Homebrewing a Single Decoction Helles
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- čas přidán 22. 05. 2016
- Armed with some tips from Michael Dawson, I brewed my first decoction beer and filmed the process. At the end we taste the result and speculate if we can taste the difference.
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You made no mention of mash pH, nor why you chose 132F as a rest temperature. A single decoction is better than no decoction.
Try this next time: Use the data sheet for the malt which is being used. It comes with every sack of grain and it is used by a brewmaster as a map. Most home brewers do not know that one exists. Dough in cold and check pH. The data sheet will mention malt pH and the mash pH should be very close to what the data sheet mentions. Add sauer malz and reduce pH to 5.5. After pH stabilizes, remove the first decoction. By doughing in cold, the brewer is able to work with the 1st decoction for longer periods while enzymatic action in the main mash is nil. Using Barke or Weyermann floor malt, rest the 1st decoction at 122-125F for 20 minutes. Then, quickly raise the decoction from 122-125 to 155F (saccharification) and rest until iodine does not change color. The color of the iodine will be deep red/mahogany. If iodine is blue/black after 20 minutes, allow the mash to rest for 10 more minutes. If the iodine remains purple/blue/black, not to worry. After the mash rests for 20-30 minutes at 155F increase the heat to boiling. Boil the decoction past hot break and skim off the break. The purpose of boiling the decoction past hot break is to reduce protein gum. (Barke is a darker malt when compared to Weyermann Boh Pils light floor malt and boiling the decoction past hot break will not increase the darkness of the final product. Even when using the lightest floor malt and boiling the 1st decoction for 45 minutes or longer will not noticeably darken the final product.) Use more mash water in the decoction next time. Add the 1st decoction back into the main mash to reach 130F, as soon as the temp stabilizes at 130F remove the 2nd decoction and quickly raise the temperature to 149F and rest it until saccharification. Then, bring decoction to boiling and boil past hot break skimming off the break. Return boiling decoction to the main mash to raise main mash temp from 130F to 148F (conversion), add sauer malz and reduce pH to 5.3 going no lower than 5 in the main mash. (Check the main mash while it is resting at 130F with iodine after 10 minutes and again before adding the decoction, the iodine might not change color and that is good. If it turns blue/black, not to worry. Do an iodine test during the conversion rest, the iodine should be orange/red) When mash temp stabilizes at 148F remove the 3rd decoction and raise the decoction temp to 153F and rest it for 20 minutes. Bring decoction to boiling and boil it for 10 minutes. Return the decoction back to the main mash to hit 158F, use boiling water if temp is not reached. Rest main mash at 158F for 10 minutes, then, infuse boiling water to reach 160-162F, rest mash for 10 minutes and iodine test for starch. Mash out at 170F. (Amylo-pectin will burst during boiling of the decoctions and when the decoctions are added back into the main mash, the mash will jell. Dextrinization will occur due to enzymatic action and body is formed.)..
The method which I outlined fits Pils and fine Lager. When Lager is brewed, reduce 2nd decoction to 145F. Main mash 158F change to 155F and 162F change to 158F.
A secondary fermentation vessel will be needed. There should be no need to prime the beer nor to artificially carbonate it. A diacetyl rest is not needed, the wort will have enough nutrient in it to support yeast. The wort produced from the method will be pristine and less hops will be needed. Kettle hot break will be lessened. Run off volume can be increased without reducing OG.
There should be no reason that batch sparging is needed when the decoction method is used because the filter bed settles uniformly. However, when the husk is shredded up, along with protein goop being transferred to the lautertun, the mash will stick during run off, especially, when run off is too fast. Invest in a decent lautertun and throw away tubes cut with slots or toilet braids. Blichmann's plate is probably the best plate on the market available to the home brewer. It is not a bad idea to invest in a mashtun that can be fired. GOOD JOB on the first time using the decoction method!..
A side note, two quarts of water is OK, but the volume is reached when boiling infusions are used for temp maintenance and when reduction of viscosity is needed, otherwise, one quart a pound is adequate to start off with. A thicker mash preserves enzymes.
