Excessively bitter

Hi guys, I'm a new brewer and a new forum goer. My second beer, a pale ale, is near completion. The sample from secondary is very encouraging. I think it's going to be a very pleasant beer despite it's simplicity (it was an extract kit). My first beer did not turn out so well. It was a Brewer's Best IPA, and while the beer tasted delicious in the middle, the finish was INCREDIBLY bitter and it lingered. I am unclear about the different terminology, but I wouldn't call it astringent or acidic... it tasted like hop bitterness but was far too strong. I've spoken to other forums about it and, due to my poor equipment and preparation for my first boil, I get a huge mixed reaction as to what the problem could ahve been. Any ideas?

Hard to say. What was the recipe from the kit? Often the kits come with more hops than are needed.

Yeah, we're left to guess without a recipe, but I can safely say that if you plan on brewing more than just a couple of times, buying some brewing software is about the best $20 you can spend.
It will allow you to do so much to improve your process, as well as check up on things like recipe ingredients, bitterness ratios, etc.

What are you calling in the middle & how long have they been in the bottle? What temps was the beer fermented at and what temp are bottles being conditioned at?

@Hammy - The kit used 2 oz bittering hop at 60 min (I'm guessing Cascade), and 1 oz aroma hop at 15.
@Wolfman - I have a copy of Beersmith, which suggests that the hop addition is not too large.
@BrewerBear - What I mean to say is that the beer is tasty on the tongue. The off flavor seems to only be in the aftertaste. The beer was not bottled it was kegged. I've recently learned that overcarbonating could cause off flavors. Could that be the issue here? I kegged at 30 PSI and rocked the keg until i heard no more bubbles, then reduced the pressure to 12 psi to serve. The beer served far too powerfully and had a huge rocky head.

Chlorophenols can taste like bitterness on the end. What is your water situation?

I'm not sure what you mean by "water situation". I used tap water through a faucet filter at the apartment I lived in at the time.

I meant what water did you use/how was it treated/how if at all did you filter it. Those faucet filters have varying levels of success but it probably took out the chlorine, so the problem is likely elsewhere.

Yea. I had considered water, but the water at the apt was really quite tasty. I've always heard that if it's good to drink, it's good to brew with.

TheMerkle said:

Yea. I had considered water, but the water at the apt was really quite tasty. I've always heard that if it's good to drink, it's good to brew with.

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Hard water can taste good, but it typically results in a harsh astingent bitterness that takes a while to fade - particularly with paler beers.

The bad aftertaste did not become apparent in the beer in primary. I tasted it while racking to secondary and it was pleasant. Could hard water/chlorine still be the culprit.

Yes, still could be. Carbonation has an impact on perceived bitterness. High carbonation accentuates bitterness. A flatter/flat beer will taste more malty and will mask some of the bitterness

Now I'm concerned about my new beers. I've since moved to a house, and because the faucet filter needed a new cartridge, I simply used tap water on both of my two batches in the new house.

While I may be waaay off base here and I'm sure if I am, someone will chime in.... Consider "oaking" your IPA's and APA's. I for one, am not fond of that bite myself. My neighbor had me try an IPA he made after hearing my comments about not caring for IPA's. I tried it, smelled great, tasted great, finished clean, no bite at the end. How'd you do this? Oaked it at the end. I then bought a couple APA kits and oak chips. Put these in a secondary for a week, then bottled. Same result a beer that has a good hop smell, a good hop taste and no bite at the end. So I am inclinded to think oaking helps take away that bitter beer face a bit.

Well, there's an interesting concept. I guess I'm only half hophead, because despite enjoying super hoppy beers with a power punch of flavor up front... I really just don't dig the aftertaste. I should mention two things: my bitter IPA has already been kicked, and also, it's aftertaste was not typical of the style. It was definitely a mistake I made somewhere. That being said: I like the idea of using oak to control the finish of my future IPA's.