Crushing a pound at home? Without mill?

I'm trying to clone Terrapin's Hop Karma this weekend. I'm using marc06's recipe as follows:

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 6.00 gal
Boil Size: 7.88 gal
Estimated OG: 1.059 SG
Estimated Color: 20.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 67.3 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
9.50 lb Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM) Grain 67.38 %
1.25 lb Munich II (Weyermann) (8.5 SRM) Grain 8.87 %
1.25 lb Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 8.87 %
0.75 lb Caramel Malt - 60L (Briess) (60.0 SRM) Grain 5.32 %
0.60 lb Special Roast (50.0 SRM) Grain 4.26 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 3.55 %
0.25 lb Chocolate (Briess) (350.0 SRM) Grain 1.77 %
0.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (Dry Hop 3 Hops -
1.00 oz Nugget [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 36.4 IBU
0.50 oz Chinook [11.50 %] (30 min) Hops 12.4 IBU
0.65 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (20 min) Hops 11.0 IBU
0.75 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (10 min) Hops 7.6 IBU
0.75 oz Williamette [4.80 %] (0 min) Hops -
1 Pkgs American Ale II (Wyeast Labs #1272) [StartYeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 14.10 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 21.15 qt of water at 162.8 F 153.0 F


I was back in Athens, GA last weekend when I bought the ingredients. By the way, if you're in Athens the "5 Points Growler" homebrew store on the Atlanta highway is fantastic.

Anyways... they crushed all the grain for me there, but only had the "Special Roast" in a one pound, pre-packaged bag. I didn't think to just go ahead and open it there and throw it in with the rest of the grain to be crushed.

Now I'm back home and my LHBS doesn't crush grain (they suck). They told em to put it in a ziplock and roll the grain to crush with a rolling pin. Will this work?

Also, what are your thoughts on just throwing in the whole pound vs. the .6 pounds the recipe calls for? I've never used this grain before and don't know what to expect.

Thanks in advance!

The rolling pin will work if you press hard enough. A blender will work if you put in a little at a time and press the lowest speed for a second or two. You can always put in a strong plastic bag or two and place it between to pieces or wood and hit with a hammer. However if your only doing a LB the the rolling pin will work... so also will a meat tenderizer...

coffee bean grinder works well I've been told. I'll bet you can find one of those in the neighborhood / workplace to borrow if you don't have one.

A burr-type coffee grinder works. Not a rotary type. Use the largest grind setting. It still makes a bit more flour than is ideal, but it works in a pinch (like when I forgot to check the "crushed" box on my 15lb order). Does okay with my biab setup

+1 for rolling pin and you get an upper body workout to boot!!

Put it in a ziplock bag, spread the grain out evenly in the bag (may have to do this 2 or more times, depending on the size of the bag), then beat it with the flat side of a meat tenderizer (or a mallet). This has worked well for me in the past.

1 lb out of 14?? turn it to flour, do whatever. Yeah, the rolling pin will work, but I would go for a finer crush.

If you have a marble pin for pastry it will work better than a wooden pin, don't even try with a french rolling pin, to small. Lots of people use a rolling pin to break up their steeping grains for a extract brew so you'll be fine.

I got one of those old style, manual coffee grinders from an antique store. I cleaned it up inside and out and it works great. The large setting gets pretty large, so it works just fine. The only downside is you can only do about 2-3 handfuls at a time. Doing one pound of grains this way wouldn't be bad at all... any more might get a little tedious, but you can always take off the cast iron handle and put and electric drill on the shaft!

I've used a rolling pin for up to 3lbs. I do mine on a flexible cutting board. I just pour a line down the center, crush towards me then away, fold the board and dump it in the mesh bag. Rinse and repeat. It gets crushed a lot finer than I get from NB, but I think I like it that way.

I would stick w/ the .6 lb as stated in the recipe...unless you want more 'roast" flavor...some roasted grains are pretty strong and meant to be used in small quantities, but your taste is what matters???