I did my first decoction last dezember also. And with an helles (not so big more a 5,5%). Bloody coincidence. Anyway, it came out outstanding. I use a grainfather system. I will sure brew next winter a dark lager with decoction, maybe double. Great video, as always Don. Cheers
Thanks Full Mug. Glad yo liked it and sounds like your Helles was more like it should be as far as alc % goes. Mine got a little away from me for the reasons stated in the video. But it's still good. Happy brewing.
I'm going to be doing my first decoction this weekend. Your vid sure is helping me see what I should expect. Thanks Don.
Very cool. Glad the video could help. Good luck with your brew day.
I dig the Iron and Wine shirt!
DonnyO I tried a triple decoction dopplebock last Nov. I let it condition in the secondary for 6 months then bottled it and let it sit another two. The end result was out standing. After hearing your comments that the decocted Helles was similar in many ways to the your standard method makes me want to try the dopplebock with a multi temp mash just to see if it has as much body as the triple decoction batch. For me I really enjoyed the triple decoction 9 hour brew day and I'm going to do it again soon.
Thanks for the story. I like it. Triple decoction. Damn son. Glad it turned out well. I'm not surprised. It would take some doing to attempt a side by side to really see if you could identify the difference between a decoction and a non-decoction in a blind triangle test. All I know is that what I did was not that "hard," it was kind of fun, and the beer turned out yummy. Maybe that is enough of a reason to try it once in a while. Cheers.
When I tried a decoction mash, mine was thinner but still had followed the 1 qt/ lb ratio as you did. However, it actually raised the temp up to target before I had finished re-adding the decoction mash.
Huh. Mine was thick! Did you just let it cool down and then add the rest back in? I think that is all you need to do. Is your beer still fermenting/conditioning? Or how did it turn out?
yeah, I let it cool down in the kettle while the mash rested in the mt. I think I pulled thinner mashes bc I used an aluminum quart thing instead of a strainer. It turned out delicious and then I reused the year to make a triple decoction doppelbock. That took some work!
That beer looks great! I use to start with a protein rest at .8 qts/lb at 128F, but it seems unnecessary. So I then I started with 1.2 qts/lb at ~143F, and raise it to ~158F by decoction and boiling infusion, which puts me closer to 2qts /lb. It’s easier to start a bit stiff and add infusions to reach the right temps (when you can’t heat the MLT). I always mash out at 165+ for easy lautering (don’t even need rice hulls for a Hefeweizen). Lately I’ve been lazy and haven’t decocted (a lot of German breweries have abandoned it as well). You can certainly still make a good brew, but the decoction does enhance some German styles.
Thanks. That beer was good, but so are my non-decocted beers, lagers or not. I can't yet say if I really noticed a difference or not. I would probably have to do it more. It was really fun to try and to have it come out well. For the most part I'm just trying to get a batch brewed and with using good ingredients and good methods I get good results. But I'm not going to tell anyone not to decoct. :) cheers.
Exactly. Many years ago I pulled a decoction and put a tablespoon full on a plate. After bringing the decoction to boil, I put another tablespoon beside the first sample. The difference in colour was obvious, as was the flavour. Chewing on the raw sample, it was beyond toasty bread and actually was fairly meaty. Decocting can certainly add to the flavour. Of course this gets diluted down and probably reduced in the hot break (which I usually do skim) and the cold break as well.
I just did a Spezial Helles that ended up closer to a festbier, as I got great extract from the Barke Pils as well. I should have checked my notes on the previous Pils that I did, which also came out stronger than anticipated. I really didn’t put much thought into this one, it was really just to get a good drinker and a nice big yeast cake for a doppelbock (I haven’t done a starter in over a decade!). I seem to be rambling... but I wanted to note that I didn’t do a decoction for any of these. The Doppelbock is a bit different than usual, but it’s still a good brew!
Dawson unhinged! Never thought I'd see that~~this beer is magic!
