Recent content by ryangibson77

Without sparging, I would expect a fairly low efficiency, like maybe 50%...but if you've brewed using BIAB before and got significantly higher efficiency, then it would seem to point to the grain crush being the issue. I average about 72% efficiency in my all-grain system, which is fairly low...

Based on what you've said, I'd bet the crush was poor...either the grain mill wasn't adjusted correctly, or there was uncrushed grain mixed in with the crushed grain or something... even at 160° strike temp, you should still have quite a bit of Alpha Amylase, so your wort may have a high FG, but...

My first thought regarding your low yield issue is that your grain may not have been crushed. Do you crush your own grain, or buy it crushed? Also, it is possible your strike water denatured a bunch of the enzymes if your strike water was too hot. Regarding the yeast issue, do you know how old...

SpringMom, 10-4 on the toxicity. Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that if the flavor of the wintergreen is reasonable (ie. less strong than chewing a piece of wintergreen gum, which uses methyl salicylate as flavoring) it's probably fine. Where the problem comes in is if I...

...okay, so I gave up trying to find a local source of fresh wintergreen leaves or oil...they are both surprisingly difficult to find! However, I did actually come up with an even better idea (IMO). I ended up going to the local garden supply store and picked up an actual Wintergreen plant...

I just met with my brew club, and the consensus is that I got some "barn yard" wintergreen...I am going to work on procuring some fresh (dried and vacuum packed) wintergreen and see if the aroma and flavor are any better. I am NOT getting ANY "minty" flavors out of this dried wintergreen...only...

Connecting two related threads: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f95/sassafras-flavor-alternatives-317718/

I did a small batch mixing some of the ingredients, and it turned out pretty good (very drinkable). It's definitely root beer, but not quite where it needs to be yet. Here is what I made: 0.5 liter batch: 0.13 oz Dried Sarsaparilla Root 0.13 oz Dried Star Anise 0.25 tsp Molasses 0.25...

I used a quarter cup in a half liter of water and it seemed about right to me. Scaled up, thats about 1.5 to 2 cups per gallon.

I got the ingredients from my local homebrew shop. They were all dried roots, bark and leaves that had already been chopped. I did not grind any of them, as it seemed unnecessary...except for the star anise that possibly could have benefited from being chopped up or ground a bit. I simmered...

I just made six single-flavor sodas, including: Sassafras, Sarsaparilla, Star Anise, Licorice Root, wintergreen, and molasses. My nose and taste buds are pretty much pegged at this point, so will have do a more thorough evaluation tomorrow...but here is what I came up with so far...

:D I've heard that nearly 100% of test subjects who breathed oxygen died within about 100 years...so we should probably avoid oxygen at all costs... :cross: :mug:

As I understand it, giving aspirin (salicylic acid) to kids is only an issue if they take it when they have a fever (virus), which may cause Reye's Syndrome. It also has a level of toxicity, like just about anything else, including water. However, it is not known to be carcinogenic. It's all...

Connecting two related threads: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f95/best-source-root-beer-extracts-117270/

I just found a recipe that calls for wintergreen instead of sassafras. I haven't tried it yet, but its a start. I will order some raw ingredients to experiment with in the same general proportions and/or similar to other recipes in the Creswell book. I'll post back in a couple weeks after I make...