I Teach You HOW TO DECOCTION MASH (Full Tutorial)

Рет қаралды 16,408

Күн бұрын

Want to get the most out of your malt? Want to take your beer's malt flavor to the next level? Want to brew a Czech or German beer in the most authentic way possible? Decoction mashing is the way to do this. In this video I will show you step-by-step how to perform this difficult but rewarding technique!
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00:00 Intro and welcome
00:25 What is decoction mashing?
2:09 Why would anyone still want to do a decoction mash?
4:28 HOW TO DECOCTION MASH
4:40 Equipment needed and pulling decoction
5:47 Calculating decoction volume and rule of thumb
6:56 Single vs double vs triple decoction schedules
8:11 Decoction thickness
9:01 Decoction starch conversion step
9:40 Decoction boil length
10:12 Stir stir stir
11:06 Returning decoction to mash
12:22 Doing multiple decoctions
13:08 Significant efficiency increases
14:03 Aren't you concerned about extracting tannins?
14:54 How are the enzymes not denatured?
15:44 Why is efficiency so high?
16:09 Do you REALLY need to do this??
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#homebrewing #decoction #decoctionmash #howto #homebrew #beer #brewing #homebrewing #clawhammersupply #graintoglass #BIAB #allgrain

Пікірлер: 120

@PatrickSandy78 7 ай бұрын

Another great vid.

@jasonroos5781 8 ай бұрын

Very enjoyable vid man, thx.

@The_Bearded_B 8 ай бұрын

Great video

@intuitivehomebrew3199 8 ай бұрын

Every homebrewer should try a decoction mash at least once! The first one I did was the most delicious Oktoberfest lager I ever made. I still dream of this beer to this day, it was THAT good! Haven't done one in forever, maybe I'll wait until my homebrew anniversary this year. cheers mate!

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Agreed! It makes a profound impact on the beer!

@TheBruSho 8 ай бұрын

Never brewed a decoction beer, nor really wanted to but you bring up some good points so maybe some day I will revisit this and give it a go!

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

I still stand by that it is worth doing at least once!

@Wind_Ninja_Jubei 8 ай бұрын

Your one of my favourite brew channels. Been watching for years. I sometimes am on and off with the hobby myself but your videos are always helpful and informative. Easy to watch.

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

That is awesome! Thank you!

@tommanning7337 8 ай бұрын

Awesome, tons of knowledge as usual!!!! 😎👍🏻👍🏻🍺🍺🍺🍺

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! Cheers!

@discooby1 8 ай бұрын

Great educational video! Decoction is now on my brew list! Thank you for the great content, you're awesome!

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

I'm glad you enjoy the channel so much! This process is absolutely worth trying at least once!

@MatthesGardens 8 ай бұрын

Great video as usual. On my brewing bucket list to do...

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Go for it!

@jamesspinks716 8 ай бұрын

Thank you, I’ll give it a go.

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Best of luck and enjoy!

@revrinn1324 8 ай бұрын

I recently did a decoction mash after watching another of your videos where you did one and the flavor of the resulting beer was excellent. Thank you for outlining the process in detail.

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

That is awesome! Glad it worked out so great for you!

@tensky 8 ай бұрын

With some smooth jazz on the background as I write this. Well, I went and did it. Three brews back-to-back-to-back and while I didn't quite hit my targets for OG or FG, it was still a lot of fun and a lot of work. I woke up, brewed the beers and went to bed pretty much as soon as clean up was done :D The beers I made are Belgian Abbey Ale, Irish Red Ale and a Smoke beer (first time using this kind of malt and ended being way too careful with it, no smokiness detected). It was good experience and now that I have that experience, I know that I'll limit myself for 2 beer next time.

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Sounds like an exhausting but productive weekend, well done!

@trevor8049 8 ай бұрын

Im going to give it a go my next brew day. I have always wanted to try it.

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Its well worth trying, I wish you the best of luck!

@wedgtton 8 ай бұрын

Love your video as usual and agree with everything you said in particular how it puts you in touch with the past, the feeling of brewing as well as the smells and texture changes with each step. I decoct at least 50% of my brews including most lagers and wheat beers. Something I read was that in the past was that decoction mashing was also necessary as they used smaller copper kettles to directly heat the mash and larger wooden tuns for the main mash. These smaller copper kettles were very expensive compared to the much larger wooden mash tuns that could not be directly heated. Keep up the great work!

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Thats true! It really does change the way you connect with the beer.

@zymurgist66 7 ай бұрын

I have been planning to brew a Czech Dark for awhile and waiting for this video to drop for the recipe and "tips and tricks". Great video and now more excited to get brewing! Now to buy the ingredients and get the brew date scheduled. Thanks.

