Tomorrow I do a decoction on the hefe, but I need to rework it. I had read of others using a decoction to reach mash-out temp of 170F. I discussed this with one of the former brewers of Molson, and after he pondered it he recommended decocting to a lower temp and giving it 15 minutes or so. His thought was that any steely ends or starches that might have still been undissolved and liberated by the decoction could use the enzymatic activity back in the mash. If your malt had a lot starch from this, you could end up with haze. Clearly more of an issue for a large brewery, but cool that he would discuss it with me. He also gave me some information about the power requirements for decoctions which really illuminate why it is a dying art at the professional scale. It's about 2 times the energy of a normal mega-brewery mash for them to do it.
what do you think? Maybe come back at 158 for 15? Heck, could immediately pull a second to get to 170.
what do you think? Maybe come back at 158 for 15? Heck, could immediately pull a second to get to 170.