Decoction on PM

[cheezydemon]

On a whim I took 2 cups of grain or so from the Marzen I was brewing and sizzled it in a skillet, stirring frequently until it was considerably darker but not burnt. I placed this in my strainer before dumping my wort and the rest of the grains on top of them, vorlaufing several times.

Does this count as a decoction? I am certain that it will add some flavor and it smells great so far. I had just never seen this addressed.

 

[Evan!]

That's what's known in more technical circles as a "kinda-sorta-half-assed-decoction".

Decoction mashing involves completing the conversion of the to-be-decocted portion prior to bringing it to boiling. If you didn't do that, you may have hurt your efficiency. 2 cups of wort "sizzled" for awhile? Yeah, you might have actually created a sufficient amount of melanoidins to affect the flavor. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[cheezydemon]

Will do! It definitely turned a lot darker, and the smell was much more "roasted".

 

[Orfy]

2 cups will not really arm the efficiency but it's not real decoction.

A real decoction is where you use the boiled portion to increase the temperature of the the whole mash.

Nice experiment though.

 

[TexLaw]

I agree on both counts. It's not a decoction, but it's one hell of an idea. I may have to try that out sometime.


TL

 

[cheezydemon]

I knew it wasn't a "by the book" decoction, but I thought that it might get pretty much the same result. Unfortunately it is an early brewed Marzen, so It will age for a long time beforeI get to try it. I should remember to post the findings though.
Heck, I will probably try it again on a quicker brew!

 

[cheezydemon]

Oh holy crap. I cracked 2 last night.....(no it's not september!!!I had to test the carbing at this point didn't I????)

It is so frigging delicious. I added a lb of 80L crystal to the original recipe and man!

The "toastyness" from the quasi decoction comes through nicely, I can say that it made a difference. The caramel comes through nicely too.

I set aside a sixer to test for oxidation once a month.

The rest went into the lagerator.... and by lagerator, I of course mean a cooler in my garage.

*sniff sniff* if something goes wrong with these I will be soooo pissed.