Ha. It surprised me slightly but I don't care. I don't figure too many small children are watching this bull crap.
I think that a little over heating is not as bad as a PH issue. I have been under the study that the PH has more to do with leaching of tannins and phenols from the husks than direct temperature does or the combination of the both? I really like watching your videos. They are fun and informative without all the pretentious B.S. associated with some of the "nose held high brewers". You have just convinced me to try my first decotion mash! Keep them coming.
Thanks Flanman. To be honest I don't even pay attention to pH readings. I've had such success with my process that I've reached a "if it works then don't overthink it" point on some aspects of brewing, like that. (Not to say it isn't important at times and people shouldn't study it). You might be right with tannins. But since I don't get any bad tannin flavor that is one of the "don't worry about it" areas. I'm glad you like the style and content of the vids. I make them for you guys. Cheers.
Loved the video, Don. Thanks for posting it.
Thanks man. Glad you liked it.
My first wife's first time brewing with me was also the first time I brewed a double decoction. Coincidentally, it was also the last time for both. It was a very long brew day and I ended up with a few burns from the boiling mash.
Even then, there was still something in that beer that I have not been able to replicate. So I guess there may be something to this decoction thing.
Anyway, I always enjoy watching your videos Don. Keep it up!
Funny story. "Yeah honey, brewing is fun and pretty chill, come and do a brew day with me...." I can see doing something like this again. The beer is really good but it's hard to know what, if anything, the decoction actually contributes. It must do something though, like you said.
That's not swearing! On my very first AG batch I undershot my temp and ended up doing a single decoction on the fly, as I didn't have a clue what I was doing.....and I had recently seen a Dawson doing double decoction on BTv.....let's just say I was a bit "unhinged" and dropped several F-bombs through the day. All that said, the beer turned out fine and I learned.
Thanks for bringing me back to my first decoction as well Don!
I think I had to do something like that once upon a time too, and then I learned to always come in "high" if you are in a cooler, because it's easy to cool it down with ice cubes. It's much harder to raise the temp, like you say. Glad you checked out the vid. Cheers.
+donosborn Agreed, definitely key to overshoot by a bit and allow things to cool by stirring a bit more or adding ice as required. I haven't brewed in a cooler for a while, but I think I'm going to be going back to it soon enough as I'm moving and I think it'll allow me to brew both 5 & 10 gal batches as I see fit. Good thing to remember though. Thanks again!
Great video Don looks like a great beer enjoy!! Always great seeing Mike D. on video again. I hope to move to All Grain one day to give this a try my self. But it's Partial Mash for me for now. Cheers 17!!
+Dozer88 Glad you liked it. Cheers.
+donosborn Question I'm doing a Strawberry Rhubarb Ale using US-05 any advice on using fruit to beer??
I've done some fruit additions but not a ton. I think one way to do it is to let the beer ferment, and then add it. Normally you want 1-3 lbs of fruit per gallon (I think) but it varies by what kind of fruit and how strong. You might want to go look up better information about it before you try and get a plan.
Great video Don, thanks for sharing the info. The beer looks great. Cheers!
Thanks, Gnome. :)
Congrats Don! It's always an unspoken pleasure to taste fruits of hard work :D Cheers!
PS. Btw thanks for bringing SchlossDawson out of YT hiatus ;)
+mirogster No problem. Glad you checked it out.
It would be fun to compare a no sparge, concoction mash, and regular batch/fly sparge. I'm stuck on doing no sparge, I don't know that I will ever sparge again given the results and the amount less work.
the whole gosh dang crew!!!!!
That looked great. I'm going to give a Pilsner a go for the first time soon. Barke malt looks like it would be great for Saison as well. I've been using Avangard Pils for a while and it's some great stuff too!
I haven't heard of that malt. It's fun that we have so many varieties available. I bet you are right about using Barke in a Saison. i am making a Dubbel with it and then am going to make a Belgian Dark Nelson (Sauvin) beer with it too. Cheers.
