Thanks. Somewhere I read that all but 1 or 2 breweries in Germany have gone to step infusion mashing for the energy and time savings. Interestingly enough, IIRC the remaining decoction brewers are hefe breweries if I am not mistaken… That makes sense since wheat malt is harder material and the boiling action is well documented to help with that.
In any event, anyone care to take a stab what modern materials are being used to offset the flavor and color contributions of a recipe based on decoction mashing. Melanoidin malt? Maybe even a little crystal/cara? At this point, I have to assume the traditional simple grain bills are no longer being used with step mashing. Or could an argument be made that step mashing with modern malt yields the same results as decoction?
[quote=“zwiller”]Thanks. Somewhere I read that all but 1 or 2 breweries in Germany have gone to step infusion mashing for the energy and time savings. Interestingly enough, IIRC the remaining decoction brewers are hefe breweries if I am not mistaken… That makes sense since wheat malt is harder material and the boiling action is well documented to help with that.
In any event, anyone care to take a stab what modern materials are being used to offset the flavor and color contributions of a recipe based on decoction mashing. Melanoidin malt? Maybe even a little crystal/cara? At this point, I have to assume the traditional simple grain bills are no longer being used with step mashing. Or could an argument be made that step mashing with modern malt yields the same results as decoction?[/quote]
Well, you have to start by assuming that decoction actually makes a difference. Perhaps they found that it doesn’t, so the non decocted beers taste the same? Remember, traditionally the reason for decoction was to utilize undermodified malt to hit temp steps, not for flavor.
Of course I do! I do a step mash every once in a while to see if I can tell if there’s an improvement, or even a difference, from a single infusion that would encourage me to do a step mash. So far, in blind triangle tastings, I haven’t seen it. I’ll still do a step mash sometimes to see if I’ve missed anything, but at this point, curiosity is why I do it. Not as an improvement to the beer.
I do a step mash every once in a while to see if I can tell if there’s an improvement, or even a difference, from a single infusion that would encourage me to do a step mash. So far, in blind triangle tastings, I haven’t seen it. I’ll still do a step mash sometimes to see if I’ve missed anything, but at this point, curiosity is why I do it. Not as an improvement to the beer.