Confused about general recipe specifics.

[lonlonmilklover]

For my first extract beer, I'm very interested in brewing a basic brown ale.

I see a lot of recipes all over the internet that leave out some crucial details, such as how long the primary and secondary fermentation are, as well as exact temperatures they should be.

I have finished reading "How To Brew" by John Palmer, but had questions even about the example recipe in his book here:

http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter19-3.html

I am very interested in making the Tittabawasee Brown Ale on that page via the extract method. I understand all the ingredients from the recipe shown, but have 2 questions:

-What temperature / moment would I add the extracts to the boil, and for how long do I boil it before starting the 60 minutes of hops segment?
-What does the Yeast explanation mean by: "Primary Ferment at 65°F for 2 weeks. Or 1 wk Primary and 2 wk Secondary." Is that implying I can choose to ferment it at 65°F for only 2 weeks total, and/or only OPTIONALLY ferment for 1 week and then for 2 weeks?

Other recipes I see are much more intricate with very clear unmistakable instructions, and it seems many others like this imply one may already be familiar with how to "wing-it" based on standards for each beer style **gulp** Which of course, I'm not lol.

Any suggestions / additional details that anybody may offer to successfully brew the shown Tittabawasee Brown Ale recipe from extracts would be amazing.

Again, I have read the book, but these very few specifics leave me nervous to perform without exact details. I really don't want to ruin my first batch!

 

[jrgtr42]

There is no exact length of fermentation. The beer will tell you when it's done. Generally, that will be 2 to 3 weeks for most Ales. Lagers will take longer.
For most beers, secondary is NOT needed. Unless you are bulk aging for a very big beer, aging on wood, or souring, going from the primary straight to bottle or keg is the best way to go.
Also there is no one temperature. There will a range that each yeast will work best at, though they will generally work at higher and lower temps, but that will affect the performance. Keep in mind that temps over about 100 or so will kill the yeast.
So, for this, a standard brown ale, you can add the extract when the beer gets to a rolling boil. I've actually found that I get better results adding about half at the beginning, then the other half about 15 to go in the boil. You start the timer whenever you want; the 60 minutes starts when you add the first hops (that would be ideally when you add the extract, then bring it back to a rolling boil.)
a fermentation temp of somewhere around 65 degrees F, for about 2 weeks will do the trick. Check the gravity about then, (a few days more won't hurt, a day or two less won't either.) then seal it back up and check again in 2 or 3 more days. If the gravity is the same, you are ready to package.
you can choose to transfer to a secondary after a week - the heavy main fermentation is over, secondary would aid in clearing - but like I said, it's not really needed.

 

[boydster]

With extract, as I understand it you want to add some at the beginning to help with hop utilization (some people do 1 pound per gallon, some just split it 50/50, I usually use 3 pounds of DME in a 3.5-4 gallon boil) and then add the remaining amount at or near flameout. The longer you boil extract, the darker it becomes, so with a brown ale it might not be a big deal if it darkens but for a lighter beer it really helps to add some of the extract late or at flameout to keep the color light.

When you add your first amount of extract, turn off the burner. This is especially important with liquid. Liquid extract is very dense and will sink straight to the bottom of the kettle, and if the burner is on it will scorch - that makes it darker and also caramelizes some of the sugars, lessening the amount of fermentable sugar in the final wort. Stir it until you think it is completely dissolved, then stir for another minute or so to be sure. Then turn the burner back on, bring it back to a boil, start your timer and add your first hop addition.

For your first beer, you should keep it simple IMO. Especially since it is a nut brown, I really don't see the need for secondary. Leave this beer in primary for 2 weeks, then take a gravity reading. Wait another 2-3 days and take a second gravity reading. If they are the same, bottle it up. If not, wait another few days or a week and check again until you get consistent readings.

During fermentation, you want to maintain a steady temperature on the low end of the yeast's range. With most ale yeasts, that means in the lower to mid 60's. That is beer temperature, not air temperature. Fermentation is exothermic, meaning it generates heat and the beer can be 5-10 degrees warmer than the ambient temperature during the height of fermentation (high krausen). A stick-on thermometer should give you a pretty accurate temperature reading. If you are worried that it might get too warm, try a swamp cooler. That is just a big tub that you can place your fermentor in and fill with water & ice to help keep the temperature in the range you need - you'll find lots of info about these on HBT.

The keys to good beer that you should focus on right now: Sanitation, pitching the right amount of yeast, temperature control, and patience. If you have any questions over any of those things, focus your attention there.

And of course, relax. If something goes wrong (it will), roll with it. Control the controllables and you'll make a damn fine beer.

 

[boydster]

For the Tittabawasee Brown Ale, here is what I would do:

Steep the Crystal 60 and the Chocolate malt at 150 for 30 mins
Remove steeping grains
Add 3 lbs Pale DME
Bring to boil
Add Nugget hops, start timer
Add Willamette @ 30 mins left in boil
Add Willamette @ 15 mins left in boil
Add remaining 3 lbs Pale DME when you turn off the burner (flameout)
Cool wort to somewhere between 62-65F
Pitch yeast (rehydrate if using dry yeast)
Ferment for 2 weeks, take gravity reading
Wait 2 days, take another reading. If they are the same, bottle.

I wouldn't bother using the "All-Extract" version with the Amber DME and the Dark DME. It is really easy to use the steeping grains and you will get a better-quality beer as a result. You don't have any way of knowing exactly what the maltsters put in the darker extracts to get the color, you can only make an educated guess. If you use a light extract and then use steeping grains to get the color/flavor, you have much more control over your beer in the end.

 

[lonlonmilklover]

Many, many thanks all of you! This clarifies all I had in question about the boiling and fermenting.

Only one question remains, as it was a bit vague from several sources, all of them greatly varied:

For a basic brown ale like this one, only needing roughly 2 weeks fermentation...

Is it going to be necessary to add yeast to the beer after fermentation for bottling? ... Or should priming with sugar be plenty?

I've read some articles that profess yeast is "likely not necessary" unless I'm making a lager or a wheat beer, and will likely be a risk factor for exploding bottles, while other articles say to always add yeast when bottling, or the bottles won't carbonate no matter what :/

 

[JuanMoore]

Only one question remains, as it was a bit vague from several sources, all of them greatly varied:

For a basic brown ale like this one, only needing roughly 2 weeks fermentation...

Is it going to be necessary to add yeast to the beer after fermentation for bottling? ... Or should priming with sugar be plenty?

I've read some articles that profess yeast is "likely not necessary" unless I'm making a lager or a wheat beer, and will likely be a risk factor for exploding bottles, while other articles say to always add yeast when bottling, or the bottles won't carbonate no matter what :/

No need to add more yeast, there will be more than enough suspended in the beer to complete the required task of carbonation. The only time more yeast might be needed is very high ABV beers or beers that have been aging for many many months.

And the only risk factors for bottle bombs are the amount of priming sugar added, or beer that was bottled before fermentation was complete.

 

[boydster]

+1 to what JuanMoore said, no need to add additional yeast. When you are done bottling, just be sure to give the beer 3 weeks at 70*F to fully carbonate, then another few days of fridge time to get all of the CO2 into solution before you start cracking 'em open.