Those sound great! Nelson Sauvin is a wonderful hop! I like it in darker beers for sure. And you are right, so many options, so many flavors. Cheers!
Great Vid!! I'm in the means in about a month to a decocted Helles as well.
Thanks. Glad you liked it. Best of luck with your decoction batch.
Im trying to find a video of you making an oktoberfest beer. Loven the vids.
You know I probably don't have one. I think I have made one or two (check my brewlog if you want) but not done a vid. Glad you enjoy them. Cheers.
I don't think it's too thick. It gets thinner as it's cooked. As long as you care not to scorch it, you're fine.
As far as how much to pull - it's about how much of a temperature step you're going for. I've done a double-decoction before and skimped on the grain I pulled and didn't really have enough thermal mass to get all the way to the second rest temperature which was a bummer. Now I pull more than I think I need just to be sure. You don't have to add it all back. Most of your enzymes are in the liquid left behind in the tun.
+Eddie Rowe I'm sure there are any number of ways to use this technique. It seems like everyone has their preference. This was just getting my feet wet in the decoction world.
I've done three brewing sessions with decoction mashing. Everything else I've done is infustion. I find it kinda fun. Gives me an opportunity to pull out my giant Hickory mash paddle. It's funny that you were tasting your decoction on 5/21 because that's when I was brewing mine! I'll have to send you some in September when it's ready.
+Eddie Rowe It's fun to change things up now and then. And trying new things is part of the hobby.
I'll need to give this a try, DonO. Thanks for sharing...Cheers!
Yeah man, think about it. I survived. :)
Good way of handling the single decoction is to do the mash in in the boil kettle. Then remove the _thin_ portion from the kettle. Simplifies the process quite a bit. Sacc rest in kettle before boiling is a good idea.
Also having a temp meter to check when it really boils is a good idea. The mash doesn't transfer the heat well enough, so the bottom gets rather hot. I tend to keep stirring it until the whole decoction is done.
I think I see what you're saying. I don't usually mash in a kettle though, although I did recently acquire that capability (which I'll show in a future video). This was just to get my feet wet and give it an initial try, which I accomplished. I'm sure there are endless variations and ways to decoct a beer. Thanks for the suggestions.
I do the mash in in boil kettle only when decocting. Liquid after all is much easier to transfer. For mash tun I use similar cooler solution as you.
Even single decoction gives quite nice body addition to beer. I often decoct ales also, as I'm not that big fan of cara/crystal malt. Regular pale ale + perhaps munich and 15 minute boil and you got quite lot of toffee & candy aroma.
At the moment I've got split batch of märzen in tab with half hopped US and half Hellertau -hops. It's rather red even though there wasn't much munich and rest was pale ale:
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Nice looking beer. I had thought about the idea of doing this for a malty ale, too. What if one did it on a stout or brown ale? Hmm. I don't think I'll rush to try that but it would be interesting. One day maybe.
Nice brew day with Chip
Hey Boys, fun brewday, the thick mash looks slightly thick to me, but not bad, I gave up decoction mash once I switched to my HERMS system, its just to messy for my liking
I have seen thinner decoctions and I have seen some that look like that. I think you can do them a variety of ways, but I appreciate the response. Cheers.
+donosborn true I honestly don't think it's all that important just as long as you've got enough moisture not to burn on the bottom
Great video. Going to have to give this a shot. Just had a Jack's Abby Maibock Hurts Like Helles and it got me thinking. PS Is that a bottle of Element Brewing Co in your pantry/fermentation room on the shelf? One of my favorite breweries.
Is it in a paper wrapper? If so then yes. I got a couple of their beers on a clearance sale and I think that one is a barrel one of some sort so I have not been in a hurry to drink it. Good luck if you try a decoction.
haha! "I don't think I can beep like Chip" LOL
Hard to beat taking a day off work to brew up some beer!
Yes it is. Cheers.
Avangard pils yields higher than anticipated gravity as well.
