[Brewing Tip] Using Decoction as a “Throttle on the Maltiness” of Your Lagers
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- Why bother with decoction? In this clip, Hagen Dost of Dovetail in Chicago explains the mash process for their Franconian-inspired Lager-as well as how to adjust a decoction regime to get the Maillard reactions and intensity of malt flavor you want in your own lagers.
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GREAT VIDEO GUYS!!!! I would love to drink your lager, but I live too far away. It is AWESOME that you guys use the decoction method. In my opinion it is the most interesting brewing method on the planet. Unlike the single temperature infusion method, the decoction method opens up a wide palette for a brewer to work from. A decoction brewers artistic license is endless. Soaking malt in hot water for an hour is as interesting as watching grass grow. Besides, only two things can be controlled with a brewing method that uses a single temperature, the amount of glucose and the amount of sweet tasting, nonfermenting types of sugar that form during liquefaction.
I began learning the triple decoction method 38 years ago from Wulf and started with lager. I stuck with the decoction method for one reason, the brewing method produces authentic, ale and lager. That way I am honest when I say the bottle contains lager. I don't use the step mash method which is quick and easy because it produces pseudo, ale and lager. The single temperature infusion method is used in grain distillation. I won't use the brewing method and tell someone the bottle contains ale and lager when the brewing method produces low quality, moonshiners beer.
I use only 50 Kg of malt per batch of lager because I have a small 210-liter brewing system, but the brewing system is designed for the decoction method. The system has five vessels, four kettles are direct fired, the Lauter Tun isn't fired.
When I brew lager, I skip the albuminous rest in the main mash because I use low protein, malt, but sometimes the protein content in the malt is 10 percent, then I rest the first decoction at 52, 53, for 20 minutes. Alpha is active at the temperature, and I don't want to activate the enzyme in the main mash early on in the brewing process. Also, depending on malt modification, when an albuminous rest is used in the entire volume of mash, the final product thins out too much.
This is the way that I start the first decoction, it makes it a little easier. I remove 40 percent of the malt and crush it into the decoction kettle. The remainder of the malt is crush into the mashtun. That way the same amount of husk, grits and flour are in each vessel, except for more of each in the larger volume of malt. I start out with 2 liters of water per Kg of malt, a thick mash preserves enzymes. Enzymes work quicker in a thin mash and denature quicker. I use brewing water warm enough to bring the temperature of the mash in each vessel to 35, 37. I let the mash soak for a few hours and check pH. If mash pH is in the ballpark, I won't use any Sauer Malz. The acid rest doesn't need to be used, but Alpha is active and working slowly during the rest. Some extra glucose forms during the rest giving Beta more sugar to convert into maltose and maltotriose during conversion. Then, I raise the decoction temperature to 52, 53 for 20 minutes, proteolytic enzymes activate, and Alpha speeds up forming more glucose for Beta to deal with. Then I increase mash temperature to 68 and rest the decoction for 20 to 30 minutes. I only use the high temperature in the first decoction, which produces enough sweet sugar for my liking for the entire batch of beer. Then, I crank up the temperature to boil the mash, which I boil for no less than one hour or depending on the type of beer until Maillard reaction occurs. I add the boiling mash into the main mash which is thick and resting at a low temperature to preserve enzymes, to reach 60, and rest the main mash for 40 minutes. As soon as the main mash temperature stabilizes at 60, I remove the second decoction and bring it to boiling. I only want amylopectin to burst, I don't want enzymatic action to occur during the rest. I boil the mash long enough to match the 40 minutes it takes for the conversion rest, then I add the decoction into the main mash. When conversion occurs, secondary fermentation takes place. Do you guys use a secondary fermenter? If not, conversion didn't occur. If the beer has to be artificially carbonated, conversion didn't occur.
The next temperature is important because it has to be high enough for dextrinization to occur but low enough to preserve Alpha. During the rest Alpha has more to do. The enzyme liquefies simple starch, amylose but also liquefies complex starch, amylopectin. When Alpha liquefies simple starch, the higher the temperature the quicker Alpha denatures leaving the reducing end longer, which makes beer sweeter. During dextrinization and depending on how long Alpha lasts more A limit dextrin or B limit dextrin forms. The rest can be anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes long depending on how high the rest temperature is.
The last decoction contains mostly thin mash, which I boil for a few minutes then add it back into the main mash. That is the time when I thin down the main mash to reduce viscosity. In Pils I'll add 1 liter of water per Kg malt, sometimes. The amount of water I add depends on mash viscosity. I don't mash out because by the time the end of the brewing process is reached Alpha denatured and since the mash is thin there is no reason to crank up the temperature to reduce viscosity.
I brew three batches of beer a year, Pils, American Lager and Oktoberfest. For Pils I use light malt and produce dextrinous extract. For lager, a blend of malts and not so high of a dextrinous extract. Oktoberfest is the tricky one, I use light and dark malt and screw with dextrinization temperature. The beer that I produce naturally carbonates during conditioning. I don't use sugar or CO2 injection for carbonation.
That is the way that I make beer; it is artistic license offered by the decoction method.
If you guys have a mash stirrer, does it have an ammeter in the controller? The thicker the mash the higher the current draw on the motor and when the mash is the right viscosity you will know it by the ampere reading on the meter. The same with the malt crusher I have. If the ammeter needle isn't between the two marks on the meter face when I start crushing malt, I have to adjust the rollers. There is no guess work or using feeler gauges to set the rollers.
Great video. Have been to your brewery in Ravenswood a number times - your beers are lights-out good. In my research, it seems most double decoction schedules I've seen do the protein rest, decoct to bring up to 147ish F and then decoct to bring up to mashout temp of 168ish. In this case, your decoctions result in two rests at the beta/alpha temperature ranges (147F to 161F) and then have a standard step to mashout temp. Does your approach result in more complete conversion and/or do you see anything wrong with the mash schedule I mentioned being familiar with?
Is 30% the target decoction no matter your brew size?
At least on a homebrew level, the rule of thumb is 1 qt per lb of grist. And generally I pull mostly grain (very thick) for the decoction so fewer of the enzymes in the main mash get denatured.
@@John-ob8vm Thanks 🍻