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How were the results compared to a traditional decoction? Any tricks to know about?

Edit: For some context, see here.

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No, but I'm fascinated. The writeup you linked to seems pretty comprehensive.

It does seem like a really nice way to get the benefits of a decoction while saving yourself the labor involved in a decoction.

Some concerns:

You'll get DMS formation in the enclosed environment, but any that is formed should be readily boiled off as normal during the boil.

It may not 'scale' well for a normal batch size; pulling a 3rd of the mash for decoction can be 1-3 gallons by volume... that's a lot of little canning jars you'd need. Will they all fit in the pressure cooker? How much does a big enough pressure cooker cost?

Also consider cleanup. Would you rather clean one decoction pot (which is usually your boil kettle anyway), or a dozen little jars?

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It seemed to me the article was suggesting putting your entire brew kettle inside of the pressure cooker. This wouldn't work very well for me, since my brew kettle IS my pressure cooker without the lid. :) That said, even going the Mason jar route seems pretty doable. I do a lot of canning, as well, and wide mouth mason jars fit very nicely in my dishwasher. I can do a couple flats of them in one load. – Ben Nov 13 '10 at 5:20
My memory of the technique (I've not used it, but there was a lot of discussion back in the day) is that you just take a portion of the mash and add it to the pressure cooker, not the entire kettle. And that you can use a smaller portion than in a normal decoction as it gives a more intense malt character, so you needn't do as much. Finally, it was hard to mess up. I don't have a pressure cooker, otherwise I'd just give it a shot. Thought I'd ask here to see if I should pick one up. – Tim Nov 13 '10 at 17:17

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