I have not heard of that one. I guess it's something we have to be aware of.
Like for morning beer
lol you effed up Don!
Excellent video, dude! I was wondering, what if you'd have added more sparge water to compensate for the increased OG... Would it have hurt the malty-caramely character? I'm thinking of pulling a decoction myself but I'd like ABV to be around 5% tops. Thanks in advance! Cheers.-
You could do a couple things. You could either just dilute at the very end with tap water to cut down the gravity to what you want. Or, you could maybe just use like 5% less grain at the beginning and see where your gravity comes in, assuming that the decoction process will give you a little higher efficiency. Either of those things (or both) can help you get really close to your desired OG until you know how your system works with a decoction and you can dial in the recipe better. Hope that helps. Good luck with it.
donosborn thanks! Yes, I figured about the OG but I was more concerned about conserving the improved character of the decoction process!
In my opinion it would not be a dramatic change or loss in character if you were to dilute it a little. Best of luck.
Hi, long time viewer here thanks for the vids! A question please. I am struggling with my keezer to get it to pour like yours does at 15:40. Please could you tell me what line thickness and length you have? I'm just getting slow pour and lots of foam and I want what yours does! What psi are you serving and carbing at?
Thanks!
Glad you like the vids. Back in the day I bought these "picnic tap kits" from Northern Brewer which contained a beverage disconnect, tubing, and a picnic tap. I know the length was 5' and as for the diameter I think it's just standard beverage tubing. 3/16" I believe. You can find it on their website still called "foam free tubing kit." I have the ball lock kegs. As for serving psi it's 10. I usually carbonate a single new keg at 30 psi for like a day, then turn the pressure down and open up the valves to the existing kegs and keep it at 10. Hope you can figure it out. Cheers.
Cheers!
Tell me thats the original "Denny" cooler MT from way back?
I started all grain in 2005 and I have only had one cooler. So if that is what you mean, then yeah it is.
Thats awesome..keep on keepn on Don O
"I don't think I can beep like Chip" LOL
I'm lookin at what I got. 10 lb 2 row, 1oz Amarillo, 1oz citra, us o5. Hmmmm. Going for my first try at this.
Sweet. A decocted ale. Go for it.
When Decoction is preformed you are risking on too high mashing temp that can lead to too much none fermentable. Decoction should bee made for fun of it as well as for very specific style.
Historically the Decoction was implemented because lack temp control on the mash
yeah I did that once and it will be the last time!
Hey Don O, I'm a long time fan of you and the guys vids. Thanks for all the knowledge! A calculator that I use when doing decoctions or infusions in general is Brewers Friend Quick Infusion Calculator. Works pretty spectacularly. My decoctions do tend to be a bit thinner but I think as long as the grain isn't getting directly exposed to the heat (scorching) then you're fine. Cheers!www.brewersfriend.com/quick-infusion/
Thanks for the feedback. It seems like there are many ways to do a decoction. This one worked all right but it does seem a little thick. Thanks for the calculator link. Cheers.
You just made me super thirsty;). Well don Don
Thanks Sandro.
Will some nice , more fortunate DonO fan please send him a proper mash paddle ? Lol
Ha. I have a larger stainless steel spoon I use for the kettle but yeah, just the plastic spoon is normally enough. It was a bit challenging for the decoction stirring though.
Decoction is no good for now days grain, I can bet my axx you gonna end up over heating your gain producing too much none fermentable .
That did not happen at all, and it doesn't happen with the other brewers (home and commercial) I know who do decoctions. So your speculation runs contrary to actual experience. But hey, you're entitled to your opinion.
Hm, about 40% of the German wheat breweries are still using this. Especially the ones that are know for their wheat beers.
If you got it down, it's really easy and you don't even need to control your temp anymore. (and your getting higher efficiency because you physically break the starch)
Just that quarts rule is kinda strange to me. If your doing a triple decoction do 1/3 thick mash, 2x1/3 thin mash and your pretty much on point.
WIth the simplest of math you can change that, of course