John M recently posted about US vs. German lager - see post here
Despite being an older can of beer, the German lager won his taste test. What factors contribute to such great lagers from Germany and the rest of the region? Fresher malts, low oxygen brewing or maybe decoction?
It seems there are different malt profiles in these beers vs. their US counterparts. However, some US brewers use decoction regularly. BierStadt, Brooklyn Brewing and Jack's Abbey for example.
According to Jack's Abbey, they often do employ decoction mashing
Co-founder Jack Hendler discusses decoction, a traditional brewing technique, and how our team is using it to craft our lagers.
Of all the terms thrown about by brewers of traditional continental lagers, decoction is probably the least understood. There is mystique and misunderstanding when it comes to this mysterious mashing process only practiced by a handful of modern American brewers.
Decoction mashing is the process of removing a portion of the mash, boiling it, and reintroducing this portion to the main mash to raise the temperature to set intervals. Historically, malted barley was of poor quality and adjusting the mash temperature at these set intervals significantly improved the efficiency, extract, and quality of the mash. Modern brewing science tells us that the different enzymatic activity at each temperature level is responsible.
It’s true that advances in modern malting technology allow for efficient conversion of starches to sugars without all the complications of decoction mashing. But what’s left out of this discussion is the sensory impact of decoction mashing, which produces a uniquely intense malty character in the finished beer. From our experience, we have found no substitute for the malt intensity, increased attenuation, and perceived fullness of our decoction mash beers. Decoction effectively produces a beer that tastes “full” but is inherently more drinkable than a beer brewed using caramel or melanoidin malts.
Have you brewed using this method? It would be nice if we could try it side by side in a German lager style using a split batch method.
Brulosophy has done some experiments on this topic and they have mostly found decoction mashing doesn't matter much. However, they posted a wonderfully detailed review of the entire process here.
I can speak from my beer tasting experience that I really do think there is a difference in the malt character. Not sure what to think here. Any ideas?