Not really a waste of time, or waste of wort, you are increasing the cell count of the yeast and you get to keep the beer, cant think of any other option.
Got Mitch Steels book good read, lots of history with the collaberation of the Brits but fellinto the trap he spoke about, to much research, seemed like he was covering the same ground talking about Hodgesons Brewey.
Going to be giving this a go tomorrow, stuck on which yeast to use, so4 or wlp002, leaning towards the wlp002 theso4 can get a bit carried away with itself.
I would never use a dual purpose stain/laquer, plus you have grains going in different directions, never a good look, and are they two different timbers the trim and the ply? Apart from that it is a good build.