Self crush vs distributer crush

Hey. Just got my hands on an old grain mill and I was wondering about this. Has anybody had a notable difference from crushing on brew day vs having the retailer crush for you? New to self crushing so pardon me if your not suppose to do it that close to brewing, just figure the longer you can hold off the better. Thanks.

No. I just finished drinking a batch that had been milled over one year and less than two years ago and it was great. I do not like to mill just before I brew because of the dust that it creates full of infections floating around. I really need to mill outside or something I guess

Getting my grain mill was one of the best additions to my brewery. Not only does it open the door to buying bulk sacks of grain to save money, but my crush is consistent. At the brew shop, people are always messing with the mill and I got some really poor crushes. Milling on brew day is going to be the best. It's like fresh ground coffee. Can you use it after it's been crushed for a long time? Sure, but it's not going to be as fresh. As far as infections go, unless you have open fermentation going, I can't see how that would happen. Everything for that batch gets boiled and there should NEVER be dust working it's way through an airlock.

mpcluever said:

Getting my grain mill was one of the best additions to my brewery. Not only does it open the door to buying bulk sacks of grain to save money, but my crush is consistent. At the brew shop, people are always messing with the mill and I got some really poor crushes. Milling on brew day is going to be the best. It's like fresh ground coffee. Can you use it after it's been crushed for a long time? Sure, but it's not going to be as fresh. As far as infections go, unless you have open fermentation going, I can't see how that would happen. Everything for that batch gets boiled and there should NEVER be dust working it's way through an airlock.

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Well I set up and mill in the same place I cool the wort down and I do not have a airlock set up on my brew pot nor even keep the lid on while cooling it down. So for at least a few minutes the wort is exposed to any floating residue from the milling. I tend to try and avoid any issues that might cause a is it infected thread when I brew.

As far as the age of milled grain I was just pointing out that older grain even milled older grain is not a bad thing and will not ruin your beer. Most assuredly as long as the grain is kept dry and cool it will be just as good far longer than some people seem to think.

I know some folks who will spend a ton of time prepping for coffee or their brew day and that is not only fine but great. I say go for it if you can but for me I would much rather set up my mill and mill enough grain for a months brewing and then sort it into batches stored in paper bags in a nice cool dry place. I then clean up the mess and do not worry about it till the next month.

Thanks for all the input. Going to be great when I get an actual grain mill. Turns out (I hadn't gotten yet, was picking it up from a friend who said he'd give me an old grinder) it's a grape crusher. So the topic of this thread changes drastically, anybody ever crush without a mill, if so how? With this grinder the grains just fall through. The closest brew shop that has a grinder I can use is 2 hours away and as you can guess, if I can't afford a mill, i cant afford to drive my truck there and back. Thanks.

Cposten said:

Thanks for all the input. Going to be great when I get an actual grain mill. Turns out (I hadn't gotten yet, was picking it up from a friend who said he'd give me an old grinder) it's a grape crusher. So the topic of this thread changes drastically, anybody ever crush without a mill, if so how? With this grinder the grains just fall through. The closest brew shop that has a grinder I can use is 2 hours away and as you can guess, if I can't afford a mill, i cant afford to drive my truck there and back. Thanks.

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If cost is an issue, plenty of homebrewers make these work: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Molino-Victoria-Corona-Grain-Mill-Barley-Wheat-Corn-Grinder-Home-brewing-/360592115197