Apple cider vinegar, or cider vinegar, is a vinegar made from fermented apple juice, and used in salad dressings, marinades, vinaigrettes, food preservatives, and chutneys. It is made by crushing apples, then squeezing out the juice. Bacteria and yeast are added to the liquid to start the alcoholic fermentation process, which converts the sugars to alcohol. In a second fermentation step, the alcohol is converted into vinegar by acetic acid-forming bacteria (Acetobacter species). Acetic acid and malic acid combine to give vinegar its sour taste.

Used the raise the pH of the wort/mash.

Chinese black vinegar is made from fermented black sticky rice or regular glutinous rice. It can also be made using rice in combination with sorghum and/or wheat.

Originating in the city of Zhenjiang in Jiangsu province, it is quite literally black in color and has a full bodied, malty, complex taste. It is mildly acidic, less so than a regular distilled white vinegar, with a faintly sweet flavor.

Smart brewers know that a yeast starter is the best way to ensure proper cell count and yeast viability prior to pitching. If you want a reliable starter for your batch of beer, you need to feed the yeast. Adding a yeast nutrient to the starter will give the yeast an added boost! Fermaid K is a yeast nutrient that works for starters and main fermentation. Here’s how it works:


Fermaid K is a complex formula that provides DAP, free amino acids, yeast hulls, unsaturated fatty acids, sterols; and micronutrients such as magnesium sulfate, thiamin, folic acid, biotin, calcium pantothenate, and other vitamins and minerals. Yeast use Nitrogen for protein synthesis and to maintain cellular growth. Nitrogen from the alpha amino acids contained in Fermaid K is utilized much more efficiently than from the ammonia salts like DAP. The unsaturated fatty acids and sterols available in Fermaid K are important survival factors needed to maintain alcohol resistance. They also help keep volatile acidity levels low. The cell wall fractions, available through the included yeast hulls, absorb medium chain fatty acids that are toxic to the yeast. They also provide nucleation sites to help keep the yeast in suspension. You do not need to add any additional fertilizers or DAP when adding Fermaid K. Use approximately 1 gram per gallon. Rehydrate in distilled water.

A rough approximate of weight is 1 tsp = 4.7 grams. We highly recommend using a scale to weigh the product for an accurate dose.

Grapeseed oil is processed from the seeds of grapes, which are a byproduct of winemaking.

If you have soft water and are brewing a hop forward beer, you’ll want some Gypsum on hand. Gypsum (calcium sulfate) is used to add permanent hardness to your brewing water in the form of calcium ions, which will increase the hop perception in your beer.

1 gram of Calcium Sulfate in 1 gallon of water changes the salt levels by 61.5 ppm calcium, 147.5 ppm sulfate and adds 153.5 ppm to the hardness.

Kosher salt or kitchen salt (also called cooking salt, flake salt, rock salt, kashering salt or koshering salt) is coarse edible salt without common additives such as iodine. Typically used in cooking and not at the table, it consists mainly of sodium chloride and may include anticaking agents.

Add oak flavor without having to use a barrel

This Root Beer has a holiday flavor featuring overtones of graham crackers and ginger bread cookies.

Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits.

Good ol' H2O

A blend of Irish Moss and purified Kappa carrageenan that encourages the precipitation of haze causing materials such as proteins and Beta glucans. Prepared in a quick dissolving, highly soluble tablet form. Almost everyone who tries Whirlfloc tablets prefer them to regular Irish Moss. Add for the final 5 minutes of the boil.

Note: One Whirlfloc tablet is good for 10-15 gallons of wort. We suggest using half a tablet for 5 gallon batches for most beers.

Xanthan gum is a polysaccharide with many industrial uses, including as a common food additive. It is an effective thickening agent, emulsifier, and stabilizer that prevents ingredients from separating. It can be produced from simple sugars using a fermentation process and derives its name from the species of bacteria used, Xanthomonas campestris.