Decoction Mash Video

[crawford]

Sorry Keiser, had just one stupid question. How long do you rest the first decotion solution in the pot insulated by the blanket? 15 or 50 minutes? THanks man!.

 

[sp1365]

I am thinking about doing a decoction mash in a couple of weeks for my RoggenBock, but had a couple of questions.

1. Is a decoction possible with a large percentage of adjuncts? My recipe uses 48.8% rye.

2. Due to mash tun space I can only do a thickness of 1.5 qt/lb. Will that be a problem?

3. I was reading through your website about pH in brewing. The pH of my tap water is high (8.4) and I use 5.2 Stabilizer in my mash. On you page you suggest a mash pH of over 5.4 when doing a decoction mash. Should I go low or high on the mash pH.

Thanks.

 

[R2-D2]

Very informational and answered a ton of questions about decoction mashing that i had. Going to try a decoction mash tomorrow with a Belgian wit recipe.

 

[Kaiser]

1. Is a decoction possible with a large percentage of adjuncts? My recipe uses 48.8% rye.

Yes it will work with these grists as well. BTW, malted rye is not considered an adjunct. Only unmalted grains are adjuncts.

2. Due to mash tun space I can only do a thickness of 1.5 qt/lb. Will that be a problem?

It will still work. I have to brew my Doppelbock at that thickness. And while it is a b**ch to handle it does work.

3. I was reading through your website about pH in brewing. The pH of my tap water is high (8.4) and I use 5.2 Stabilizer in my mash. On you page you suggest a mash pH of over 5.4 when doing a decoction mash. Should I go low or high on the mash pH.

The pH of the water matters little in brewing. What matters is its alkalinity. This measures the water's resistance to pH changes. I don't exactly know why Kunze suggests not to go lower than 5.4 when using a decoction mash but what I know is that decoction mashing lowers the pH and if you start too low you may end up even lower. Based on my experience 5.2 doesn't buffer the mash at 5.2 at all so I don't exactly know where your mash pH is. But when I use a decoction I tend to target a mash pH of 5.5 - 5.6

Sorry Keiser, had just one stupid question. How long do you rest the first decotion solution in the pot insulated by the blanket? 15 or 50 minutes? THanks man!.

10 - 20 min should be fine. You are not looking for a complete conversion. You want it to convert mostly so that less starches gum up during the decoction. This makes the decoction easier handle.

Kai

 

[sp1365]

Kai thanks for the response:

I realized that the fact about the malted rye after I posted. I guess I was just worried about the lack of husk with the rye while doing the decoction. I already plan on using rice hulls as well.

As for the pH, my tap water has a pH of 8.49 which is why I use the buffer. My bicarbonate alkalinity (HCO3) is 103.1. Any suggestions? I am just getting into the water chemistry.

I am brewing this on Saturday. Thank you for the help so far.

 

[BrainPain]

Kaiser,

Sehr gut! Ich bin neu mit brewing aber ich finda dein film sehr interesant. Entschuldigung fur meine hesliche Deutch.

 

[crawford]

trying my first decoction today. I think everythings going smooth, thanks for your help kaiser. the only i missed was when i mixed the first decoction with the original mash, i came up really short on the target of 158, like 130 . just takes a lot to change the temp of a propotionally large amount of water. I think i'm still good, though. boiling the first runnings now.

 

[MacGruber]

I think that I just might try this. I haven't done all grain brewing before, but this makes it seem pretty easy. I've read a lot about it in The Complete Joy of Homebrewing and I really want to make the move to all grain.

 

[R2-D2]

Six weeks after doing my first decoction mash I would say that I'm pretty happy with my Belgian Wit. I will say that the process took considerably longer than I anticipated. But that was due to my unfamiliarity with it. By the end of the boil I forgot to add my orange zest and coriander! It's still pretty nice though.

 

[mb2696]

Kai,

I'm going to be doing my first decoction mash soon, and have learned a ton from your site and videos. Huge thanks for all the great info!

I'm planning to do a Pilsner Urquell clone, and this this page claims that PU mashes at 1.85 L/kg. I've read that thinner mashes are ideal, so is this even feasible? Also, do you think thickness makes a big difference in the resulting beer?

 

[Tiber_Brew]

I saw those videos before I joined the forum. I must say well done sir!

My wife and I went to Germany for our honeymoon. Mostly in Bavaria (went to Oktoberfest of course) and in the German and Austrian Alps as well. Beautiful country. Awesome beers!

I've been doing double and single decoction mashes for a while now, with good success, thanks in part to you.

 

[Mateo]

Kaiser,

Most excellent videos. I gained a lot of ideas from watching those videos.

I attempted to employ the Enhanced Decoction for my Koelsch this weekend. I however, ran into a problem. As I returned the decoction to my main mash tun I did not reach the desired temperature. Instead it followed the lines of a triple decoction schedule. I just reverted to a triple and met my desired temps and rests. I guess the decoction volume was insufficient to reach the target temps.

However, it was a good learning experience

m.

 

[badhabit]

Just watched the videos, great help! Take the fear factor out of the process.

 

[3PegBrew]

Thank you for the video footage to accompany the lesson plan. Very well done.

