Double Double Decoction Dunkel Day

[Adr_0]

So I made a video...

My rig is fairly easy to use (2V RIMS) and decided to challenge it with two dunkels, each a double decoction (protein rest at 57, 63 rest + D1, 70 rest + D2, mash out and sparge).

Each recipe is a Munich II base with some pils. The first has a bit of chocolate, while the second has some dark crystal. Each bittered with German Magnum to about 21-22IBU with a bit at flameout as well because it smells delicious.

Neither would strictly meet the dunkel characteristics of the Weihenstephaner (SG too low, too much choc, too much crystal, too much pils, possibly too much in the aroma) but should be tasty nonetheless.

It's been a while since I've done a decoction so it was good to do it again. I don't remember it being hard and this time wasn't hard either, so I encourage you to give it a go if your malts would benefit and you have a suitable recipe. I used a $65 induction cooktop on eBay which did the trick magically. Be careful when using metal temperature probes as they will 'induct' and get stupidly hot (erroneous readings) so keep them right at the edge and ideally turn it off when you take measurements.

https://youtu.be/TaNdOcLz7cA

I actually came up a bit short on the dark crystal. The plan was to get the colour identical (34EBC) but left out 20g of the crystal. I actually thought that your eye would only register a ~10EBC difference or so, so it might be something else... but the second is distincly lighter:


And a good pic of the decocted grain being added back in:

 

[Adr_0]

And this is the induction cooktop. No affiliation etc, but these are available for <$100 on ebay: a 2000W 'portable' (240V must be within 1m or so) cooktop with variable power settings. It's not super-accurate but it's definitely good enough for doing decoctions if you have a suitable pot.

https://youtu.be/KeKt41OrIuI

 

[idzy]

Thanks for taking the time to shoot the vid and post on AHB.

And this is the induction cooktop. No affiliation etc, but these are available for <$100 on ebay: a 2000W 'portable' (240V must be within 1m or so) cooktop with variable power settings. It's not super-accurate but it's definitely good enough for doing decoctions if you have a suitable pot.

https://youtu.be/KeKt41OrIuI

Got one of these on the watch list for exactly this purpose, good to have a fellow brewer validate that it is a good product and perfect for the intended use. Thank you!

 

[antiphile]

You're a good man, Adr_0. I do a lot of decoctions (double and triple), and there's no substitute if you really want to get a lot of maltiness from the beer. The other huge advantage for me, is that beersmith just pops up the volumes automagically, and I've never been over 1C away from the next step temperature.

Of course, it says more about my brewing technique than the method, but the only drawback is it makes my brewday very very long. By the time I've stuffed around, the mash often takes me 3 hours or more.

 

[Adr_0]

I think the little cooktop is awesome. If you have a RIMS, HERMS, BIAB or Grainfather/Braumeister - all of these you can use this little cooktop with. I actually went a touch short on the volumes in Beersmith to make sure I didn't overshoot and instead use the RIMS to bring up the last little bit of temp. I normally run recirc flow at about 6-7lpm including with 2/3 wheat, but got a few stuck mashes once I added the thick, mushy decoction back in. The BIAB bag was great as I could just keep using the spoon to move it around but the clarity probably suffered. I need to work on the bed setup as my runoff isn't as clear as it should be, so I should do some work on the wort distribution and a false bottom to set up the bed properly.

The video is not really super-informative and not very well done, but hopefully people can get something out of it... RIMS isn't all that bad if you measure just past the tip of the element (even if you lose the pump) and it's got fast response times, and the BIAB bag on top of the manifold/false bottom is a second filtration screen and allows you to easily pull the grain after the mash and clean in place. I would like to replace all the copper with stainless but need to find some capillary fittings...