M'kay, this is going to be the weirdest homebrew ever.
I'd post this on a homebrewing forum, but I'm too afraid of the Atkins-bashing beer snobs who don't understand that I'm not trying to make an award-winning homebrew here; I'm trying to go for lowest carbohydrate content while still tasting better (or at least less boring) than Labatt Sterling.
So thanks to Bruce's suggestions, here's how the recipe is shaping up:
4.4 lbs light DME
1 lb local unpasteurized honey (from the farmers market - it's fabulous)
2 oz roasted barley
1.5 oz Cascade hops (60 min)
.25 oz Cascade (15 min)
.25 oz (<1 min)
Cooper's yeast
Beano
I think I'm going to add the beano as soon as I pitch the yeast. I have no access to liquid yeast cultures.
I have a packet of Cooper's and a packet of Nottingham right now. I want to go with the Cooper's because the last time I used it, it was *very* fast. I want to make sure it doesn't dally around with the Beano in there.
I might not use all of the DME. It's sold by the 1/2 kg here, so my packages are 1.1 lb each.
Thoughts?
Update, Sept 5 - I brewed 'er up less than 24 hours ago and she's fermenting like mad! Cooper's yeast is possessed.
One thing I forgot to take into account is the temperature.
My apartment is hot, even with the A/C on. The air temp is about 76. The fermentation temp is about 78. I'm doing the wet T-shirt trick to try to keep it down. Maybe I'll try this brew again in winter, with Nottingham yeast, when my poorly-insulated utility room gets down below 60.
I decided against adding the Beano until I transfer it. That's what the more experienced folks seem to be doing.
Update, Sept 27 - It's a little young, having only been bottled a couple of days ago, but it's really nice! Infinitely better than what I can buy from the megabreweries.
OG = 1.052 (Wow.)
gravity at transfer (9/10), before beano = 1.016
FG = 1.009
That's 6.6% alcohol.