Fairly sweet, malty brew desired. Is this it?

I got a hold of the water report...boy, there are a lot of squiggly things on there. One of them that I managed to decipher is chloride 12mg a litre. No ions that I can make out. Mostly it seems a safety report though. Still gives me an idea.
We're lucky here: Our water department gives us the information we need for brewing, that is, the calcium, magnesium, sodium, alkalinity, bicarbonate, chloride and sulfate. I guess they got tired of people like me calling up and asking them for it. Until you get that info, you're really shooting in the dark. Chloride 12 ppm (mg/l) is very low, the normal range for brewing water should be 50 - 150 ppm.
 
We're lucky here: Our water department gives us the information we need for brewing, that is, the calcium, magnesium, sodium, alkalinity, bicarbonate, chloride and sulfate. I guess they got tired of people like me calling up and asking them for it. Until you get that info, you're really shooting in the dark. Chloride 12 ppm (mg/l) is very low, the normal range for brewing water should be 50 - 150 ppm.
Thanks Nosybear. As I'm brewing guerilla style, I can't tell them why. The authorities were already suspicious of the foriegn man in their midst asking for something that no-one ever asks for. Though I'm not doing anything very illegal, it is a kind of grey area and it only takes one over-excited law enforcement officer to cause a massive headache. Such is life here:mad:
 
and on that note with all the drama going on with north Korea you would think they wouldn't be sweating the small stuff
 
and on that note with all the drama going on with north Korea you would think they wouldn't be sweating the small stuff
Tell me about it. I was thinking of starting up a small brewery at some point, but the big players are getting scared of the litte craft breweries competition. So, the laws are changing. To start you used to need a capacity of 6 kiloliters a year, soon you will need to brew 60 kiloiters a year, otherwise, no license. Fantastic way to kill enterprise, eh.:mad: Not that I'm cynic, or anything....
 
Tell me about it. I was thinking of starting up a small brewery at some point, but the big players are getting scared of the litte craft breweries competition. So, the laws are changing. To start you used to need a capacity of 6 kiloliters a year, soon you will need to brew 60 kiloiters a year, otherwise, no license. Fantastic way to kill enterprise, eh.:mad: Not that I'm cynic, or anything....
Yeah. The strangest things affect enterprise. One reason our craft beer scene in Colorado is so strong is the State law that allows a person or entity to hold only one liquor license. As a result, most of our liquor stores are small, privately held businesses (some big chains get around the law by holding a 49% stake in a liquor store conveniently located on their property). As a small brewer, it's much easier to persuade the single owner of a small liquor store to stock your stuff than it is to convince a Safeway buyer to do so. So small brewers get their stuff on liquor store shelves, people who don't go to the brewpub are exposed to it and the little breweries at least make a living. For 60 kiloliters you're talking 600 hectoliters - 500 barrels give or take - that's not much. But still, I hear you. Protectionist legislation usually distorts markets in ways not good for consumers but great for the incumbents who can afford to buy the legislation.
 
Just bottled this. Got 22 bottles out of my 9 litre batch. Very happy with that, plus S04 with two weeks got the brew down from 1.045 to 1.008. Pretty good going, not really expected. Will that FG sample later.
 
22 bottles? How many is that American?
 
Pretty sure it was 13 500ml (17oz?) bottles and 9 330ml (12oz). One bottle might be a bit yeasty/trubby...
 
And, just tasted the FG sample. Very interesting, malty and sweet, which is.a relief given the unexpectedly high attenuation (82% with S04!). Not much hard bitterness and another flavour I can't quite put my finger one yet, not an off flavour though. Very different to all my previous brews, in a nice way. Think it might actually be like what I was hoping for. Next taste in two weeks. Should have enough of it to taste what it's like it in a month or mores time too. So far, so good.
 
Am just tasting a bottle of this. It's only a week in the bottle, so it is not really ready...I know, naughty. Anyway, I'm really surprised. Very good caramel notes and to be honest, it strikes me as a Bass Pale Ale clone. Was not aiming for that, but at the moment it is very close. Can't wait to see how it develops.
 
I finished the last two bottles of this last night with a friend. OMG, the extra two months in the bottle really improved it. It was already good, but it had literally morphed into the ale I was gunning for. Not that far from Old Speckled Hen in the end. Perfect, if a tad under-carbed (no more 1.8 vols for me). The malt really got a boost and really came forward as I have been advised (thanks JA).
Me and my mate agreed that we could easily drink it in a pub back home and be pleased.
As the great brewer, sorry, song writer, Jim Croce sang....da da da da '"time in a bottle" da da da da da...
Give it a go if you like. It's listed as Richardson's Folly, a Strong Bitter:
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Good work! Brew double next time so you won't run out just when the drinking gets good.;)
 

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