My first decoction mash!

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WhiskeySix

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Last weekend I brewed NB's Caribou Slobber all grain. I used their ingredients with my own techniques. Plus an extra Wyeast smack pack.

First I had a pack of Wyeast 3725 Bier de Garde seasonal yeast that I made slants from. So rather than dump the remainder I added it to the Wyeast 1338 Northwest Ale and made my usual 2 liter starter. Might be interesting.

On brew day I did a double decoction mash using Beersmith's calculations.

Protein rest at 122* for 35 minutes. Then I pulled the first decoction and did a sacch rest at 147* for 20 minutes. Second decoction and sacch rest at 158* for 30 minutes. No mash out. Batch sparge at 168*. Pre sparge SG was 1.068! OG ended after boil and sparge at 1.058. Right on target.

More work than adding strike water and walking away for an hour but it was fun. I need a 1 qt dipper and a better mash paddle though. Got to stir the thick mash like a mad man during boiling.:D

One hiccup. I finished at 2:00pm and left for work at 2:25. I put the carboy in the laundry room on the tile floor. Got home at 11:15pm and it was fermenting furiously and at 81*! ( Gotta love starters. NO lag time!) Put it in a water bath and the temp was 65* the next morning and has stayed mid 60's since. The Bier de Garde yeast likes it warm so no real worries. Should be interesting.
 
Yeast blending is used a lot in commercial wineries, as well as in some breweries. It doesn't seem very common at all for homebrewers, but I don't know why. You can get some cool flavors that way.
 
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