@TheApartmentBrewer 7 ай бұрын

Best of luck!

@robertscott6615 8 ай бұрын

Best homebrew channel. No BS

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

I appreciate that!

@herbbowers769 8 ай бұрын

I am going to make a Czech Amber. And, now I guess I will be doing a decoction mash. Thanks Steve!

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Sounds like you're well on your way to enjoying some amazing beer!

@ianlaker9161 8 ай бұрын

"Impressing people who think they're important"🤣. Yep, there's a few of them around. Fortunately not too many in homebrewing circles. I did a decoction once for a Pilsner Urquell clone. It was gorgeously malty, toffeeish and moreish. I should revisit it again one day when I can be bothered.

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Pilsner Urquell is very famously triple decoction mashed and its a huge part of its flavor! It is an amazing thing!

@ianlaker9161 8 ай бұрын

@@TheApartmentBrewer indeed!

@goodolarchie 3 ай бұрын

Standard handheld colander is amazing for decoction since you'll leave most of your liquid wort behind.

@PatrickBuckles 8 ай бұрын

never thought I'd hear Maillard reaction in a beer brewing vid... but then again... why wouldn't I? great vid as usual

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

It's a huge part of getting great malt flavor!

@seriomarkj 8 ай бұрын

Can't wait to see the tasting video

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

That will be a few weeks in the future but coming off the fermenter its tasting awesome

@scotttippetts3794 8 ай бұрын

I routinely do a variation on this, a quasi-decoction step-mash. I mash BIAB in an Igloo cooler, starting in the mid-140s (~145) and boil some water separately on the stove. After about 15-20 minutes, I drain a small percentage of my mash liquid [no grain!] through the tap, into a small pot of already boiling water, return that combined [small] volume to the stove until it reaches boiling again, and then return it back into the Igloo, thereby raising the mash up to about 149F. Repeat every 10-15 [-20] minutes until I've step-mashed it up to about 160F. So it hardly ever really boils, thus not a true decoction (but I just don't want to work that hard). I guess what I do is only a semi-quasi-decoction? It does give me highly fermentable worts (I like all my beers to finish fairly dry or with low FG) and more malty. So it's less work than true decoction, but more than if I did just single-infusion. It's a reasonable tradeoff for me. Love the efficiency, love the melanoidins, love the FG. (Love the higher ABV!)

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Sounds very interesting and thank you for sharing!

@yonagwy5826 8 ай бұрын

Enjoyed the video. I love and hate it. Lol. But it adds what I call love to the beer.

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

That is why I still do it. Its time and effort invested directly into the beer and that still makes it taste different to me haha

@vruychev 8 ай бұрын

Excellent! BTW to eliminate the stress of possibly scorching, I use an induction plate. To burn the grain, one must really REALLY try with this heater. It is so reliable that I do not even stir, which makes the brew day not as stressful and tiring. Cheers, Steve, awesome content as always.

@Pingwinho 8 ай бұрын

So you're just using a lower power output? Because induction has nothing to do with scorching.

@anthonysamuel4790 8 ай бұрын

Would a false bottom work?

@vruychev 8 ай бұрын

@@Pingwinho I honestly put on sear and once the mash starts boiling I adjust to lower setting to only maintain the boil. The reason it does not burn is because the whole bottom of the pot is heated, whereas the electric or gas heats "spots" of the bottom. Use a double thick bottom pot and you will never burn the grain.... or at least you have to try very hard to do so.

@vruychev 8 ай бұрын

@@anthonysamuel4790 a fellow homebrewer here uses induction heating for mashing, and yes, it works great because of the responsiveness.

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

That's a great idea!

@finspin4984 8 ай бұрын

Excited for the brew day vid next

@finspin4984 8 ай бұрын

I have a single decocted dunkles bock + single decocted helles lagering now

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Very nice! Yeah the brew day video will come out in a few weeks

@Daniel-zq3wq 8 ай бұрын

Ahhh you almost got me mentioning the pH factor of tannin extraction, snuck it in there later in the video. Glad you got it in there, that's the bit that at least puts me at ease knowing a thick enough decoction won't make an astringent mess. Also thanks for the video, this is one of those things that you can't really explain very well without just showing someone the process. How much you stir and how dark you expect it to get are something you kinda have to feel and it's very different depending on setup. Seeing it on video is a great start to know you're in the ballpark when you try it yourself!

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Yup, its one of those things that doesn't quite logically make sense, but clearly is observable in reality. Glad this was so helpful!

