Does Decoction Mashing Actually Do Anything?
Notes de l’épisode
Is decoction mashing a timeless secret to world-class lager brewing, or just an outdated, energy-draining waste of brewhouse time?
As lager brewing continues its massive resurgence in craft beer, many brewers hit a wall with thin mouthfeel, poor head retention, sluggish cold fermentations, or stubborn off-flavours. While it's easy to blame the yeast, the real problem might actually be hiding back in the mash tun.
In this episode, Mark and Richard break down a landmark Czech brewing study by Enge et al. (2005) to explore how boiling physical portions of your mash fundamentally changes wort chemistry, yeast health, and final beer drinkability.
We unpack:
Natural Yeast Fuel: How decoction acts as a brewhouse nutrient engine, driving Free Amino Nitrogen (FAN) up to 207 mg/L to prevent cold fermentation stalls.
Thermal Cell Rupture: The physical mechanism behind boiling mash fractions to unlock bound proteins and starches.
Cleaning Up Off-Flavours: Why triple and double decoctions significantly reduce fusel alcohols, suppress unwanted esters, and cut acetaldehyde nearly in half (6.0 mg/L vs. 10.7 mg/L in infusion).
Finding the Sweet Spot: Weighing the energy costs of a 3.5-hour triple decoction against the practical efficiency and sensory benefits of a modern double decoction.
Whether you're team single-infusion or a traditional step-mash diehard, this episode will change how you look at lager wort preparation.
Featured in this Episode:
- Check out the research: Technological Aspects of Infusion and Decoction Mashing (Enge et al., 2005)
- Read our companion blog post: Does Decoction Mashing Actually Do Anything? (Plus Free Decoction Volume Calculator)
- Our full Lager Collection can be found here.