sweetwater brewing?

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shmoeusn

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I'm a complete noob, and know next to nothing about the science of beer. Currently I'm drinking a sweetwater brewing company 420 extra pale ale. In my opinion, it has a horribly strong bitter aftertaste. Can anyone tell me some of the reasons it tastes like this so I can avoid brewing my own beer that is similar? I'm going to my local Homebrew supply store (very small section of a local hardware store)tomorrow to get the equipment and ingredients to pop my brewing cherry and I'd like to avoid this taste.
Thanks,
Joe
 
I am not familiar with that particular beer but I would suggest that given the current trend in microbreweing it is hoppy. Talk to your homebrew store about kits or recipes that are more malty or balanced and a little lighter on the hops.
 
I think BreWiz has got stickers that say "SWEETWATER" all over his chest freezer....maybe I'm wrong!? You should see what he thinks.....
 
I think Sweetwater's 420 has one of the less harsh aftertastes from pale ales I can get. It is a trait that many pale ales and India pale ales have. Unless you have you heart set on one of these styles, brew something else until you get better acquainted with the tastes. Maybe an English beer brown or a stout, they will not have a strong bitter flavor.
 
Pale Ales are at the higher end of bittering and can be a bit rough as a starting point. Bitter aftertaste depends on the type of bittering hop. There are six distinct chemicals in hop resin and each hop has a different mix. Supposedly they only use centennial and cascades, neither of which are know for strong aftertastes. However, there has been a trend towards more and more bittering in pales.

[People have a serious tendency to confuse hoppiness and bittering. You can have bitter beers that aren't hoppy and hoppy beers that aren't too bitter.]
 
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