Decoction Method for first time

Just make sure when you scoop out of your mash tun, you're getting more grains than liquid. But you need some liquid. When I've done it, it looks like a loose risotto.

 

ah ok... that's what I thought, but then that goes against so much conventional wisdom for not boiling grains / using too hot water / deactivating amalyse / etc etc

 

Enzymes will be denatured, but you're not decocting the whole mash, just a portion.

 

You need to study pH in the decoction boil, the pH of too hot water, where the enzymes reside once the mash is hydrated (most are in the liquid part left behind - that is a hint), as an etc. the Germans and Czechs have been doing decoctions since forever.