Premium Bitter

I have decided to try and work on combating the sweetness taste of my home brews. To do this, I believe I need to work on the balance of the sweetness / bitterness of my beer, since my beer is sweet, I suspect I need to experiment with bittering hops. I am using Muntons Premium Bitter with my first experiment with bittering hops.

The recipe I used to brew this bitter ale is:

• Muntons Premium Bitter Kit (Hopped Malt Extract, Water, Dry Brewing Yest)
• 1.4 kg (3 lbs.) Light Dry Malt
• 65.7 g (2 oz.) Chinook Hops (Pellets @ 12%)
• Spring Water - enough to brew 18.9 litres (5 U.S. gallons)

2007.01.09:

• Hydrometer reading prior to pitching yeast: 1.050 @ 24ºC (76ºF).

2007.01.12:

• Transferred to secondary fermenter.
• Average room temperature ranges from 18ºC (65ºF) to 21ºC (70ºF).
• Took a taste of the sediment from the primary fermenter, whoa very bitter!

2007.01.20:

• I bottled my bitter ale on January today and had a drink of some of the remaining fermented and flat ale. Kind of very bitter, could taste a hint of sweetness, but it sure does not taste as sweet as my previous brew.
• Hydrometer reading prior to priming and bottling: 1.020 @ 20ºC (68ºF).
• Based on rough and quick observation, alcohol content is approximately 4%
• Will let beer sit at room temperature for two days prior to moving to a cooler location for approximately ten days to allow carbonation to develop.
  

Check to find out what I think of my beer after 2007.01.31.