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Author Topic: Decoction Magic: Taste the Magic  (Read 3267 times)

Offline homebrewdad7

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Re: Decoction Magic: Taste the Magic
« Reply #15 on: July 20, 2015, 01:22:00 pm »
Decoction lends itself to missing rest temps a bit, but if everything else is done right, if you have a solid process in place, you ought to be able to do one without a thermometer and still make great beer.

That said, I record so many little details into Beersmith when I brew.  Temperature to the tenth of a degree, taken from three different spots.  10 minute pH, to a hundredth place.  60 minute pH, to a hundredth place.  Salt and acid additions to decimal parts of a gram. 

Going with no temp readings might drive me a little nuts.

Offline dcbc

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Re: Decoction Magic: Taste the Magic
« Reply #16 on: August 11, 2015, 08:23:32 am »
I brew a lot of German styles and have done several decoctions (single, double, triple), I rarely if ever do them these days mainly because, like Denny, I cannot discern much, if any, difference in the final product.

But also, similar to Denny, I'm lazy about things like this when I don't think it's a big flavor contributor.  So nowadays, when I get that rare, wild decoction hair, I do a single decoction at mash out.  I pull enough grist to fit into an oversized stainless mixing bowl.  I drop that mixing bowl (with some loose foil over it to keep grain from clogging things up) into a pressure cooker, and let it go at 15 psi for 15 minutes.  No stirring necessary and it works like a charm.



I've tried to hit temperature rests with decoction and have concluded that it's for the birds.  Blichmann TOP is much better at this. :)
« Last Edit: August 11, 2015, 08:27:13 am by dcbc »
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Offline ynotbrusum

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Re: Decoction Magic: Taste the Magic
« Reply #17 on: August 13, 2015, 05:22:14 am »
At a recent club brew tasting almost everyone decocted their hefeweizens and most did fly sparging.  The final consensus taste results selected a non-decocted, batch sparged beer as the winner.  Admittedly, all three of the top beers were really good, whether decocted or not (no one was told whether a beer was single infusion mashed or batch sparged).  The tasting was not BJCP judged, but the tasting participants were mostly BJCP ranked.

I appreciate the decoction allure, but I am not yet convinced that it makes a difference in taste...though I prefer a local Helles that is made commercially near here that is decocted.  So, go figure.
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Offline homoeccentricus

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Re: Decoction Magic: Taste the Magic
« Reply #18 on: August 13, 2015, 05:53:53 am »
A few comments....

1. Melanoidins are colors, not flavors
2.  adding melanoidin malt to "mimic" a decoction presupposes that a decoction has some effect on flavor
3.  I have done blind tastings of decocted vs. non decocted beers 15-20 times and never could pick out a difference in flavor on a repeated basis.  When I did my decoction experiment years ago, that was also the conclusion if of over 40 other blind tasters.  Now, I'm not saying that I and all those other people couldn't be wrong, but I have to admit that seems far fetched.
4.  Like anything in homebrewing, the best reason to do a decoction is becasue you enjoy the process, not becasue it will necessarily improve your beer.  We do this as a hobby and as such, if it's fun, do it!

I've been thinking about brewing the tafelbier from your book. Why is there decoction? Blame Drew?
Frank P.

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Offline denny

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Re: Decoction Magic: Taste the Magic
« Reply #19 on: August 13, 2015, 12:03:19 pm »
A few comments....

1. Melanoidins are colors, not flavors
2.  adding melanoidin malt to "mimic" a decoction presupposes that a decoction has some effect on flavor
3.  I have done blind tastings of decocted vs. non decocted beers 15-20 times and never could pick out a difference in flavor on a repeated basis.  When I did my decoction experiment years ago, that was also the conclusion if of over 40 other blind tasters.  Now, I'm not saying that I and all those other people couldn't be wrong, but I have to admit that seems far fetched.
4.  Like anything in homebrewing, the best reason to do a decoction is becasue you enjoy the process, not becasue it will necessarily improve your beer.  We do this as a hobby and as such, if it's fun, do it!

I've been thinking about brewing the tafelbier from your book. Why is there decoction? Blame Drew?

Blame both of us...neither does decoctions or believes they have any affect on flavor.  But it's a traditional way of doing that (so Drew says!) so we put it in.  Our thoughts on decoction are also in the book, so peole can choose whether to do it or not.
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