 

[Andy_LV]

it actually makes sorta... a lot of sence - easy to hit desired rest temp using decoction.

and, its very easy to try making small batches - just started 10l (2.5gal?) batch on my ceramic-glass top in the kitchen using regular cooking pots.

what I have noticed (maybe cause of small batch and about 1/3 full mash tun after decoction) that I loose a lot of starting acid rest temp while I boil/rest/ect decoction - so I ended up a bit short on decoction when hitting sacharisation rest (had to top up from kettle) - adjusted in the formula starting temp to 30C (thats what I had after about hour of messing with first decoction) and ended up right to the amount I was missing - just heads up for people who use BIG mash tuns that will end up on the empty side after pulling decoction - you will loose bit more heat and topping up your decoction volume might be good idea.

Anyway, Her Kaiser, fantastic video and great explanation on the mashing process as it is, you inspired me to start my first Marzen 10l batch in the kitchen, and I just had the perfect 2.2kg of Munich malt - smells delicios! Did not had charcoal, using white paper towel to check conversion with iodine - works great.

 

[EDW5015]

Hey Kai!

I have watched your youtube videos a million times and do a decoction occasionally but read that many German breweries are moving to step mashes for economical reasons. I have a RIMS system I designed and built. I have a LWD heating element in the system so there is no worries of scortching wert when temperature ramping.

I started doing protien rests after falling in love with Helles beers. I started by using my heat stick to raise the temp from the protein to the sacc rest but found that by the time i got to the sacc rest the wert had already converted cause my heat stick only increases a 5 gallon batch of wert at about 1 degree farenheight per min.

So I then would mash a protein rest at a dry water to grist ratio and then add an amount of boiling water in order to get to the sacc rest and correct conversion temp and water to grist ratio.

Now I am starting to brew other German beers and saw that many want a 2 stage sacc rest at 145 and then 155 (with variations).

So my question is can I use my heat stick to ramp from one sacc temperature to the other and get similar results as people who add hot water or do decoction (melanoidin aside)? Will my gradual temp ramp produce a different or worse beer than a sudden temp ramp? It would take me about 10-15 min to make the jump.

I find your posts on the net to be the absolute best available and would be honored for your input. Thanks!

Edwin

 

[QuaffableQuips]

I finally got around to watching these, as I'm planning to try a decoction mash this spring for my Märzen. This is a fantastic resource. Much easier to understand than simply reading about it. Thanks, Kai!

 

[Kaiser]

So my question is can I use my heat stick to ramp from one sacc temperature to the other and get similar results as people who add hot water or do decoction (melanoidin aside)? Will my gradual temp ramp produce a different or worse beer than a sudden temp ramp? It would take me about 10-15 min to make the jump.

Edwin,

Yes, you can do that. If you have a slower ramp and are getting a wort that is too fermentable you can always shorten the 145 F rest and start heating earlier.

Kai

 

[Jaimez]

I did my first Decoction on my last batch, an Amber Wheat. i love this Beer. I got the Flavor i was hoping for. Your Video made it a much easier process. I just wanted to say Thanks!

 

[3PegBrew]

Hey kaiser. I am making a Kolsch today and used your video to help out. I have been doing single infusion for the past year And thought I would try this out. After the mash out I saw a major improvement in enzyme activity for sugars. Danke!

 

[3PegBrew]

So far so good. Got my OG right where I aimed for. Fermentation in under 12 hours. It's happy. The FG was on the money also. Just started to lower the temp for a cold crash.

 

[hopplease]

Kaiser, thank you for posting these amazing videos. I plan on doing a Kolsch and an Alt Bier this winter. Can't wait to try this out on them!!!


Thanks,

Josh

 

[Beezy]

I came across these this weekend and I feel like I learned quite a bit and am now anxious to try decoction on a hefe. Thanks!

 

[GreenBoneBrew]

the youtube links are not clickable for me I have to try to find them else where.

 

[tre9er]

the youtube links are not clickable for me I have to try to find them else where.

I can not click on them and there is no hyperlink info there, either.

 

[Malticulous]

http://www.youtube.com/user/BrauKaiser/videos

 

[tre9er]

Thanks. I had found the vids by searching youtube for the string between the youtube brackets in the original post. Thanks!

 

[RandomBeerGuy]

Im glad to find your video on the tube. I am brew a dunkelweizen I am hoping to nail the decoction steps.

 

[drkaeppel]

This was extremely informative. Thank you for posting these videos. Before this, I only had a very general idea of what decoction mashing was. I didn't really understand the purpose until now.

I've been thinking of doing a dunkel or something of that nature. Definitely going to give this a shot.

 

[Gbert_Brewer]

I think these videos may have just answered some questions for me. I just finished my 2nd AG last night (Bee Cave Brewery Rye IPA). Since this is only my 2nd AG and I'm living in an apartment, my equipment list is limited. 2 items on my wish list is a gas burner and wort chiller.

Anyway, back to the brew. I noticed that I lost about ~1.5 gal of wort due to massive amounts of trub. On the last video you showed the amount of protein that was filtered out. Would I be wrong in believing I may have recovered an additional, say, .75 gals of wort had I gone this method? Also, how does this effect efficiency?

Thanks again for the video and the additional references.