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A decoction is none of the things mentioned so far in this thread. It is taking a portion of the mash ("thick" or mostly grain), raising it to ~158°F for about 10 minutes, then raising it to boiling and boiling it for at least 5 minutes for lighter colored beers, longer for darker colored...

Sounds logical, but if that's true, I still don't understand why we (or at least I) don't see a correlation between higher percentages of Cara-pils in the grist and decreased wort fermentability.

Why not? I don't understand why, in a single infusion mash of, say, the low 150s°F, alpha amylase wouldn't break down long-chain unfermentable sugars which would subsequently be broken down further by the remaining beta amylase before it becomes too denatured. I think there may be some...

I think the 1.25 "standard" came primarily from British brewing practices. It's also stated that thick mashes make for a more dextrinous wort and thinner mashes make for a more fermentable wort. And while I believe there is science to back this up, I also think the difference is so...

I know it's common belief, but I'm not convinced that the concept of Cara-pils adding dextrins and reducing fermentability is all that it's made out to be (in the case of partial mash or all-grain brewing). I've experimented with different percentages of Cara-pils (from none to 12%) in same or...

It's an equation for combining any two liquids (with different specific heat capacities, for example), so keeping them in the equation would be good practice, but in the case of combining water with water, you're right. So, scientifically, the equation is right, but algebraically, they're not...

The answer is 144.21°F. Here's the long way: The formula is: (B grams of water)(Btemp°C - Final temp°C)(4.184 J/g°C) = (A grams of water)(Final temp°C - Atemp°C)(4.184 J/g°C) Where: B grams of water is 8 gallons, or 30283 grams (1 gram = 1 mL) Btemp = X, this is what we're solving...

I would mash at the same temp. Just use all Pilsner malt. I'm going against the concept that Cara-pils lowers wort fermentability no matter what the mash situation. The dextrines in Cara-pils get broken down further to fermentable sugars in the mash. I know of beers with Cara-pils up to 17%...

It really depends on the details of your system... mash tun geometry, sparging equipment, drainage equipment (manifold, false bottom, etc). I fly sparge 10 gallon batches (about 14.5 gallons into the kettle) in about 30 min. That's about the same time as a double batch sparge (from what I...

I don't think, or perhaps don't understand, that enzymes in the mash couldn't affect starches and long chain sugars in dextrine malt. Perhaps when used with the right mash schedule (i.e., single infusion), it has the effects stated by the maltsters, but when step mashes and decoctions come into...

Don't know... he (username: Spine) might still be lagering it. We were PM-ing and we left off just after primary. I think those decriptions that state it aids in foam stability might be some hype, too... but I only have my own observations to back that up. I used to have some foam stability...

It definitely adds to OG, but does it add to FG? I'm not convinced it does in quantities typically used by brewers and depending on the mash schedule. Those long chain sugars in Cara-pils can get further broken down into fermentable sugars by enzymes from the base malt. I've not noticed much...

I believe the lactic acid is produced naturally during the malting process from the existing lactobacillus on the barley, so I guess that meets the Reinheitsgebot. Here's an excerpt from an answer on Weyermann's website FAQs: So, that seems similar to force-carbing a beer under the...

Because some alpha acids (or iso-alpha acids... not sure, but the point remains) will precipitate out with the proteins/polyphenols in the hot break.

Bittering hops will have better utilization if they're put in after the hot break. That's the main reason some brewers wait. As far as boil-over, you can just throw in a couple of hop pellets at the start of the boil to break the surface tension. That helps a bit.

135°F will give activity to both proteolytic enzymes and beta-amylase enzymes. With most malts, an hour at 135°F will probably take a little foam formation/stability out of the beer. For fermentability, rests at those two temps (135°F and 151°F) will probably give a well-attenuated, fairly dry...

I don't think a decoction is necessary for a Helles. I've done plenty of Helles batches, some with single decoctions, some with a Hochkurz step mash. I've never used Melanoidin malt... only German Pilsener malt and Cara-Pils. They were all very malty and I didn't taste any noticeable...

The reason I like continuous sparging is so I don't have to worry so much about sparge volumes (and I have a way to do it as quick as a double batch sparge with no loss in efficiency). I just heat up more water than I need and sparge until I hit my preboil volume. I usually stop the sparge...

If it works, it will ferment very slow. 42°F is at the bottom end of even the most resilient lager yeast.

The 0.5 is a little thick, but may work... I've never mashed that thick so I don't know. Can you fit up to 2.0 qts./lb.? If so, you could do (give or take) 1.0, 1.5. and 2.0 qts./lb. At any rate, I'd max out what your tun can hold (up to 2.0 + qts./lb.) and work your way down.