Decoction mash with electric rig

I'm wondering if anyone has worked out a good way to do a decoction mash in an electric rig with an element mounted in a keggle.

Would an ULWD heat stick work for this purpose? Just thinking out loud about the possibilities. Seems like this is one of the limitations of this kind of system.

Any ideas are appreciated.

Cheers!

Nothing feasible comes to mind, I'd pull the decoction and do it on my turkey fryer burner or on the stove in a separate kettle.

I use my old fryer or the stove.

In spite of the debate about whether decoctions are necessary, this is what is holding me back from going electric. I could use the kitchen burner for decoctions but that means running up and down stairs. I'd prefer to stay in the brewery.

Would a double-boiler setup in the brew kettle work for decoctions?

troyh said:

In spite of the debate about whether decoctions are necessary, this is what is holding me back from going electric. I could use the kitchen burner for decoctions but that means running up and down stairs. I'd prefer to stay in the brewery.

Would a double-boiler setup in the brew kettle work for decoctions?

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It would likely work, good idea! Or you could just pick up a hot plate I guess.

Could a hot plate boil 10lbs of mash? It seems like I'd need a very powerful hot plate.

What about an induction cooktop plate?

troyh said:

Could a hot plate boil 10lbs of mash? It seems like I'd need a very powerful hot plate.

What about an induction cooktop plate?

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That I don't know without trying, but the mash should already be pretty warm and it's the thick stuff you're pulling off so it could work.

Have you considered using a pressure cooker?

Thanks for the replies. I thought of the pressure cooker, but they are pricey and still require a flame to make work, no? The double boiler idea seems the best concept to keep it all in the brewer area. Is it advisable to rest a kettle on top of the elements themselves? Or do I need the second kettle to be supported some other way.

I might pursue this idea.

troyh said:

Could a hot plate boil 10lbs of mash? It seems like I'd need a very powerful hot plate.

What about an induction cooktop plate?

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Why would you be heating 10lbs of mash, I thought deconction was pulling a smaller volume of very thick mash, boiling it and then returning to the MT to increase the temp?

mattd2 said:

Why would you be heating 10lbs of mash, I thought deconction was pulling a smaller volume of very thick mash, boiling it and then returning to the MT to increase the temp?

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Depending on the decoction, you can use 2/3 of the grain. If the grain bill is 15lbs, that's 10lbs to boil (plus water).

what about adding a steamer wand to your HLT?
So you grab your stock pot, ladle off the portion for your decoction and jam the steam wand into the mash. You might end up having to buy another heating element but a 2kW element is under $10. If you wanted to get really fancy you could make it it's own water tank out of a bain marie or similarly sized container.

You can find an 8-quart electric pressure cooker for somewhere around 100 bucks. I don't think they get much bigger than that, so if you want to do larger decoctions it is clearly not a solution. Smaller decoctions, however....

Dgonza9 said:

Thanks for the replies. I thought of the pressure cooker, but they are pricey and still require a flame to make work, no? The double boiler idea seems the best concept to keep it all in the brewer area. Is it advisable to rest a kettle on top of the elements themselves? Or do I need the second kettle to be supported some other way.

I might pursue this idea.

Click to expand...

I think it should be suspended, not sitting on the element due to the weight.

An induction cooktop plate seems pretty good to me. They cost about $100 and should be very efficient. You just need an induction-compatible pot, i.e., steel or iron, not stainless steel, aluminum or ceramic.

troyh said:

I think it should be suspended, not sitting on the element due to the weight.

An induction cooktop plate seems pretty good to me. They cost about $100 and should be very efficient. You just need an induction-compatible pot, i.e., steel or iron, not stainless steel, aluminum or ceramic.

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Some stainless cookware is induction-compatible (for instance, All-Clad is, but nobody would use that for brewing, I don't think). I believe it can be tested with a magnet.

IIRC, Blichmann kettles are not compatible. I would suspect that a lot of brew pots would not be.

wouldnt following the countertop brutus process be similar to decoction, kind of like a constant decoction

hammis said:

wouldnt following the countertop brutus process be similar to decoction, kind of like a constant decoction

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Not sure what you mean, there. The countertop brutus is just a recirculating mash followed by "continuous batch sparge," no?

A decoction would be boiling a portion of the mash with very little liquid.

Some great ideas in here. Still thinking about what to do.