Personally, I think a beer that you brewed yesterday (if it even finishes by the 13th), is going to be way too green to be served by the 13th, and I would begin to make other arrangements.
The hand cranking sucks...I use a ryobi 18v one. It takes two batteries to do it, but I get through it...One of these days I'm going to get a corded drill and mount the thing to make my life easier.
You know...I remember I did have an issue when I first got mine, and it was something silly that I did wrong (like forgot to remove something or was grinding the wrong direction) or something.
That's what I'd do. Except probably leave out the sugar and vanilla bean (unless you want the vanilla). And I usually just eyeball the rice hulls if I think my sparge is going to stick.
Welcome to the forums. I don't know how much flavor you get from the nuts, since most of their flavor is probably in the oils. Try some hazelnut extract at bottling if that is what your tastebuds fancy. Also some rice hulls to help prevent a stuck sparge with all those oats.
As long as everything is sanatized I don't see a problem with it. Many sour brewers blend beer to get the right taste. As long as you have a container big enough (brewpot?).
I actually researched Sage beers by accident one time last November when I was researching Herb Mixes for a vegetarian gravy. I got curious and clicked a lot. From what I remember they were mostly hopless beers, one had licorise root mixed in with it. But there was one sour beer I read had...
Man, that sucks. I don't know how to remove tannins, but I'd be willing to help with other options to make these 3 kegs drinkable. What kind of style is it? Could we fruit it? Maybe brew another beer and blend the two? (I'll at least give you a bump).
Dude...It is still fermenting. Don't go talking about adding yeast to it. Every beer is different, and every brew session is different. Just be patient and let it go...Only add more yeasties if you have multiple gravity readings of the same gravity over a decent period of time. If you are...
I haven't experimented with licorice, I always associate that flavor with soda.
Are you talking pure root, extract, etc (I don't know of any other forms). Are you steeping it, just adding it boil, primary, secondary?