Art of Brewing Bitter XXXX
This was the very first premium quality beer kit I bought over twenty years ago. Art of brewing once kept a shop in Kingston Upon Thames, and it was there that we bought all our beginners equipment and kits. The very same recipe is used today and as far as we are concerned it’s a winner. Art of Brewing XXXX Bitter, sometimes referred to as their “London Bitter” ranks among our favourites. Lee and I rarely are without a barrel of this fine ale to pour from.
Art of Brewing XXXX Bitter is a moderately priced single 1.8kg can kit, that comes with yeast and a sachet of hop extract oil. It is the only kit I’ve bought where the sachet of supplied hop extract is an oil rather than a powder. I am not sure how much difference this makes as I have decided that I don’t really like to use any of these hop sachet enhancements. So far my experience is that they produce a ferociously bitter drink, much more than any commercial ale I’ve ever drunk. If I do include any it would be less than half the quantity supplied.
Whenever I make one of these kits I include a mix of spray malt and brewing sugar or beer kit enhancer instead of using regular sugar. I recommend leaving the brew to condition for up to six weeks before drinking, it gets better as it goes.