captianoats

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Uses the title says it all. Can I crush my grain too fine? Other than a stuck sparge, what could happen?

I've been using an el cheapo corona mill for a couple years with no problems, I was just milling today and started wondering.

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CGish

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Yes, Grain can be milled too fine.

The goal is to leave the husks of the grain whole and have just a little bit of flour. It is a good idea to keep some rice hulls in stock, so if you over grind a batch you can throw a pound in to help your sparge.

The only exception I know of is BIAB, where you can use a finer grind because the bag becomes your filter instead of the hulls.

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eriktlupus

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stuck sparges are the problem when milling too finely. one of the guys(do not remember who its been a couple years since he wrote on here about it) however had luck with misting the grain the day before to allow the husks to soften up and not shred or tear when milling down to .020 on a barley crusher. he was only using like 1-2 oz of water for 10# of grain.

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Frodo

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I think the other potentials besides a stuck sparge is effect to sparge efficiency and tannin extraction from the husks.

KeyWestBrewing

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Before I mill I put all my grains in a bucket and spray them with water while mixing them. It's called conditioning your grains. You only use enough water to make them feel leathery. This lets you get a tighter crush while keeping the hulls intact.

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onthekeg

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Tannin extraction is a measure of pH more than being ground up though. I also think tannin extraction is a remote possibility, and is somewhat of a fallacy that is constantly being spewed on the internet.
Kai Troister (sp) was who recommended the grain conditioning before milling a few years back.