@dmtaylor - sorry to ressurect an older thread - woud you care to elaborate on this or your current decoction process for a czech style pils? Picking up the grains today, and have been belly aching over whether to decoct or just do a single infusion. A recennt brulosophy case study has me tempted to keep it simple with an infusion.
https://brulosophy.com/2016/12/12/m...ction-vs-single-infusion-exbeeriment-results/
If you know me, i like to keep my brew days short and simple, and as non-traditional as they get LOL. However, decoction doesn't seem that labour intensive if results are worth it. Your valued opinion is most appreciated.
Whats your ferment temp? Plan to use s-23. I get a pretty steady 60 degrees in my basment, but could push it to 45-50 in my porch right now.
How long to lager minimum? Again, I can probably get sub freezing in my garage at present.
Thanks in advance.
Grain bill is :
10lb pilsner
1lb vienna
.5 lb munich
Yeast is S-23
Got saaz for hops, but also considering magnum as a bittreing hop (any thoughts there)
I haven't decocted in several years now. If I did, like I said, I would probably dough in at about 105-110 F, let that sit for 5 minutes, then pull all the wet grain out (i.e., "the thick mash") then bring that to a boil for about 10-15 minutes, then return it to the main mash liquid, hope that it hits closer to the 140s, then let that soak for a good ~20 minutes, then repeat the decoction steps to hit 150s for another 20-30 minutes. Then could decoct a third time, or just call it good and run off and continue brewing as normal.
I don't fret over the exact process when I decoct, I just have fun with it, and it always seems to turn out very good regardless of the details. And I keep the steps short to just 10-30 minutes each so that I can get the batch done within ~5 hours so it doesn't take all day long.
I have never used S-23 but I have a pack and intend to try it in near future. I have heard that this is a fruity lager yeast and that it might perform even better at warmer temperatures than cold, sort of like a California steam yeast. So I will probably split a batch and try some cold around 50 F and the other half warm at about 65 F, just to see what it will do. And I suggest anyone else interested should (eventually) try the same experiment. Good for any yeast really, try different things and learn something.
Fermentation could be finished in a few days, or might take a few weeks. Let the yeast do the talking. I never rush my fermentations. If anything I leave them sitting for longer than I need. My advice for any beer, but for lagers especially, is to just leave it alone until you think it's done fermenting.... then leave it alone for another 3-4 days before even thinking about touching it or chilling it down. The yeast needs extra time after fermentation to clean up after itself. Just let it. Once you are certain everything is good and done and clean with no diacetyl, then you can chill it for as long as you like. About a week or two at icy cold temperatures is probably enough for most lagers. And even then it is probably optional, as long as the fermentation is really complete already anyway. I would never chill it down until I was very certain that the fermentation is 101% complete. Otherwise you could lock in diacetyl or sulfur or other nasty compounds and prevent the yeast from cleaning up.
Your recipe sounds good. Magnum is a great hop. Saaz is more hit & miss in my experience, probably depends on the source. Get the good stuff from Czech Republic.
Cheers, good luck, enjoy.