Coopers Sparkling Ale + LME + Honey + Liberty = ?

[Piemaster]

I'm not sure what the answer to this question is, but I intend to find out. Going to knock up a brew with the following recipe today.

1 x Cooper's Sparkling Ale kit
1.5kg Light Malt Extract
1kg Honey

Then after the primary ferment I'm going to add a Liberty hop tea in the hope of getting a more citrusy, hoppy finish.

I'll post progress reports in this thread. I haven't tampered with a kit this much before, so it could all blow up in my face, but we'll see :)

 

[clibit]

The answer is beer.

 

[Piemaster]

Starting gravity is 1060, which is a bit higher than I'm used to, but I don't mind if it comes out a little on the strong side.

 

[Gingerbrews]

Want to hear the outcome of this

 

[Piemaster]

It's bubbling along nicely at the moment, although not as violently as some of the previous brews I've done. I'll probably take my first hydro reading at the weekend to see how it's coming along.

One thing I forgot to mention is that I am using bottled water (just the cheap stuff that's 17p per bottle at Tesco). Not that I think there is anything wrong with tap water, but while I was on a brewery tour in Munich I asked why my beers (even my pale ales) always came out dark brown rather than the golden colour that commercial ones are. I was told that the colour of the beer is mostly determined by the hardness of the water, which is why traditional British beers tended to be chestnut colour, while Czech beers were very light in colour as they have softer water.

I thought for the sake of £1.50 I might as well give it a try.

 

[Piemaster]

9 days in and we're down to 1012. Taste is rather weird right now, it tastes almost like a traditional cider, although I swear no apples have been near it.

 

[Piemaster]

Gravity have stabilised now, so I mixed in the hop tea made with 30 of Liberty hops boiled or 10 minutes and have moved to a cool shed. Will bottle in the week.

Incidentally the thing about colour definitely seems to be true. The beer is a lovely golden colour that I have never achieved before.