A possible Decoction method for LODO..?
Posted: Wed May 17, 2017 11:20 am
Decoctions are pretty much out the window with lodo mashing for obvious reasons. Impossible to manually transfer the decoction back and forth without significant o2 ingress, and the equipment/engineering to pump from below with both vessels is not viable on the small scale.
However.... I had a thought. What if one mashes as per normal, changing nothing. Then during the transfer of wort to the kettle, one leaves behind just enough liquid in the mash tun to perform a decoction (with the entire spent grain bill) whilst the kettle heats up for the boil. Then simply transfer the decocted wort to the kettle when done. (This would obviously require a two vessel setup).
Depending on how long you decoct for, you may need a slightly higher water to grain mashing ratio to account for the evaporation of heating both mash tun and kettle simultaneously. Hopping may be a little tricky too. But imagine you did a long, 60 min decoction, in parallel with your reduced volume kettle boil. I can't see why you couldn't split the hop charges accross both vessels, then gently pump the decocted wort over to the kettle when done for cooling and transfer to FV.
Does this make any sense ? Have I lost my mind ?
However.... I had a thought. What if one mashes as per normal, changing nothing. Then during the transfer of wort to the kettle, one leaves behind just enough liquid in the mash tun to perform a decoction (with the entire spent grain bill) whilst the kettle heats up for the boil. Then simply transfer the decocted wort to the kettle when done. (This would obviously require a two vessel setup).
Depending on how long you decoct for, you may need a slightly higher water to grain mashing ratio to account for the evaporation of heating both mash tun and kettle simultaneously. Hopping may be a little tricky too. But imagine you did a long, 60 min decoction, in parallel with your reduced volume kettle boil. I can't see why you couldn't split the hop charges accross both vessels, then gently pump the decocted wort over to the kettle when done for cooling and transfer to FV.
Does this make any sense ? Have I lost my mind ?