@ElementaryBrewingCo 8 ай бұрын

I’ve done it once, and really enjoyed the process! The only reason I don’t do it more often is it takes a whole lot of time, cheers, Steve !

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Its a lot of work for sure, but worth it in different ways. Cheers!

@gigschlich9487 7 ай бұрын

Thanks for this. I’ve been reading the brew bibles and watching other videos on YT, but yours is the most straightforward tutorial I’ve found so far. Getting ready to get my feet wet with a witbier recipe that calls for a single decoction. I’m still using an Igloo cooler as my mash tun, so I was like, “How do I get from from the first rest to the next?” I know some brewers build a heat stick for this, but that seemed a bit too much for me. Seeing the steps done gives me the brass to give it a go. Salúd!

@TheApartmentBrewer 7 ай бұрын

Glad it is so helpful, thats the goal! Best of luck with the decoction, it is a decent amount of work but well worth it.

@stephenatohi 7 ай бұрын

Notch is a top 3 brewery ever for me. Though many of their beers are world class, their 12 Plato Standard is one of my favorite beers I've ever tried.

@TheApartmentBrewer 7 ай бұрын

Fully agreed!

@gerardnatale2387 8 ай бұрын

I just bought some melanoidin malt to try for the first time. Maybe I will try a decoction mash later on to see the difference. Cheers!

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

It's worth a shot!

@rici_22 8 ай бұрын

Definitely keen to give this a shot! I am a glutton for punishment 😂 Cheers for the video Mr Apartment B!

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Haha sounds right up your alley!

@Sleeeeepy_D 8 ай бұрын

When I made my last Czech lager I did the full triple decoction but I never adjusted my efficiency to account for the decoction bump. My OG was supposed to be 1.055 and it ended up being 1.069! I diluted 5 gallons to what I wanted and then took the excess and diluted it to 1.032 to make a leichtbier and they both turned out great!

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

It definitely bumps things up a lot!

@OAK_MTN 7 ай бұрын

I'm giving this a shot next time I'm brewing my dark saison 😏

@TheApartmentBrewer 7 ай бұрын

Great idea!

@jafarym77 8 ай бұрын

I got two lagers coming up.And I'm planning on doing decoction for both.

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Excellent, best of luck!

@JPch108 8 ай бұрын

Ja fiz mil vezes .obrigado... cerveja farol

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Stick around and find out in a few weeks! Samples coming off the fermenter are awesome

@herbstava 8 ай бұрын

Great explanation as always! What are your thoughts about a decoction mash for a Vienna lager?

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Do it

@danmistry07 8 ай бұрын

if you have an overefficient mash due to these decoction steps why not just add clean water post boil? more beer and then closer to OG you wanted right ?

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Thats an approach of course, but then you may exceed target volumes.

@richardguernsey908 8 ай бұрын

When you do the decoctions, do you only use the base malt portion of the grist, or are the specialty grains included also? Are there any specialty grains to NOT add when doing a decoction?

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

You can, but you shouldn't have any issues decoction mashing anything except for very dark crystal malts and roasted malts.

@trentharmon7003 8 ай бұрын

I find that a tripple decoction adds Carmel flavors and gives my beer better head retention!

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Triple decoction is quite an undertaking but it definitely adds flavor. I've seen a lot of claims that it helps with head retention as well.

@liquidgold2735 2 ай бұрын

What do you recommend for an initial mash thickness when starting out a decoction mash? I typically do a 1.3 quarts / lb of grains. Would you recommend closer to a 1 or 1.2 quarts / lb?

@TheApartmentBrewer 2 ай бұрын

Usually decoction mashes start out way thinner, around 2 qt/lb or even thinner. The decoction itself will still be quite thick, closer to 1 qt/lb

@goodolarchie 3 ай бұрын

Also thought you were making Czech dark / Tmave. No carafa in the mash? Did you cap it at the sparge?

@TheApartmentBrewer 3 ай бұрын

Traditionally for dark lagers the carafa is added at the mashout or sparge, it will be harsh if it goes through the decoction.

@XkannsenX 8 ай бұрын

Very good video. Too much potential mess for me, I will never try that 🤣

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

I suppose that is a risk haha but you should give it go sometime at least once!

@MarexHq 8 ай бұрын

Hi, maybe a stupid question: why not boil the hole mash In one time? Thanx for your channel! Realy like it.

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

You wouldn't want to do that until the end of the mash if you did it that way, but the real issue would be you would start to extract tannins that way with the different grist to liquor ratio affecting the pH and the slow speed at which you would pass through to a boil.

@AlbeeSoaring 8 ай бұрын

Great video. This is a better video then your first one. I did a decoction a few months ago using your first video. I really enjoy doing the decoction mash on beers. It definitely lets me feel more involved in brewing a beer and not just steeping a giant batch of tea.

