Beer Forum

Ok Ive got the whole decoction thing down - In my head at least - I just cant figure out which schedule to use. what is best for german hefeweizen???

Singe decoction - protien to sacc

Single decoction - sacc to mash out

double decoction - protien to sacc to mash out

I am leaning toward the double cause it sounds fun but im a little worried about the srm and I cant do oz's method with the pressure cooker.

I listened to the jamil show the night I formulated my recipe several weeks ago but guess what - - - I was drinking so i cant remember what he suggested.. I will have a chance to go back and check but im intrested to hear what yall think..

For a hefe, I have always used the recipe (and mashing schedule) below as my gold standard. It is over 10 years old, and was passed on to me from a friend, and has been brewed probably 100 times by different people over the years, and brewed commercially. In other words, it dont need any tweakin'.....

You might try this mash, which you could do boiling water jump like this:

Infuse to hit 111F
Boiling water to hit 130F
Decoct to hit 154F

The protein rest really makes this sparkle, because it lightens the body and makes the head larger and smoother, instead of scummy chunks coating the sides of the glass.

The 111F rest is debatabely not required, and many a good beer (award winning) have been made skipping this; but no side by side tasting data has been done that I know of.



JAY'S WEIZEN

OG 1.056
FG 1.012
IBU 13
SRM 4

Grist

71% German Wheat Malt
29% German Pilsner Malt
13 IBU Tettnang Tettnanger
Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan

Mash:
Mashin for a ferulic acid rest of 111F for 60 min. Raise mash to 130F for a 30min protein rest. Pull ~2/3 of grist (decoct)from mash tun
and place in kettle, with enough liquid from tun to just cover grist.
Raise temp of decoct to 158F, careful not to scorch. Rest at 158F for
20 min or until starch test is negative. Boil decoction for ~30 min,
avoid scorching. Add decoction slowly back to tun to reach temp of
154F. Rest for ~30 min or until negative starch test. Sparge as
normal.

Boil:
Boil for 30 min prior to hop addition. Add hops and boil for 60 min.
(Only one hop addition, no finishing hops) Chill to ~63F. Pitch
yeast. Ferment at 63F until finished.

Well I did my first decoction last night and all went well. The only problem I had was getting my mash up to sacc temps after the first decoction. I only hit about 136° so I pulled more garin heated it up and then I was able to get my temps up. I cant wait to taste the end product.

CONGRATS!

promash will calculate decoctions if you are trying to hit a temp just right. I would suggest adding about 5 degrees to what it says the temp will be after adding the decoction back..

As good as it is, there are flaws in promash.. One is that for decoctions and boiling water infusions, it doesn't account for the heat required to also boost the mash tun (it only considers the wort/grains).

But one general tip is always pull a little too much, and just add back slowly or add a bit of water to cool the mash. (harder to put in more heat than it is too take out).