Hmmm.... the $76 Crankandstein sounds pretty good, but of course the $23 Corona mill is very tempting. I don't have a lot of money to put towards this right now, and at the same time I don't want to buy something I ultimately won't use.
I haven't been able to find a good picture of the Corona Mill mechanism. Is is significantly different than the Crankandstein?
Where someone posted that they get a consitant 83% efficiency with theres.
I have been using a pasta roller for over a year now, several hundred pounds of grain. I get 75% consistantly.
I bought a second mill to replace my first one when it made a weird grinding noise and some metal shavings came out the side... but it is still going 50 pounds later.
I power mine with a cordless drill and a spade bit.
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Hmmm.... the $76 Crankandstein sounds pretty good, but of course the $23 Corona mill is very tempting. I don't have a lot of money to put towards this right now, and at the same time I don't want to buy something I ultimately won't use.
I haven't been able to find a good picture of the Corona Mill mechanism. Is is significantly different than the Crankandstein?
The Corona style mills grind the grain between to opposing face plates while the roller mills, as the name implies, squeeze the grain between two rollers. Lots of people use the Corona mills with success, but IMO the roller mills produce a superior and more consistent grist. My major concern with the Corona mill is that it tends to shred the grain husks. This could lead to astringency problems due to tannin extraction. I've never used a Corona mill, so I can't say one way or the other with any credibility. The problem with asking for opinions on malt mills is that everyone seems to love the one they have regardless of which one it is. Ultimately, that leaves you adrift for guidance. Go with the Corona if the cost is the primary consideration. It will get you by for now and you can always upgrade later on when finances are more favorable. You could then use the Corona for making your own corn tortillas from scratch. I think that's what it was originally designed for. BTW, you'll need to keep a close watch on your wallet in this hobby. It's been endless acquisitions and upgrades since the start for me. It does keep me off the streets though, so it's all good.
The Corona style mills grind the grain between to opposing face plates while the roller mills, as the name implies, squeeze the grain between two rollers. Lots of people use the Corona mills with success, but IMO the roller mills produce a superior and more consistent grist. My major concern with the Corona mill is that it tends to shred the grain husks. This could lead to astringency problems due to tannin extraction. I've never used a Corona mill, so I can't say one way or the other with any credibility. The problem with asking for opinions on malt mills is that everyone seems to love the one they have regardless of which one it is. Ultimately, that leaves you adrift for guidance. Go with the Corona if the cost is the primary consideration. It will get you by for now and you can always upgrade later on when finances are more favorable. You could then use the Corona for making your own corn tortillas from scratch. I think that's what it was originally designed for. BTW, you'll need to keep a close watch on your wallet in this hobby. It's been endless acquisitions and upgrades since the start for me. It does keep me off the streets though, so it's all good.
And yet Charlie Papazain has repeatedly stated that he gets 87% efficiency and has been using a corona mills for years. And no mention of ANY of the issues you bring up, no tannins or ANYTHING else, or else he wouldn't still be using one......*shrug*
So you can go with a bunch of "theories" usually perpetuated by folks who have never used them and disdain them, OR..... Go with the grandfather of brewing.
Revvy's one of the cool reverends. He has a Harley and a t-shirt that says on the back "If you can read this, the bitch was Raptured.
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Originally Posted by YooperBrew
I gotta tell ya, just between us girls, that Revvy is HOT. Very tall, gorgeous grey hair and a terrific smile. He's very good looking in person, with a charismatic personality... he drives like a ****ing maniac!
I have been using a pasta roller for over a year now, several hundred pounds of grain. I get 75% consistantly.
I bought a second mill to replace my first one when it made a weird grinding noise and some metal shavings came out the side... but it is still going 50 pounds later.
I power mine with a cordless drill and a spade bit.
I've seen this before and heard people talk about running their mills with drills, but I've never been quite clear on how fast they're run. Do you run it at full drill speed to grind quickly or do you run it at hand crank speed to save your wrists? I've been kicking around the idea of putting together a pasta machine grinder and I've been thinking about alternate ways of powering it. I've got some old treadmill motors lying around that I could make work, but, again, I'm not sure what kind of speed is possible/advisable. I'm probably going more complicated than necessary, but I have such a love of ridiculous contraptions...
I've seen this before and heard people talk about running their mills with drills, but I've never been quite clear on how fast they're run. Do you run it at full drill speed to grind quickly or do you run it at hand crank speed to save your wrists? I've been kicking around the idea of putting together a pasta machine grinder and I've been thinking about alternate ways of powering it. I've got some old treadmill motors lying around that I could make work, but, again, I'm not sure what kind of speed is possible/advisable. I'm probably going more complicated than necessary, but I have such a love of ridiculous contraptions...
I have a $15 pasta machine grain mill. When I use drill power, I run it about twice as fast as hand cranking. If I go flat out there's too much grinding action from the roughed up rollers and the husks get shredded. Plus the pasta machine sounds like it's about to fly into 100 pieces. With my variable speed drill, I actually don't have enough torque to turn the rollers any slower, so I just depress the trigger till it starts to turn evenly and that's about right for a good crush.
Bonus tip: If you condition the malt with water in a spray bottle, the results are so, so much better.
Go with the Corona if the cost is the primary consideration. It will get you by for now and you can always upgrade later on when finances are more favorable. You could then use the Corona for making your own corn tortillas from scratch. I think that's what it was originally designed for. BTW, you'll need to keep a close watch on your wallet in this hobby. It's been endless acquisitions and upgrades since the start for me. It does keep me off the streets though, so it's all good.
I like this. If there's one thing I may like as much as beer, it's tacos. You may have sole me right there
Quote:
Originally Posted by Revvy
Go with the grandfather of brewing.
I had no idea the Pap used a corona. You definitely sold me here. One day I'll perhaps upgrade when the time is right. Now, I must be off to buy a mill and a sack of grain!
OK so after reading this and glancing at the other thread about pasta rollers. my wife has a kithcen aid counter mixer that you can attach pasta rollers and a slew of other stuff. So now it looks like the wife is going to be getting some attachments for her kitchen aid mixer. thanks.
Looks like I can use some of the attachments for brewing beer. woo hoo.
OK so after reading this and glancing at the other thread about pasta rollers. my wife has a kithcen aid counter mixer that you can attach pasta rollers and a slew of other stuff. So now it looks like the wife is going to be getting some attachments for her kitchen aid mixer. thanks.
Looks like I can use some of the attachments for brewing beer. woo hoo.
Sorry Coy, I hate to be a buzzkill, but the kitchen aid attachments really aren't meant for grinding large quantities of grain. Oh, and the price, cheaper and better to get a tool specific for grinding your brewing grains IMHO.
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-------------------------------------------------------------------- CORONA MILL BUCKET SYSTEM V. 2.0 "crushing grain on a beer budget" http://www.homebrewtalk.com/1308996-post144.html
I don't plan on brewing more than 5gal at a time, at this point so I'm sure I'd get by with something like this for a while.. just for the fun of grinding my own. If I need a bunch done I'll do it at the LHBS.
I'm still learning so once I start getting my process's down really well and wanting to dive fully into it. I'll probably get something designated for each task.
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