Finally First Decoction - Did not go well

[MaineBrewer]

After spending an ordeal in the hospital and recovering from hernia surgery, I was finally back to brewing.

I brewed a Schwarzbier this morning doing my first double decoction. Unfortunately it did not go as well as I had hoped.
I managed to get my infusion temp spot on, but that was the only temp that seemed to work for me.

After each decoction I did not make it to the next desired temp rest. I'm not sure what happened, but it just didn't pan out for me. It could be that I was doing a small 3gallon batch (I am on weight lifting restriction - can't do 5gal batches yet) and there was lots of head space in the Mash Tun. I think on my first decoction, I didn't have quite enough mass to heat up to the next level.

Another thing that I was not as happy with was the amount of mess that was made. It's not that big of a deal because messes can be cleaned up. But it was just another downside.

BUT - at the end of the day, I had hit my batch volume and missed my OG by only .001. Not too shabby.

I seem to have a little better luck hitting my temps using infusion method. Is there a noticeable difference in flavor to doing infusion mashes vs decoction?

[Bryan R]

Always pull more decoction than you need, you can always let it cool and add it back, but not the other way around. 50-60% is a good rule of thumb.

[MaineBrewer]

Ok. I'll take that into consideration. I'll probably give it one more try. (My first all grain was not very successful...)

thanks

[lhommedieu]

[ajk]

It gets easier with practice. Worth it in my opinion.