Big Brewery Decoction Mash

Live Oak Hefe is not decoction mashed. Although I am also in the camp of people who prefer to decoction mash weizen beers, obviously one does not need decoction mashes to make great hefes. Live Oak does use decoction mashes for its lagers, using it's old ass equipment. They run a hose out of the mash tun to a pump that runs through another hose into the kettle. They heat and boil the decoction, then flip the pump the other way to run it back. It is not very advanced but a hell of a lot easier than shoveling out part of the mash.

Adelbert's in Austin has a more modern system and also decoction mashes all of their Belgian beers. (Their beers are incomparable to Live Oak, so a decoction mash is not always an automatic victory.) They have a full sized mash tun and a small mash tun (which is probably just a small kettle) connected by piping and a pump. They run off the decoction from the large mash tun to the small mash tun. When it's time to go back they flip a lever on a pipe and it runs back into the large mash tun.

I get the impression from both of those systems that they are not taking any of the grain with the decoction or if they do it is a small amount.

FWIW you cannot take a beer from pilsner-blond to schwarzbier-black with a decoction unless you are burning all of your wort. In which case, it would be undrinkable. They are definitely adding carafa or sinimar or something for color.

 

Some more info on SBC from Lew Bryson's STUD blog entry on the start-up brewery, including this description:

 

Amazingly, I haven't been drinking very many big, bold beers lately. In fact I haven't had an imperial stout in months. Other than my own PtE-ish clone, I haven't had a IIPA in months either. I've been enjoying reasonable ABV beers too, like stuff in the 5-6% range. In fact, I've even rated some non-IIPA/RIS beers higher than 4. I know, I know, it's shocking, scandalous, morally degenerative, all those things. Guess I'll have to limit myself to nothing weaker than barleywine for the next full year, and give everything with an ABV higher than 10% a 5/5 rating, even if it tastes like fried dog poop. That way the ratings skewings on beer rating sites will be back to "normal."

 

I am glad that you are enjoying non-big, bold beers. I suspect that in the context of the BA community you are a minority. I suspect that I am also a minority in that I like both bold and non-bold beers. Last evening I had:

· Troegs Dreamweaver Wheat: a pleasant, tasty hefeweizen. That beer was tasty!
· Evil Twin Femme Fatale Blanc: a beer made in Denmark that is an IPA brewed with 100% Brett and Nelson Sauvin hops. That beer was sublime! It was somewhat bold but what I appreciated was the pleasant blend of the Brett produced flavors (phenols, esters, etc.) and the flavors from the Nelson Sauvin hops. I am not typically a fan of Nelson Sauvin hops but they worked real well in this beer!
· Bell’s Two Hearted Ale: A awesome all Centennial hopped IPA!

Viva la difference!

Below is a link to a great review of the Evil Twin beer.

Cheers!

http://www.bear-flavored.com/2013/04/evil-twin-femme-fatale-blanc-ipa-review.html