Is this what Crushed Grains are supposed to look like?

I ordered my specialty grains from Midwest crushed, and they came like this, supposedly crushed; but, are they really crushed?

My last kit was also with crushed grains and they looked similar. I should have asked the question then, but forgot. Just wanna make sure I'm getting what I'm supposed to be getting.

Definitely crushed.

Looks good to me. The meat of the grain gets crushed; the hull stays relatively intact.

cool!

thanks for the lightning quick response!
:rockin:

That grain does not looked crushed to me. Although there are a few empty husks. If they were crushed, they were not crushed well enough to mash.

They're treating you right. Those are better than I get from my Locals any time.

if i recall correctly - midwest kits are geared toward 65% efficiency also - may have to do with a conservative crush.

Is the endosperm intact on some of those, or are those all just empty husks?

Some I can see are empty but others I'm not so sure.

Doesnt look crushed to me either. A while back I had mine crushed by the local brew shop and it looked sorta like that. 20 % effeciency in the mash. Went out and bought a grain mill the next day.

There should be plenty of white powdery starch mixed in with those husks and the husks should be relativlely intack.

weirdboy said:

Is the endosperm intact on some of those, or are those all just empty husks?

Some I can see are empty but others I'm not so sure.

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If those are all empty husks, I've got to get a new mill! One that sucks out the kernel while leaving the husk completely intact.

Reelale said:

If those are all empty husks, I've got to get a new mill! One that sucks out the kernel while leaving the husk completely intact.

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Well if you look up "malt conditioning" here you can find some pics that have empty husks that look pretty much like that. But I kinda doubt the LHBS would condition their malt.

I'm disappointed that the ruling isn't unanimous on "not crushed". Just because there's a little flour down in the corner of the bag shouldn't trick you.

weirdboy said:

Well if you look up "malt conditioning" here you can find some pics that have empty husks that look pretty much like that. But I kinda doubt the LHBS would condition their malt.

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Yes, I've seen the results. I don't know why I don't condition every time. Just lazy I guess. My crush does not look anything like that, I get more grits and flour and the majority of my husks are about halved, but I wouldn't say shredded. I'm still saying not crushed.

Reelale said:

If those are all empty husks, I've got to get a new mill! One that sucks out the kernel while leaving the husk completely intact.

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That would be the ultimate crush to have it all the insides mashed up and leave the husks intact. If this is the case then it's a very nice crush.

While not crushed to everyone's optimal mental picture, this is certainly NOT whole barley.

Steeping or mashing?

Fine for steeping. Could be a little more crushed for mashing.

Use it.

I prefer more of a crush than that.

How about a pic of a proper crush?

sweet jesus, just when i thought things were going to be simple for once.. lol

i can always go over it with an empty bottle to be sure.. it's for steeping, btw

i'll roll over it a bit and use it.

Those do not look crushed to me...I just got done cranking 40+ lbs of grain by hand...My LHBS has an adjustable mill so you can crush it any way you want...unfortunately it is a hand crank model...

BTW since you are just steeping it those are mostly for flavor anyways so the crush is not nearly as critical.

the grain that comes out of my jsp maltmill is way more crushed than that. if it looked like that, i'd take the mill back

Barely crushed. If you are batch sparging, you should run those through a mill again.

I guess I shred the **** out of my grain. I get a lot of flour; some husks are intact, but a lot of them are mulched pretty good.

JSP (schmidling) mill here, too.

Looks like a bad crush to me

passedpawn said:

Barely crushed. If you are batch sparging, you should run those through a mill again.

I guess I shred the **** out of my grain. I get a lot of flour; some husks are intact, but a lot of them are mulched pretty good.

JSP (schmidling) mill here, too.

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Me too! My grain looks nothing like the picture. Plenty of broken husks in mine, but I've NEVER (knock on wood) had a stuck sparge, and get good efficiency.

They look like someone stepped on them a couple times at most.

That bag looks small. What is that, like 6 oz of grain?

I wouldn't accept that. If that grain was really crushed I'd tell them to run it back through the mill again... and then maybe a third time.

Not crushed for me. If it was crushed would be the best crush I've ever seen.

Bobby_M said:

I'm disappointed that the ruling isn't unanimous on "not crushed". Just because there's a little flower down in the corner of the bag shouldn't trick you.

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Very much this.

Another vote for not crushed

Again, can someone post a picture of a good crush for comparison?

Here's a pic of conditioned crushed malt, straight from the wiki:



Conditioning is the only way to keep the husks relatively intact but still have a good crush, so I figure it is the best comparison.

What we need, though, is a better picture of the OP's grain. Preferably on a background that gives good contrast. It's hard to tell what we're looking at - husks or whole grains.

If that was run through a mill, the gap must have been a mile wide! Thats a terrible crush. I know some homebrew places err on the side of a bad crush so people don't complain about stuck sparges with a finer crush.

From Kai's site:

Both of those are good.

Another happy JSP maltmill user (i.e. a "low end" mill), and that's a ****ty crush. Each kernel should be broken up into at least 4-5 chunks, there will be a good amount of flour.

DavidP said:

Another happy JSP maltmill user (i.e. a "low end" mill)

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Hey hey now. Greatest mill ever!

Funny, I actually said definitely not crushed by the picture, and after reading the first four post's, actually convinced myself they were.

Miss Information wins again, this place is infested by her.



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I don't think the question is whether or not it's crushed, just how well it is crushed.

I have to ask this: Is there a difference between "crushed" and "milled"?

In the livestock feed business there is "rolled" as in "rolled oats" and "milled" or "ground".

The op's pictures look like "rolled" barley to me.

They are cracked. Is that considered crushed?
Why does it need to be more than cracked open to steep? (Serious question, not trying to be a smart ass )

Good question, because the grain I get from AHS is labeled "milled" and it looks closer to the pics the OP posted.

I guess a grain mill is the next piece of equipment I need to get. The list never ends.

IMO, the malt in question doesn't appear to be crushed. That malt looks strange for sure with more than a few empty husks and even more grain that looks to be completely intact.

Here a close up of what my typical grist looks like. I've spread it out on a black background for clarity: