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Author Topic: Grain Mills  (Read 6372 times)

Offline son_of_buncrana

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Grain Mills
« on: December 26, 2013, 10:38:41 am »
Hi everyone, I have been doing all gain brews for about a year and have always gotten my grains milled. My kids got me a pliny the elder all grain kit and the grains aren't milled. Was looking for advise on a good grain mill to buy and from what company without spending a ton. Thanks in advance for any and all the help.

Offline svejk

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Re: Grain Mills
« Reply #1 on: December 26, 2013, 10:50:47 am »
I personally have a JSP maltmill that I'm really happy with, but I also believe that just about every homebrewwer who has a mill loves it - whatever it may be.  The thing about mills is that they are one of the very few pieces of equipment that you can buy that will pay for itself many times over.  It is very satisfying to buy a 55 lb bag of grain for much less than what you would pay by the pound, so each bag you use offsets whatever you paid for the mill.

Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: Grain Mills
« Reply #2 on: December 26, 2013, 11:27:21 am »
You can get by with a plate mill -- Corona style. I think you can still find them for around $25-30 online. I've had one for a few years and do just fine with it. It's an arm workout if you hand crank but you can drive it with a good drill.
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Offline erockrph

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Re: Grain Mills
« Reply #3 on: December 26, 2013, 11:39:58 am »
I got a Barley Crusher a year ago and it was one of the best investments I've ever made. I've always had issues hitting a consistent efficiency depending on where I got my grain from. Once I got my own mill I was really able to dial in that part of my process.

While I don't have much experience with any other mills, I am very happy with the Barley Crusher as an entry-level malt mill. Word to the wise: they tend to stock out this time of year as everyone starts redeeming their gift cards. If you try waiting for a sale you might find them stocked out for a while.
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Offline theDarkSide

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Re: Grain Mills
« Reply #4 on: December 26, 2013, 11:45:10 am »
+1 on the Barley Crusher.  I've also seen people retrofit theirs with a larger hopper so the 7 lb. should be fine.  For a normal 5 gallon batch, I can usually get all my grains in two loads and run it with a drill.
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Offline kylekohlmorgen

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Re: Grain Mills
« Reply #5 on: December 26, 2013, 12:00:05 pm »
Lots of previous threads on grain mills. Just run a quick search.

The wife just bought me a JSP, but its not adjustable. Not sure how I feel about the fixed gap, but it would be a PITA to return...
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Offline son_of_buncrana

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Re: Grain Mills
« Reply #6 on: December 26, 2013, 12:16:39 pm »
Thanks for all the advice. I'll start looking at them and I figure I'll be getting one in the next few weeks. Again thanks for all the ideas.

Offline Pinski

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Re: Grain Mills
« Reply #7 on: December 26, 2013, 12:32:24 pm »
Thanks for all the advice. I'll start looking at them and I figure I'll be getting one in the next few weeks. Again thanks for all the ideas.

Also very happy with the Barley Crusher. 
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Offline tfrommer

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Re: Grain Mills
« Reply #8 on: December 26, 2013, 02:36:06 pm »
To those with the Barley Crusher, have you adjusted the settings or just been using it as it came out of the box? I have one as well that I bought about 18 months ago. Wonder whether it ever needs to be adjusted.

thanks,
Tim F.
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fistfullofhops

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Re: Grain Mills
« Reply #9 on: December 26, 2013, 02:40:07 pm »
I use an old Phil Mill with a cordless drill. There are a lot fancier mills out there but the ol' Phil Mill gives me a nice crush.

Offline passlaku

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Re: Grain Mills
« Reply #10 on: December 26, 2013, 02:47:09 pm »
The Barley Crusher is a great design and now you can find several knock offs being sold by homebrew shops (Adventures in Homebrew, Rebel Brewer, and N. Brewer/Midwest).  I think AIH has the best deal at $99 with free shipping (http://www.homebrewing.org/Cereal-Killer-Grain-Mill_p_2310.html) for their version of the Barley Crusher. 

Offline mugwort

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Re: Grain Mills
« Reply #11 on: December 26, 2013, 03:02:41 pm »
Barley Crusher seems to be one of the better (relatively inexpensive) deals around.

However, I've had mine for a few years and it's noticeably lopsided.  Don't really know if it came that way and I was too novice to notice or if that happened over time.  No adjustment can correct for that so I double crush.

Looking forward to retiring the BC and replacing with a heavy duty 3-roller monster mill.
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Offline son_of_buncrana

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Re: Grain Mills
« Reply #12 on: December 26, 2013, 03:16:36 pm »
I was wondering if a 3-roller is better then a 2-roller. I'm only doing 5 gal batches right now but who knows, I might try some 10 gal batches in the near future.

Offline duboman

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Re: Grain Mills
« Reply #13 on: December 26, 2013, 03:17:04 pm »

To those with the Barley Crusher, have you adjusted the settings or just been using it as it came out of the box? I have one as well that I bought about 18 months ago. Wonder whether it ever needs to be adjusted.

thanks,
Tim F.
i have the barley crusher going on 3 years now with no problems at all. I did upgrade to the 15lb hopper to handle the bigger beers.

I also adjusted the crush to .036mm to get a bit of a better crush. It's a great investment and I run a consistent 80% efficiency across the board.
Peace....Love......Beer......

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Offline erockrph

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Re: Grain Mills
« Reply #14 on: December 26, 2013, 04:54:13 pm »
To those with the Barley Crusher, have you adjusted the settings or just been using it as it came out of the box? I have one as well that I bought about 18 months ago. Wonder whether it ever needs to be adjusted.

thanks,
Tim F.

I tightened mine a bit right at the start since I BIAB and stuck sparges aren't an issue. I'm about 20 batches in and haven't seen a need to readjust anything.

If you aren't getting stuck sparges and your efficiency is good, then there's no real need to change anything.

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Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer