MrFebtober
Well-Known Member
I've been debating the purchase of a grain mill for a while now and have read up plenty on crushing and keep coming up with the same question: Why are so many homebrew stores not crushing grain as thoroughly as most homebrewers think to be adequate for good efficiency?
There are countless stories on this forum of homebrewers being unsatisfied with the crush services of their LHBS. One would think the store owners would know as much or more about grain crushing than the average homebrewer, yet it is very common for them to have their mills set wider than is needed to get that high efficiency that is so sought after. I find this puzzling. Does a wider gap extend the life of the mill? Is it to absolutely minimize the risk of customers ending up with stuck sparges? Is it a scheme to encourage customers to buy more grain than necessary to hit the same O.G. (or sell them grain mills of their own)?
There are countless stories on this forum of homebrewers being unsatisfied with the crush services of their LHBS. One would think the store owners would know as much or more about grain crushing than the average homebrewer, yet it is very common for them to have their mills set wider than is needed to get that high efficiency that is so sought after. I find this puzzling. Does a wider gap extend the life of the mill? Is it to absolutely minimize the risk of customers ending up with stuck sparges? Is it a scheme to encourage customers to buy more grain than necessary to hit the same O.G. (or sell them grain mills of their own)?