but the recipe he gives is no good. Potato dextrose agar might be a viable option to inoculate with mycelium, but it's not good for germinating spores, and you definitely don't want preservative-laden potato flakes. Malt extract, oatmeal, and straight dextrose have all been known to work well. Here's a list of agar media recipes. I can only personally vouch for the malt extract. If you go that route, you want the light stuff, I've had good results with this.

Brewer's Best makes a Peanut Butter extract (among many other flavors). I used it in a peanut butter stout last year and was quite happy with the results. Some may say it's "cheating" to use extracts like this, but it's a fair bit cheaper than the dehydrated PB powders and probably easier to use (I used 4 Tbsp in a 5.4gal batch, added w/ the priming sugar solution to my bottling bucket).

Random. So someone unverified that I can't find anywhere else. Bonus the image for the product just looked like a pile of sand XD.

I found Fermaid O for £10/100g in one place and considering I got 100g of DAP for like £1.80 yesterday, that's kind of steep. Although tbf I don't know what it retails at normally. Other places were mostly out of stock. But again I think its mostly an american product and you don't know how long a seller has had it. Could be all earwiggy and damp. Maybe I'm just a diva.

I would recommend getting a basic starter set and doing extract kits, this is a good one for example.
You'll also want:

• http://www.amazon.com/Coopers-Brew-Products-644-Dextrose/dp/B002WF5JSE/ref=sr_1_3?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1453967122&sr=1-3&keywords=coopers+can
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Coopers-Brew-Products-647-Light/dp/B00AWQW7DK/ref=sr_1_4?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1453967122&sr=1-4&keywords=coopers+can
  
  and you're ready to go. This puts you at $44 for 20L of beer or 2.20 / L.
  
  I would rather buy slightly bigger equipment than you need at any given time or you'll find yourself at your capacity limit from day 1 and end up buying stuff twice.

Amazon friend. Pre poured trays ready to use. Even with shipping they're under a buck a piece. For starting out its worth it can help to consolidate steps as it leaves less room for error. Then again some people nail first try.
https://www.amazon.com/Malt-Extract-Agar-MEA-grams/dp/B008W7XHSU/ref=pd_aw_fbt_328_img_2/140-1355592-1355928?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B008W7XHSU&pd_rd_r=0df17d51-af99-4e06-b575-b464b444e42a&pd_rd_w=gpaEC&pd_rd_wg=LCD1a&pf_rd_p=6e6afc8a-fbbd-4649-97cf-4e08f5113612&pf_rd_r=8CM4G0TX37C3AZEJT2NG&psc=1&refRID=8CM4G0TX37C3AZEJT2NG

https://www.amazon.com/EZ-Bioresearch-Sterile-Petri-vented/dp/B01ARAZQM4/ref=asc_df_B01ARAZQM4/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=241986316970&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=892502642786041879&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9002272&hvtargid=pla-607290418314&psc=1

People have talked about this book/recipe enough that I’m surprised I don’t know more about it: can you give more details here? How much honey? How many gallons? Any other fruits or spices?

I like this dry ale yeast for lower gravity stuff, but most folks around here prefer dry wine yeast to ale in general. Depending on the recipe, I might stick with the ale this time (especially if it’s a quick mead).

Edited: clarity

do not use turbo yeast, take it from someone who has a friend, that has a dog that has made a few drops of alcoholic beverages... Turbo yeast will make it taste like you are drinking from that old guy at the gyms dirty racquetball socks. Use either a ale yeast us-05 or if you want to go cheap use something like ec-1118 and make sure there us no preservatives in whatever you are fermenting

My favorite yeast is this

1 Packet is good for 5 Gallons, so you could use a fifth. You could also put the whole thing in.

What? no dude. This is one of the go toyeast for home brewers. Super resilient and as you can see it likes cooler temps.

Hmmm. All good suggestions. I'm about to throw up an update, I decided to do a little more independent research (which I should've just done in the first place) and I think I might go with one of the Lavlin strains, either the D-47 or the EC-1118. I know I'm breaking the first rule of homebrewing, but I'm definitely stressing on this because I would really like for this to be a decent batch for Christmas with my family.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003P5S1CG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's a pretty large pack, and it says it's for 5 gallons. The recipe I linked above begins with creating a starter and letting it sit for a couple of days.

Ohhh okay cool

Is this it? https://www.amazon.com/Wyeast-Activator-1388-Belgian-Strong/dp/B003P5S1CG

Or perhaps this? Maybe the same thing: https://www.midwestsupplies.com/belgian-strong-ale-yeast-activator-wyeast-1388-4-25-oz

I did notice that they're for 5 gallon batches. Do you use the whole thing for a 1 gallon?

Looks like amazon has it: https://www.amazon.com/Liquor-Quik-Super-Kleer-2-Part-Finings/dp/B01J0LJ1IG/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1540490527&sr=8-1&keywords=super+kleer

IMHO It's one of the easier parts of mycology work. tek: https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/21922023 and a solid premade recipe: https://www.amazon.com/Malt-Extract-Agar-MEA-grams/dp/B008W7XHSU/

Can't you just use glucose? It's like $5/lb on Amazon as either syrup or powder. Or you can get 50 lb for $60.

Edit: There are also options at $3/lb and $2/lb if you know where to look.

Gin + glucose + citric acid + lime oil + mint = southside
Tequila + Fresca + citric acid + grapefruit oil + salt = paloma
Rum (light) + glucose + citric acid + mint + club soda = mojito

Citric acid can be found at the grocery store (or online). Citrus oils can be found in the peel.

Agreed. This stuff works wonders, I use it all the time.

https://www.amazon.com/Liquor-Quik-Super-Kleer-2-Part-Finings/dp/B01J0LJ1IG

The yeast you get from walmart will not make a good wine/hard cider/beer. You need yeast specific to wine/cider/beer for that. If you can order from Amazon, this yeast with a couple gallons of preservative-free apple juice will make a nice hard cider.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002LQBSIO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
^ I used this stuff.

https://www.amazon.com/Lallemand-Belle-Saison-Brewing-Yeast/dp/B009YN7Y9Y

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007O2PEIK

3pks for 9.95 shipped

Generally, some Go-Ferm when I hydrate the yeast, and some Fermaid-O after fermentation starts.

I'm running some experiments right now to see if I can replace Fermaid-O with boiled baker's yeast, but I don't have results from that experiment yet.

Here you go! It's potent https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015RTMJ0M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

My basement is always below 70 in the winter. I've checked out TOSNA but im not quite sure about the terminology, is this the "goferm" being referenced and this the fermaid-o? Will I also need "yeast nutrients" if I use those two compounds?

i just purchased the 16 dollar fermaid o https://www.amazon.com/CellarScience-AD332B-Fermaid-O-120/dp/B074D9HQJD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519787713&sr=8-1&keywords=fermaid+o

ill let you know