why doesn't a lhbs use the settings home brewers do on their mill?
-=Jason=-
Just a wild guess but a tad lower eff. due to a coarser grind means more grains = more $$$.....not that there is anything wrong with that.
That's one reason many suspect. The other is that they have to grind to the lowest common denominator...e.g., the guy with the too fine mesh on his system that always gets a stuck sparge and complains.
I do partial mash (5 lbs per batch), and have about 100 lbs of grain; a few different base malts and lots of specialty malts. Having a mill and lots of grain, I don't have to worry about if my LHBS has what I want, and I can make changes on the fly.
I buy some grain from my LHBS, but I buy most on-line because it works out cheaper. Buying larger quantities on-line reduces the effective $/lb of shipping.
I bought a Corona mill ($30 on-line from Buy.com with free shipping). I couldn't justify the cost of a Barley Crusher. When I started using the Corona mill (works great) my efficiency went from 70% to 80%.
What crush size do you use?
What crush size do you use?
I use the "Victoria" version of the Corona mill. Some people say use the width of a CD. I've read somebody say use a credit card (including the raised letters) to determine the spacing between the plates. What you need to do is crush until you're getting NO whole grains. This can mean a significant amount of flour, which is kind of scary, but I just dialed it down until I was hitting my Brix numbers in the wort with no trouble, and had no whole grains that I could detect. So far (maybe 20 batches) I've had no troubles with a stuck sparge or anything.
Calder, I found this one on Buy.com: http://www.buy.com/prod/cereal-multi-grain-mill/q/loc/66357/211099781.html Looks like the standard "old school style" mill... Great price too. Pays for itself pretty fast when you get bulk grains (compared with getting them from the LHBS)... Plus, you can give purchased milled grains a second run to ensure they're at a good crush size for you.
That's the one I got a year ago. Just a couple of comments on it.
It's good to have the bigger hopper (as this one has). It holds about 2 lbs. If you want bigger, I think you can fashion a milk container to add on the top.
You can replace the bolt in the handle with one with a square drive and run it with an electric drill. The thread is metric so you will need to go to the specialty area of the hardware store. I found a bolt in Lowes. Although I can drive it with a drill, I just hand crank. It only takes a couple of minutes of cranking for 5 lbs of grain.
It sits low to a table. Just a couple of inches clearance. You can fashion it to clamp on some wood and run straight into a bucket. Me I just place a low ceramic oven pan under it to catch the grain and tip it into a large bowl when full.
Check gap with a feeler gauge. If you have a car, you should have one of these.
Well, I guess you guys gave some good reasons but I don't see where you can get bulk grain for 50% off of the usual LHBS milled price. The cheapest 2 row bag I've seen is $50 for 50#, which is a buck a pound, and I can get it milled from AHS for 1.25. Sure, there's shipping, but AHS gives a flat rate ($8) and I'd have to buy hops and yeast anyway.
Well, I guess you guys gave some good reasons but I don't see where you can get bulk grain for 50% off of the usual LHBS milled price. The cheapest 2 row bag I've seen is $50 for 50#, which is a buck a pound, and I can get it milled from AHS for 1.25. Sure, there's shipping, but AHS gives a flat rate ($8) and I'd have to buy hops and yeast anyway.
Got a monster mill for Christmas. Was shocked at how much my efficiency went up. I thought at first mabee i measured my grain wrong and used to much.....nope, it was the mill. Nice to get 2 row for $33 a bag.
What was your efficiency before, and now?
From what I've been told, by brewers with their own mills, the flavor of the brew will also be improved when crushing on brew day... I'm itching to test this out... Just need the paycheck's to start coming in (start work either on the 17th, or the week after)...
Find a brew group in your area.
I'm putting together a bulk grain buy in the next couple weeks. 2-Row is $0.46lbs, MO is $0.69 lbs.
Lets just say my OG went from 1.045 to 1.060 with the same amount of grain on my first crush with the new mill. At first I thought I dident have it adjusted right, so i readjusted and crushed a second time.
I had been adding extra grain to my mashes to compensate and try to hit my OG target. Now I can cut back.
Well, I guess you guys gave some good reasons but I don't see where you can get bulk grain for 50% off of the usual LHBS milled price. The cheapest 2 row bag I've seen is $50 for 50#, which is a buck a pound, and I can get it milled from AHS for 1.25. Sure, there's shipping, but AHS gives a flat rate ($8) and I'd have to buy hops and yeast anyway.
Check gap with a feeler gauge. If you have a car, you should have one of these.
You're not looking too hard then. US 2-row is closer to $35/50 lb online. Morebeer has 50 lb sacks a bit lower than that, as do some of the other online HBS. It's usually under a different tab something like "bulk grain" or "full sacks of grain". For example:
http://morebeer.com/view_product/17159/102161/Domestic_2-Row_50lbs
An smaller LHBS will likely be charging a little more, but the price goes way down when you buy a whole sack.
LOL what do you do with a feeler gauge in a car these days
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