I want to do a decoction using my electric biab system and wanted to see how other people would do it.
Right now I’m thinking heat the water with my Anvil Foundry and mash in a separate pot. After that scoop some out and put it back in the Foundry to boil.
Any reason this wouldn’t work or better ways to do it?
Why not mash in the Foundry, then pull thick mash to boil in a separate pot? That’s how I’d go about it.
This is exactly what I would do (I also use a Foundry…haven’t decocted yet, but was thinking about it recently and this was the procedure I settled on).
Which one? The OP or mine?
Yours, Denny! (Quoted text got disappeared…)
That way definitely sounds like the better way to do it Denny, but I don’t currently have a way to heat to heat the pot. Maybe I should borrow a burner to do it though.
Could you do it on stovetop or a hot plate?
You can find relatively inexpensive induction plates these days (~$40) and those are easy to store and use whereever.
Have a Foundry myself, and while I only decoct occassionally, what I do is use a long handle ladle to pull grain out and do the decoction on the stove.
My issue though, is I don’t seem to see much change in temp on the Foundry when adding back. Did a double decoction this past weekend, first one was boiled for 20 minutes, added it back to main mash slowly, stirring the mash after each addition and while it should have brought me from 148 to 163, it only increased temp to 152 so had to use Foundry power to get up to the right temp. Second decoction, a 5 min boil, when added back should have got me to 170, it only got me to 165. Makes me wonder if BeerSmith decoction volumes are off.
There is a modified decoction method, the Earl’sche method, that may be perfect for All in One systems. Basically you mash in with only 2/3 of the grain bill and half of the water, then keep the other half of water cold until needed. Do a 30 min rest at 149, 30 at 162. Check for saccification with an iodine test, if good, bring to a boil for 30, leaving the grain pipe and grain in the unit. After the 30 add the cold other 50% of water, it should drop temp below 149. If not, add more cold water. Then repeat the two mash steps and then do a mash out at 172. Pull the grain after mash out and bring wort to a boil like normal.
I have a Foundry myself, so am curious about this also.
How did you measure the mash temp? Did you use a separate thermometer, or the built-in one? I could imagine the latter case wouldn’t necessarily reflect temperature increases right away, especially if you use the grain basket. I’d expect major temperature change there, and less showing up in the probe at the base of the system. If you don’t recirculate, the difference should be even more acute.
That’s my total speculation, of course - the alternative is that decoction volumes are off in BeerSmith!
I use a Foundry as well and decoct most of my lagers. My method is a bit unorthodox but seems to be working. When I prepare the brewing water the night before, I draw 2 liters out and put it in the fridge. On brew day, once the beta rest is finished, I use a strainer to pull a thick portion of mash in the decoction pot. Once the decoction boil is complete, I pour the 2 liters of cold water into the decoction, and then gently pour it back into the Foundry. With the cold water addition, the new mash temp actually goes down a bit, but the Foundry brings it up to my alpha rest temp. Using this method, I don’t worry about the volume of the decoction or whether it raises the mash temp the correct amount, I just let the Foundry do its thing. One additional bonus, no more wrist burns when I pour the decoction back into the Foundry. Like I said, this is not exactly a proper Germanic process, but it’s working quite well for me.
I decoct like Denny suggested, using a 1500 watt induction unit with good results.
Hey Andy, I do rely on the Anvil temp probe, but usually wait like 5-10 minutes to see if the temp reading changes. Will definitely try using seperate thermometer next time. Btw, I enjoy reading your beer blog!
Cool! Yeah, worth a try if you have another thermometer handy.
Thanks for the kind words about the blog!