Next challenge... decoction mashing

Buford · 04-09-2007, 06:34 PM

I'm looking at making a hefeweizen next, and it seems like decoction would be a good way of doing it. I have six single-infusion mashes under my belt so I figure I ought to try something different. I've looked up info on doing decoction, and it doesn't seem all that difficult (just time consuming), but are there any pitfalls to look out for?

Also, how does efficiency typically compare with doing a decoction vs. a single infusion? I batch sparge and get 75% efficiency with single-infusion. The recipe I'm thinking about calls for triple decoction.

Yeast Infection · 04-09-2007, 08:02 PM

this is what i based my first decoction off of : http://brewery.org/library/DecoctFAQ.html

I only did a single decoction though...it was easy. Make sure you pH is around 5.2 ish so that you dont extract tannins. You are supposed to get a better effeciency, but i dont really measure that kinda thing, I get what I get. Good luck!