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Yeah I really needed an updated tutorial on it. It is a very special process!

@AlbeeSoaring 8 ай бұрын

@@TheApartmentBrewer I agree. Its also not as complicated as most think it is. For me once I did it I was shocked that it only added a little time to my brew day, but I feel the flavor I got from it was well worth it.

@paulandersonanderson1444 8 ай бұрын

Hi Steve, I once set my Brewzilla up to go from Mashout to a boil and then went out. I got back later than I planned and my mash had just started to boil. It was the best lager I’ve made. Do you think the boiling of the grains had anything to do with it?

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Wow, thats very interesting. I would be hesitant to pin that as the reason since it only just started to boil. I would be concerned about tannin extraction if it was the entire mash that was boiling

@BroswithBeerandPants 8 ай бұрын

With the increase in efficiency, is there a reason this isn’t standard for imperials or other types of beer where efficiency seems to drop drastically due to high amounts of adjuncts?

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Great question! I knows it's been done for imperial stouts, Belgians and Baltic porters but I couldn't see it doing well in imperial IPAs

@oliverekeland7003 6 ай бұрын

Is decoction mash a bad idea in a Belgian triple instead of adding melanoidin or aromatic malt? What about Belgian dubbel/quad?

@TheApartmentBrewer 6 ай бұрын

Not at all, it will definitely broaden the character of any strong Belgian style beer.

@paulhoule5525 8 ай бұрын

Question: I pull the grain after the one hour mash to boil?

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

If you're asking if you can do a single decoction between a one hour mash and the boil, the answer is yes, but I wouldn't use the entire grain bill as a decoction.

@ElCaminoMasLargoBrewing 8 ай бұрын

Yeah, I have a question, Steve. Why do you hate yourself so much that you would do a decoction? 😂 Great video, though! It might be a placebo, but I too am convinced that decoction really does improve my pilsners. That being said, I tend to just live with the results of step mashing and longer boils, like you pointed out. Also, Notch is freaking awesome! They’re a must stop for me when I visit Boston.

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

Hahaha its not that punishing! It really is quite the process but soon I'll be trying it out with a Czech Pils! Notch has some of the best lagers in the Northeast!

@PetraKann 8 ай бұрын

100degC is a bit low for optimum Mallaird Reactions to take place. Typically Mallaird reactions are suited in the temperature range 140-165 degC. You will get some reactivity at 100 degC but it will be minimal. Other reactions not related to the Malliard process are taking place Are you sure you’re not using the elements or heating surface at the base of your kettle (if you’re using propane) to reach elevated temperatures above 100 degC that semi-scorch your decoction giving you the colour and caramalisation effect! (Heating element surfaces can reach temperatures above 220 degC at full power)

@Daniel-zq3wq 8 ай бұрын

100C is boiling temp, but the grain in direct contact with the heated portion of the kettle exceeds that, otherwise scorching would never happen. Maltose caramelization happens around 180 so that's not happening either if you're going to get stuck on the boiling temp. Both are likely to happen depending on the heating rate, but maillard will objectively occur first.

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

I imagine these maillard reactions happen at a much slower rate at lower temps as well considering the boil is going on for 15-30 minutes. But I wouldn't be surprised if the surface temp of the bottom of the kettle with the flame on it is well above 100 C. The problem with immersed electric elements is that you can't easily get the grain off the extremely hot parts and that will lead to scorching/burning very fast

@dbarrington1 8 ай бұрын

so, the risk of heating your mash above 168 degrees is you pull out tannins.... so if you take some of the mash (and I assume grains) and boil them.... how are you not getting those tannins that make for an astringent beer?

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

14:03 explains it

@jasonroos5781 8 ай бұрын

I have tried everything I can think of to cheat and get that melanoiden flavor while avoiding a decoction mash and nothing works. Melanoiden malt gives it -- for lack of a better way to describe it -- 'sour milk' vibe that ruins it for me. I do BIAB and haven't made the additional equipment purchase needed to do a proper decoction. Anyone else have any luck avoiding a decoction?

@jasonroos5781 8 ай бұрын

Having made it further along in the video now -- I supposed i should try the melanoiden malt with a 90m boil... maybe that'll make a difference. Hmm.

@TheApartmentBrewer 8 ай бұрын

That may actually be indicative of using too much melanoidin malt. Maybe try less and see if that makes a difference?

@jasonroos5781 7 ай бұрын

Interesting idea I honestly should have considered hah. I used 1 lb or 5.3% of the grist in a dopplebock. Thanks for the idea, ill do more research. 😊