or Doc Cock Shaun
OK lets start by saying that I am by ne means a expert at this, but i have done quite a few Decoction brews over the years, and I strongly believe there is absolutely no substitute for it at all, ever, no way. you will get some of the flavor profiles but you will never ever get the full benefit.
Ill list the benefits i find first then go into how i do it the normal way, then my express method.
So what is a Decoction mash, well basically its boiling the grains, now the first 1000 comments in the chat today was about leaching tannins from the mash because of the temp, well this is not so, because the thick part of the mash is removed, that is to say that your taking out grain only with very little liquor at all, because of this the grain pH will stay low, there really isnt enough (water) there to raise the pH , also the actual action of boiling the grain will reduce the pH (i think this is just why the Czec brewers could get away with brewing such a thin mash with very soft water with out ill effects) It wa salso mentioned about killing off the Enzymes, well the reason this does not happen is that as the grains get wet the enzyme is extracted and will actually be in the liquor, not so much in the grain, and what is left in the grain will not matter to much anyway.
Ok so whats happening when you boil the grains, the cell walls of the grains are being destroyed, making it easier for the enzymes to get to them. That is is, pretty straightforward, but because of this there are a few other things that happen, and the major advantage that i see is a cleaner ferment and a beer that clears faster, and i think this is because the Proteins are coagulating in the mash and being removed, rather than in the kettle
OK so how do i do it,
I have a 10 ltr pressure cooker, it has a big thick base, and a large SS conical shaped strainer that holds about 3 kg of Grain, So i take the strainer and fillit with grain and let the liquid run off, put the grain in the pot and raise it to the next step, let it sit for 10 mins then bring it to the boil, for Pilsners and darker beers i boil for about 15 mins and put it back into the mash tun, adjust the mash temp (because i always fall short) and do it again, I will normally go
55 deg c
66 deg c
75 deg c
78 deg c, for no other reason but i like to do it that way and it works for me, if im 1 deg short or upto 2 deg c over ill just leave it, apart from that ill run some wort through the heat exchange until the temp comes up.
Now for the fast way, i do this in Hefe and lighter colored beer, I do everything upto the boiling proces, but now i put the lid on the pressure cooker, once it comes to full pressure i turn the heat off and let it come down to under 100 deg c by its self, the i add it back to the mash, what happens here is the grain will not boil but the grain will get over boiling point, i get the same benefit with out changing the color to much, maybe 1-2 SRM rather than 5-6.... Its as easy as that
What i would recommend, for anyone, on any system is this, Do a single infusion mash at what ever temp you have done before, when your done with the sacc rest, take out as much of the grain as you can upto about 30-40%, put it on the stove and bring it to a boil, keep stirring and let it boil for 5-10 mins, add it back to the mash tun, do it again if you get under 74 deg c, if you get over that just do it once, then see the difference in the final beer.......if that was not so hard do another beer, a standard APA and do a initial rest at 55 deg c, then do a decoction stopping at Sacc temps for 10 mins, then boil, add it back to the mash, after mash is complete take more out and bring it straight to boil........add it back, there you have done a double decoction, It is that easy, from there try a tripple......
if you dont notice a taste differance you will see a huge jump in mash effeciancy, and a cleaner tasting beer
Try it
Enjoy
