[flbrewer]

I recently purchased a Barley Crusher and had my first go at hand cranking 16 pounds of grain today. Aside from the labor of hand cranking and potential cross-contamination I'm seriously considering just returning the mill and purchasing already crushed grain.
I am only brewing about 10 times a year and considering the labor, clean-up, etc. I'm not sure what to do.
Thoughts?

**Poll added to the thread**

[The Gamecock]

I use my cordless drill instead of the hand crank.  So much earlier and quicker than doing it by hand.  16 lbs. by hand, I can feel your pain!

[BrewBama]

I would not return it. I hand cranked myself until I got a cordless 18v Dewalt from Blowes. It works likes a charm and I can crush tighter than I did with milled grain from a homebrew shop.

[JT]

There really is no contamination concern.  I use a cordless drill on the lower speed setting.  Works great.

[klickitat jim]

You are just experiencing end of brew day blues. The best thing for that is to buy another piece of equipment. Get a drill and cheer up.

[S. cerevisiae]

What did you brew?  Sixteen pounds is a metric truck load of grain for a 5-gallon batch.   

A mill is easy to clean.  All one needs to do is take it outside and hit it with compressed air.

With that said, cross contamination is not a valid reason for sending the mill back.  Any microflora that is living on the malt that you crush is not going to automatically jump into one of your fermentation vessels.  There are simple steps that you can take to remove this threat such as crushing outside.

[HoosierBrew]

Another 'keep it' here.  You'll get things dialed in and honestly, I don't see the mill as your issue. If you rely on precrushed grain, your efficiency will be all over the place unless you find a place that will double crush - can't rely on that by mail order. RDWHAHB.

EDIT -  Agree with no cross contamination concerns.

[mbalbritton]

This could easily come across as a jacka$$ statement but it's not meant to be. How on earth have you gotten this far into life and you don't own a drill? Hardly a day goes by I don't use a drill.


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[flbrewer]

This could easily come across as a jacka$$ statement but it's not meant to be. How on earth have you gotten this far into life and you don't own a drill? Hardly a day goes by I don't use a drill.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I never said I don't own a drill! I have an old 12v cordless.

[flbrewer]

What did you brew?  Sixteen pounds is a metric truck load of grain for a 5-gallon batch.   

http://wiki.homebrewersassociation.org/OpeningDayPaleAle

[dls5492]

I also have a barley crusher and i don't mind hand cranking. I consider it a bonus work out. Usually, I mill the night before brewing.

[S. cerevisiae]

I also have a barley crusher and i don't mind hand cranking. I consider it a bonus work out. Usually, I mill the night before brewing.

+1

That's the key to milling by hand.  I too mill most of my grain by hand, and I also mill it the night before I plan to brew.

[Stevie]

Don't ditch the mill. Mill = freedom

[case thrower]

Another 'keep it' here.  You'll get things dialed in and honestly, I don't see the mill as your issue. If you rely on precrushed grain, your efficiency will be all over the place unless you find a place that will double crush - can't rely on that by mail order. RDWHAHB.

And even if you get it double crushed @ LHBS, that's no guarantee your efficiency still won't be all over the place.  Having mine double crushed for me means that my efficiency at least stays above 70%.  A grain mill is hopefully something I will be able to get in the near future.

[Hooper]

Keep the mill and get a bigger drill...