First all-grain - order milled or un-milled?

After 2 years and 12 batches of extract brews I am ready to jump into all -grain! I have the equipment, and to be on the safe side I'm ordering all-grain kits from AustinHS - I just don't know if I should order milled or unmilled. I'm guessing milled but I thought I would ask here first to be on the safe side.

Thanks!

Eric

yes, get it milled.....

(unless you have a mill and want to do it yourself)

do you have a mill/barley crusher? if not you're going to want milled grain

Unmilled will result in a fresher grain but as long as you plan on brewing this fairly quickly after reciept you should be fine with milled.
I would go with milled simply because cracking 12 pounds of grain with a rolling pin would suck hard. (Assuming 5 gal batch)

Order it milled and while you are at it throw a barley crusher in the shopping cart. It's over 100 bucks but you will pay less for each batch because you aren't paying to get it milled, plus your efficiency will be a lot higher than if you rolling-pin it. Even w/my limited experience in AG I can tell you it's a necessary investment.

I have a mill - i use it for specialty grains when we brew extract. But obviously it would be more convenient to get it milled.

I'm ordering 2 kits. First batch will be brewed next Saturday, and so ordering today I should get it a couple days before. Next batch won't be for several weeks after that, so should I maybe get unmilled for my second kit or don't worry about it?

Couple weeks? Just keep it cool.

rockout said:

I'm ordering 2 kits. First batch will be brewed next Saturday, and so ordering today I should get it a couple days before. Next batch won't be for several weeks after that, so should I maybe get unmilled for my second kit or don't worry about it?

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You may get varied responsed here, one of the experts will chime in soon im sure.
Unless you have a LHBS nearby where you could take the grain and mill it when your ready to brew I would order your second batch milled also. Just make sure it is sealed well when your store it.

So we are assuming you don't have a grain crusher of sorts right? Please don't think you can use a rolling pin but in the case above. You want the grain milled.

Why don't you list out the "all grain" equipment you have recently acquired to start your voyage into AG brewing.

If you are getting milled first time, and crushing it yourself the next time, then it is a good opportunity to compare shop V home milling and help you tune in your crush.

rockout said:

I have a mill

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Well for me, there's the answer. Convenience aside, I think milling your own is a bit more satisfying. That way you will already be experienced when you start ordering full sacks.

Regardless of what type of mill you have, just follow my golden rule of milling:

All grains must be fractured and in pieces w/ no whole grain particles remaining'

If not, repeat milling until the above is true.

Good luck!

The kit I ordered from Austin Homebrew did a good job milling the grains. I have a barley crusher at home and I was happy with the job they did with the grain.

2 weeks is too long to have milled grain laying around. Order the kit a 7 days before you brew, or get a corona mill. They are like 30 bucks and they do the job.

I got a Corona off of eBay for cheap (under $25 with shipping), and added some spacing washers to make it crush consistently without too much shredding. It was simple as hell, and now I'm set up to run my own milling operation. All-grain, here I come!

Order it unmilled, and you'll have the freshest materials available when you're ready to brew. Order it milled, and you'd better have a seal-a-meal handy when the stuff arrives to make sure you're not using substandard grain which may impart an off-flavor to your beer.