cweston

Recipes 

I probably wouldn't purchase a non-adjustable mill (like Phil Mill or Maltmill model P): it seems like tinkering with the crush would be half the reason for owning a mill in the first place.

The Phil Mill II seems like a nice combination of features, but the HBS's don't seem to carry and promote it as much as the Maltmill mills. I'm kindof curious/leary about that.

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Primary: none
Secondary:
Bottle conditioning: Robust Porter
Drinking: Saison Dupont clone, tripel
Coming soon: Columbus APA, Rich Red ale

Desert_Sky

Recipes 

I don't know too much about the Phill Mill II. But this is going to be my next big brewing purchase. Seems to be everything I need in a mill and a decent price

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Desert Sky Brewing Co.
Sierra Vista, AZ

cweston

Recipes 

Wow. That's about $20 less than Northern Brewer's price for all of those items combined!

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Primary: none
Secondary:
Bottle conditioning: Robust Porter
Drinking: Saison Dupont clone, tripel
Coming soon: Columbus APA, Rich Red ale

rdwj

Recipes 

I was looking at that too, but am wondering if I'd be happier with the 3 roller model down the line

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On Tap: Whatever I just brewed (got sick of updating it)

Brewiz

Recipes 

You may want to check this out: http://www.barleycrusher.com/ordering.php
I have the Crankenstien but I think I would go this way if I had it to do over.

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Do you ever see a motorcycle in front of Therapist's Office???
Insert Name Here Brew Club

rdwj

Recipes 

Why? I've seen the barley crusher and it doesn't seem a beefy as the crankandstein models. Is it just price?

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On Tap: Whatever I just brewed (got sick of updating it)

zoebisch01

Recipes 

I don't have the PhillMill, but I do have the fully adjustable MaltMill. It was a bit on the expensive side, but the rollers are 10". Works as advertised, and tbh. I haven't played with the crush yet. It was between the MaltMill and the CrankandStein. I just scored an industrial office shredder motor (the case broke on the machine, I saw it in the trash and grabbed it!), the heavy duty kind...65 RPM, 0.25 Hp so I am excited about that. There is a claim that the 10" can be adjusted with a more narrow spacing on one end to produce a crush comparable to 6 roller devices. But hey who knows.

http://schmidling.com/appnotes.htm (see "Crush Quality")

Just some info to help you decide. Fwiw, I think any of the "3 big names" in roller mills will do the job just fine. I am extremely pleased with the MaltMill.

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Event Horizon ~ A tribute to the miracle of fermentation.

Brew what you like. Do this, and you will find your inner brewer.

Rocket

Recipes 

I considered the Phil Mill II, but like you, I couldn't find much information about it. What I did find indicated that it was a good mill. I think my LHBS might use one.

Anyway, I ended up buying a MaltMill Model A (adjustable roller with the gear drive option). I don't have anything to compare to it, but I can tell you it works extremely well and is well built. Also, Schmidling (spelling?) guarantees it for life. Supposedly if anything breaks on it you can let them know and they will send you replacement parts. I don't expect that I'll ever need to do that, but it's nice knowing that they will back their product.

(Edit) I forgot to mention that when I was looking for a mill, the price difference between the PhillMill II and the MaltMill A was only about $20US.

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"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." - Benjamin Franklin (not really)

Blaine McCormick of Baylor University says that this likely came from a letter sent to Abbé André Morellet in 1779 about wine (the miracle of water into wine) where Franklin says, "Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards; there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine -- a constant proof that God loves us, and loves us to be happy."