Vlad Tri

[Bryan R]

Enzymatic action last only for about 20 minutes when the enzyme being employed is working in its optimum temperature and pH band. Usually, any time stretch longer than 20 minutes does not accomplish much, unless great attention is paid to mash thickness temperature and pH.

Regarding proteinase time and temperature rest; when using modern malt it is best to choose a malt that has a Kolbach number of 36 or lower and with a percentage of protein of 8. The problem is that the malt being produced today is usually Kolbach 40 to 45 and 10 to 12 percent protein.
But that is OK, if you are using the tri-decoction method. The tri-decoction brewer will rest the 1st decoction at 122F for 20 minutes. The entire mash is not rested at 122F, only a small portion of it is. If the entire mash is rested for as little as 10 minutes, foam and head will be negatively impacted. After the decoction rests at 122F for 20 minutes it is heated to 155F. The 155F rest will be at least 20 minutes long. An iodine test can be performed. The iodine should not change color, but it may be brownish-red. If the iodine is purple-black, don't worry. Just crank up the heat and bring the decoction to a boil and boil it for at least 20 minutes. I allow the 1st decoction to boil long enough to form hot break. Then, I skim off the hot break as it forms. The 1st decoction will be used to raise the main mash temp from 95F to 130F. Soon as the main mash temp is stable at 130F, remove the 2nd decoction. The main mash will be resting in the higher end of the proteinase temperature and what will take place is that proteinase will liquefy beta glucan and release glucose. Raise the temperature of the 2nd decoction from 130F to 145F and allow it to rest at 145F for 20 minutes. Then, bring it to boiling and boil for at least 20 minutes. While the decoction is boiling, do an iodine test on the main mash. It will probably show no color change. Don't freak out, iodine can't tell the difference between glucose and maltose. The 2nd decoction will be used to raise the main mash temp from 130F to 149F, the mash will jell because when the decoctions were boiled amylo-pectin was released into solution and at 149F beta and alpha will gelatinize amylo-pectin and form A and B limit dextrines, which put body in beer. Beta is also converting glucose formed during saccarification into maltose and maltriose, and beer is made from maltose. Soon as the main mash temp is stable at 149F, remove the 3rd decoction and take it right to boiling and boil for 10 minutes. The decoction will be used to raise the main mash from 149F to 160F. Soon as the main mash stabilizes at 160F, add boiling water or fire the mash tun to raise the mash to mash out temperature.
Regarding "expert brewers". The single infusion method is a testing method used originally by the brewmaster to determine sugar content and enzymatic action of malt. Three different batches of malt were tested at three different temperatures. The three temperatures used for the tests found their way into every home brew beer recipe. The liquid formed during the tests is no different than what an "expert" infuser gets. The only difference is that the brewmaster reduced the liquid into a substance called Baker's Malt Extract and sold it to the bakery. Then, in 1978 he removed the word Baker's from the label and replaced it with Brewer's. "Experts" are expert at producing Home Brewed American Style Malt Liquor and Moonshiners wash and they are "expert" at re-testing malt.
Read Noonan's book.


Main mash:
95F
130F
149F
160F

Decoction 1:
122F
155F
Boil

Decoction 2:
145F
Boil

Decoction 3:
Boil

Mash out via infusion or direct heat.

[Bryan R]

Mapped.

[Roachbrau]

I saved a bunch of Vlad's old posts from HBT. Here we go...

