[S. cerevisiae]

Same advice I give myself for most brewing purchases!  I have a Thermapen on it's way here as of a few minutes ago.

I purchased a Thermapen last year during an "open box" sale.  I do not know if was a sales gimmick, but the box in which my Thermapen arrived appeared to have never been opened.  I thought that my Thermapen was going to be the most ridiculous, money burning a hole in my pocket purchase that I have ever made, but it turned out to be one of the most frequently used pieces of gear that I own.  I also purchased a rubber boot for it.

[S. cerevisiae]

That brings it around to buying a mill.  While I can(have) trolled the internet for reviews and wasted plenty of time, anyone want to weigh in on the best three options out there?

If money is a constraint, it's hard to beat the pre-adjusted Schmidling Model P Malt Mill.   I have a Schmidling Model Model P and a 3-roller Monster Mill, guess which one sees the most use?  My current Schmidling Malt Mill is actually the second Model P that I have owned. I sold the original pre-adjusted Malt Mill that I owned for over a decade when I let the hobby for several years.  I crushed just shy of two tons of malt on that mill, and the guy who currently owns it is now over three tons of malt on the same set of non-case hardened rollers.

With that said, if I had to do it all over again, I would purchase another Malt Mill.  I seriously doubt that I would purchase another Monster Mill.  While the overall build quality is good, there's more play in the rollers on a Monster Mill, which makes getting the rollers aligned such that they all spin freely with no binding more difficult. The hopper is also tricky to assemble. The Schmidling Mill is basically a bolt, screw, and crush mill.  Now, dealing with Jack Schmidling is an entirely different subject.  He's a unique character.

[mattybrass]

I work at my LHBS so im very spoiled.

[flbrewer]

I saw the Cereal Killer was on sale for around $99.

[BairsBrewing]

I'm curious to know who does what.

I buy my base grains locally in 55 lb. sacks. Specialty grains online, usually in 5 or 10 lb. bags, shopping around for prices. More Beer has good prices and free shipping when you buy $60 or more. I keep a supply of grains and hops on hand, so that I can brew anything I want whenever I have time, when the fancy hits me.

I crush all my grains at home on brew day.

What gap setting do you use on your mill?  I'm starting the same thing and don't really have any idea on a starting point.  I bought myself a Cereal Killer mill as a late birthday present.

[reverseapachemaster]

With the rise in grain prices over the past couple years and the rise in shipping costs over the last five or so years it is rarely cheaper to buy online than locally. Many of the online shops that used to offer free shipping have done away with it. I think MoreBeer is the only one left that will do that but their prices are pretty much the same as local prices so in the rare instance I have ordered grain through them it is because none of the local shops had specialty malts I needed.

Shopping locally I usually have to put orders together out of two different stores. One has cheaper prices and most of what I need so I shop through them as frequently as I can. Another local shop has a slightly larger selection but the prices are unreasonable and I am not the biggest fan of his business model. I discovered a shop a few blocks from my house that sells distilling supplies and was able to pick up a sack of domestic two row on their Black Friday deals for under $50 and I bought a pail of unmalted wheat from Costco so at least I have a good supply of grains to keep me supplied for a while. (I brew a lot of sours and saisons with unmalted wheat.)

[coolman26]

I wait until I'm in Nashville and but the years worth every fall.  I also wait until companies offer flat rate and I buy the rest.  Locally they sell Briess, I just cant do that brand, so I buy in bulk with pickup or flat rate.

Have you ever asked one of your LHBS owners if they take special orders?  The distributor that distributes Briess also distributes domestic malt from Canada Malting, Gambrinus, and Great Western as well as imported malt from Baird, Best Malz, MFB, and Thomas Fawcett. You may have to wait until the owner orders his/her next pallet of malt.

I haven't asked, but there is a new LHBS that just opened.  I will have to ask.  Their only 10 minutes away which would be nice.  I bought 7 sacks in Dec.  I should be good for a little while.

[Frankenbrew]

I'm curious to know who does what.

I buy my base grains locally in 55 lb. sacks. Specialty grains online, usually in 5 or 10 lb. bags, shopping around for prices. More Beer has good prices and free shipping when you buy $60 or more. I keep a supply of grains and hops on hand, so that I can brew anything I want whenever I have time, when the fancy hits me.

I crush all my grains at home on brew day.

What gap setting do you use on your mill?  I'm starting the same thing and don't really have any idea on a starting point.  I bought myself a Cereal Killer mill as a late birthday present.

I have a fixed gap mill that is factory set at .040 mil.

[BairsBrewing]

What is you're efficiency like?  Mine is adjustable and was set, I say was because like any guy, I had to figure out how the thing worked. 

[morticaixavier]

I would shop locally, and do when I need a touch of this or a little of that, and for yeast, but I can't get organic malts locally so I have to order on line. When my brew club organizes a bulk buy, if organic products are available I'll jump on that though.

[beerlord]

I pay between $48 and $52 for a sack of 2 row at my LHBS. No way that, with shipping, any online store can beat that even with me paying tax.
A few years ago Austin Homebrew made a mistake and I got a sack of Rahr for $44 and free shipping.  It was corrected the next day but I got lucky.

[flbrewer]

I pay between $48 and $52 for a sack of 2 row at my LHBS. No way that, with shipping, any online store can beat that even with me paying tax.
A few years ago Austin Homebrew made a mistake and I got a sack of Rahr for $44 and free shipping.  It was corrected the next day but I got lucky.

I think you're right. Seems very low. NB is just at $60 with shipping down here to Florida.

[Rhoobarb]

I used to buy bulk direct from Mid-Country until they put the kibosh on selling direct to homebrewers. After that, my LHBS.  However, the last time I went to buy German Pils and Golden Promise in bulk, I shopped around and Northern Brewer was cheaper than any LBHS in the area. It wasn't a huge savings, but still cheaper and saved me have to drive to get them. Domestic 2-row and specialty grains I still get locally unless it is something they do not carry. Rahr 2-row I can get locally for ~$38.00