Notes taken from Vlad's HBT posts

Triple Decoction Mash
If you want to mess around a little bit and add a little more character/complexity to the final product, try this:
1. Rest the mash at 95F and allow pH to stabilize. After 10 minutes, check pH. The pH measured, will come from the inherent pH of the grain. With RO, pH usually falls to 5.8/5.7. When crystal or black malt is in the mix, pH will be a little lower. If pH is 5.8/5.7, add sour malt and reduce pH to 5.5, before going to the next step.
2. Remove a portion of very thick mash (first decoction) and dump into a pot or kettle, whatever. Add enough mash liquid to keep the mash from scorching, as the heat is cranked up.
3. Raise the temperature of the decoction to 125F and rest it for 20 minutes. At 125F the protein needed (Albumin) will start to take shape.
4. Raise the temperature of the decoction to 155F (Alpha) and allow the decoction to convert, or at least rest it for 20 minutes. The mash will darken as conversion takes place. The rest temperature ties in with the pH established during the acid rest to favor Alpha.
5. Bring the decoction to boiling. The mash will jell, which is something you haven't encountered before. Now, here is where you can get exotic. Depending on how you want the final product to turn out. The decoction can be boiled past Maillard and then, Mellanoidin will form. Since, enzymatic action is nil in the main mash. The first decoction can be screwed with for quite a long time.
6. Dump the decoction into the main mash to raise the temperature from 95 to around 130F. The rest time will be based upon step 7... A rest in the lower 130s will reduce beta glucan, converting it to glucose. Proteolytic enzymes will do the job. Mash viscosity will reduce during the rest. Beta and yeast enjoy glucose.
7. When the temperature of the main mash stabilizes, remove a portion of thick mash (second decoction) and increase the temperature as quickly as possible to 145F and rest the decoction for 10 minutes. Then, boil the mash for 10 minutes. The mash will jell. Do not scorch the mash.
8. Check pH in the main mash, if it is still around 5.5, add sour malt and reduce pH to 5.3. Then, dump the decoction into the main mash to raise the temperature from 130 to 149F. The clock is now ticking. When the mash temperature stabilizes, remove a portion of thick mash (third decoction) and quickly raise the temperature to 155F and rest it for 10 minutes. Then, bring it to boiling and boil for 10 minutes.
9. Dump the decoction into the main mash to raise the temperature from 149 to 158F and rest until conversion takes place.
10. Remove the mash liquid (mash out) and bring it to boiling and dump it into the main mash to reach 169F. Rest for 10 minutes and run off the extract.

When you look at pictures of crushed grain, you'll notice chunks of white stuff. The chunks are hard starch. The starch is heat resistant and enzymes do very little to it. Even, when the grain is ground to powder, enzymes do very little to the starch. The powdered starch ends up in the bottle. The chunks contain the thing responsible for producing body and mouthfeel in beer. It is called amylopectin, which is slightly different in make up than amylose.
A few lines up, I mentioned that the mash will jell up when it is boiled. Boiling bursts the hard starch, releasing amylopectin. The amylopectin causes the mash to jell. When amylopectin forms, enzymes switch gears. They slow down.
During the several saccharification temperatures used throughout the process, Beta and Alpha will convert the amylopectin to A and B-limit dextrin. Limit dextrin creates body and mouthfeel in beer. Limit dextrin, although non-fermentable, should not be confused with non-fermentable sugar produced during single infusion, high temperature saccharification methods.

Now, you have a 10 step process which will allow your nimble brewing fingers to create the finest beer possible. It is the true, tri-decoction method. I began learning about the method in 1987 and it is the only method which I have used since that date.

More Decoction Info
The grain bill I use is comprised of 30 pounds of floor malt and acid malt as needed and added at various times. I do a low temp protein rest, 122 to 125F in the first decoction, due to the characteristics of the malt, but I only rest a small portion of the grain bill at that temperature. The rest is 20 minutes long. After the rest, I allow the decoction to fully convert at a temperature that favors alpha. Then, the mash is boiled until it jells up. Soon after the mash jells, maillard occurs and then mellanoidin is produced. Complexity begins in the first decoction, because the decoction can be worked with for a fairly long period of time. The reason that the first decoction can be screwed with for a longer period of time, is that enzymatic action in the main mash is nil. The reason it is nil, is because the first decoction is pulled from the main mash while it is in the acid rest, when enzymes are outside of the temperature range at which they become active.


Protein Sludge
As you do more and more decoctions you will discover that the mud that forms can be steely grey to brownish tan color. When the mud is gray it is thick and slightly gummy. When it is tan, it is kind of powdery. When the mud is gray, sparging becomes a little bit more difficult. If a real thick layer forms, sometimes it has to be sliced in order for the sparge water to get through it. When the mud is tan and if sparge is ran too fast, the mud will be pulled through the bed and into the boiler. The mud should be light tan in color. Tan mud is less water repellant, than gray mud.

Gray mud is indication of a failure somewhere in the brewing process during one of the rest periods, or due to a lack of a rest period, improper rest temperature or a decoction step that might have been needed, due to the characteristics of the malt, was skipped. It usually has more to do from an improper rest temperature or from skipping a step.

Next time that you are going to brew using the decoction method, try this. Remove the first decoction from the main mash during the acid rest. That way, you will have a lot more time to work with the decoction, because enzymatic action taking place in the main mash while you are fiddling around with the decoction, will be nill. The decoction can be allowed to fully convert and can be boiled for a longer length of time. The longer a decoction is boiled, protein gum is boiled away and more amylopectin is released.

To ensure that lager will have the backbone to be aged properly, amylopectin helps out. The mouthfeel and body in beer comes from Limit Dextrins formed when amylopectin is reduced by beta and alpha and not so much from non-fermentable sugar created at higher mashing temps.

As you gain experience with the decoction method, you will notice that the decoction mash will darken two times during the decoction step. The first time it occurs is during conversion and the second time is when Malliard occurs. After Malliard occurs, mellanoidin forms.

A brewer that uses the decoction method, rather than the English method, has more opportunity to experience some of the pretty cool shizz that takes place during the boiling and mashing stages, that are part of the decoction method. A decoction brewer has more control over what ends up in the bottle.

More on Protein Rests

'm not going to convert C to F so I'm not sure what 55C is in Fahrenheit. You have to be careful when choosing a temperature for a proteolysis rest. English malt is high modified with Kolbach as high as 45. To employ a proteolysis rest with malt highly modified like some English malt is, will create a very stable beer, but one lacking head retention. If you use Weyermann's standard brewers malt, not their under modified, they recommend a 20 minute rest at 122F. You can look up their recipes and you'll notice that a proteolysis rest is used. The Kolbach/SNR of their standard brewer's malt ranges between 38 and 42. If you are using Dingemann's malt, a higher temp in the proteolytic range will work. Always refer to the data sheet that comes with the malt. There are a few things on it that will help a brewer to decide on what temperatures will be needed during the proteolysis rest.
German and Belgian malt aren't high protein malt. The protein levels are brewers standard 8 to 12 percent. The high protein malts are six row and wheat, 12 to 16 percent.

You are right, the beer was loaded with protein. When the protein dropped out, head retention and flavor goes with it. Only a certain kind of protein contributes to head retention. The process used doesn't create the needed protein.

The whole business about modern malt not needing a rest in the proteolytic range was put to bed in the late 70s by Gambrinus malting. The firm disproved what the grade school teacher that came up with the nonsense, said. The problem is, what the grade school teacher spewed out, somehow entered the homebrewing world and became gospel. Just because the English method makes no concession for a proteolysis rest or that the malt is modern, doesn't mean that the rest won't benefit the final product. The English method is limited to a single temperature conversion at a set length of time. The method allows a brewer to make beer quickly and cheaply, but at the cost of producing a product that is unstable with reduced shelf life.

I use a proteolysis rest in every batch I brew. I use the tri-decoction method with under modified malt. However, there was a time in the early 90s when I couldn't procure under modified malt. I had to use standard modified European malt. I still incorporated a rest at 122 to 125F in the first decoction and a temperature around 135F, the higher end of the proteolytic range in the main mash. I didn't shorten rest times. There were no issues with head retention. I began homebrewing in 1982 going from syrup and powder to the all grain English method. Within five years I had it with brewing. The method did not produce what I wanted in a beer. The method itself became about as interesting as watching grass grow. In 1987, I began learning about the tri-decoction method and stuck with it since that day. There is no way that the English method can create the quality and stability in beer that the tri-decoction or Schmitz method creates, regardless of the malt being used. It is enzymatically, chemically and nutrient wise impossible.

[wobdee]

That's some good stuff right there. Every time I read his posts I learn something and want to try his method but just haven't done it due to the length of the brew day. I'm pretty sure he only brews with 2 malts, both floor malt Pils and/or Dark. He says he can make many German styles with these two malts by manipulating his process.

[Weizenberg]

Just try it, then try a few others. There's nothing like first hand experience. Eventually, the penny always drops.