Grain mill

If I don't have a grain mill can I use a coffee grinder on course setting?

That won't crush the grain, it will cut it. You want to crush the grain.

Food processors, coffee grinders, etc. are POOR substitutes for an actual barley crusher/grain mill. Cutting grain is far less than ideal. You want the crush to have mostly intact hulls/husks from the grain with less powder. This is why the vast majority use either the ugly mill (look it up) or a proper/roller mill. Roller mills, IMO/IME, do a far better job of crushing the grain and do it easily. Having a large hopper on the mill means you don't need to scoop small amounts in/out to do a batch.

I could only imagine ho wlong it would take if I was crushing my grain 1/2 cup at a time. Considering how my batches are typically in the 14-20# range.

What about a pasta maker it is just steel rollers that cabe adjusted.

People that have tried it have reported failures with it. If you look at the rollers on mills, they're knurled. You won't have that on pasta rollers. The knurling is what grabs the grains and runs them through to get crushed.

If you cannot afford to get a mill to crush the grain, then either get it crushed when you purchase it, or find another brewer (close to you) that has a mill and brew with that person (or see if you can run your grain through his mill). I have zero regrets in getting my Monster Mill MM2-2.0. Well, other than not getting it sooner and getting a Barley Crusher first. The mill wasn't cheap, but it's worth it (to me). Plus, chances are I'll be passing the mill along to another generation before it wears out (hardened steel rollers)...

Golddiggie said:

Food processors, coffee grinders, etc. are POOR substitutes for an actual barley crusher/grain mill. Cutting grain is far less than ideal. You want the crush to have mostly intact hulls/husks from the grain with less powder. This is why the vast majority use either the ugly mill (look it up) or a proper/roller mill. Roller mills, IMO/IME, do a far better job of crushing the grain and do it easily. Having a large hopper on the mill means you don't need to scoop small amounts in/out to do a batch.

I could only imagine ho wlong it would take if I was crushing my grain 1/2 cup at a time. Considering how my batches are typically in the 14-20# range.

Click to expand...

The cool thing about the mini food processor is that I can control the quality of crush. I noticed this when I did it for my 1st pm kit I just bottled. It was a bit misty,& the aroma/taste was just great compared to extract.

Problem with the mini food processor is you're the one 'controlling the crush' which can be a biotch to get consistent results on. You have no way to know how the 'crush' is, which isn't crush it's a cut/slice. IMO/IME, an adjustable malt mill is the best option. You could use an ugly mill (you won't be able to measure the crush, and it's not a small amount of work to get it set up properly) to do a better crush than the cut.

BTW, even a partial mash batch is going to be better than extract. All grain is another step above.

BIAB can be used with a finer crush level than other methods only because the bags used are typically a finer mesh than the false bottoms many use. Also, the stainless braid others use can also be clogged by too much powder.

If it was me, I'd put an actual malt crusher at the top of list of things to get next. Just be sure to get one you'll be happy with for the long term. I wish I had done that with the first mill I purchased. Between short, small diameter, rollers and small hopper, it didn't last long. With the MM2-2.0 I purchased I don't expect to ever need to get another mill. Especially since I went with the hardened rollers. I do like what they have on the product page about the roller steel options now...

"There are three roller material options available for the larger 2" mills. They come standard with 1144 alloy steel, which offers fantastic wear for home brewers. Plain steel mills kept indoors, and used regularly won't have rust issues. Non climate controlled areas, or minimal usage could see some corrosion come up that is easily removed with a wire brush. As an upgrade to 1144 steel we offer 303 Stainless Steel. It will wear just about the same as our 1144 steel, but will not rust. The last option is for our 1144 steel rollers that have been heat treated/hardened. The regular 1144 alloy rollers are heat treated to approximately 51-54 Rockwell C hardness. This upgrade is what you want for any mill used in a commercial environment. Brew shops, breweries, and only extremely prolific home brewers with tons of drinking buddies need to look at this option."

I couldn't see going stainless, since the mill won't be anywhere it would be prone to rust. I saw the hardened option as the best choice (for me)... I'm working on getting more people to drink with me, and will probably end up getting a few more kegs soon. :rockin:

Golddiggie said:

As an upgrade to 1144 steel we offer 303 Stainless Steel. It will wear just about the same as our 1144 steel, but will not rust. The last option is for our 1144 steel rollers that have been heat treated/hardened. The regular 1144 alloy rollers are heat treated to approximately 51-54 Rockwell C hardness. This upgrade is what you want for any mill used in a commercial environment. Brew shops, breweries, and only extremely prolific home brewers with tons of drinking buddies need to look at this option."

I couldn't see going stainless, since the mill won't be anywhere it would be prone to rust. I saw the hardened option as the best choice (for me)... I'm working on getting more people to drink with me, and will probably end up getting a few more kegs soon. :rockin:

Click to expand...

Great post. My next upgrade is grain crusher. I've heard a lot of good things about the MM2. It's a bit deceiving how they sell it in pieces though, and the options. No matter what, a good grain crusher is really expensive and to me it has to be balanced out with buying sacks of grain, especially base grain, to cover the cost. I had thought the stainless steel options for all pieces is the way to go unless I want small chips of metal in the grain. So this is great info, thanks.

IMO, stainless isn't worth the price. I'm extremely happy with the hardened rollers. I could probably feed a person through the mill without it having an issue. Depending on how much grain you expect to be using, I would get, at least, their base and hopper options. If you're going to mill close to 19# of grain at a time (or per batch) then get the hopper extension. You can always add the extension later (one of the things that I really like about them). Of course, I wanted the option to be able to mill up to 39# of grain at a time, so I got the extension with the hopper (and base) at purchase time. I had 30# of grain in it for my batch last weekend. :rockin:

If you are only crushing small amounts of grain, and can't see shelling out the dough for a roller mill, get a Corona mill. I picked one up for $30 from buy.com a couple of years ago, and it has worked great for me. Probably crushed several hundred lbs of grain with it, and still doing fine. Make sure you get one with the large hopper.

I Partial Mash, so only do 5 to 6 lbs at a time. It doesn't take long, but could get old if I was regularly doing 15 to 20 lbs at a time. The crush is good, and I regularly get 80% efficiency; sometimes 90%. You can adapt them to take a drill to make them work faster.

I have no doubt that a Barley Crusher or a Monster Mill does a great job, but apart from crushing the grain faster, I'm not sure there is really much difference in the final product.

From what I've seen of the Corona mills, you get grain (crushed and not) flinging all over the place while you use it. Just the nature of having the discs crushing the grain.

Anything above mid-80's for efficiency would concern me that you're extracting more unwanted things. My 'normal' batches are in the 15-17# range, with more than a few tipping into the 20+ range. I don't often go above 27# of grain, but I've done it twice so far. After last weekend's batch, I know what I can get into the mash tun. I'll be able to get a bit more than 30# into it (probably going to limit myself to no more than 32# per batch).

As for the quality of the crush, 2" rollers do a MUCH better job (IME) than anything at/under 1.5" diameter. The Barley Crusher rollers are under 1.5" in diameter (1.25" if I recall). The 6" long rollers of the MM2-2.0 also beat the BC's 4" rollers.

While the Carona is ok for small amounts of grain, once you get into all grain and/or larger batches, I expect it to quickly become a PITA to use. I'll be looking at mounting my mill to a rolling cabinet within a few months, that I'll be able to set my buckets under the dump port of. Then, I'll be looking at motorizing it when I can get to it. Right now, my 18v DeWalt cordless drill makes short work of crushing.

BTW, I don't get ANY grain flung anywhere by my mill. The only 'issue' I have is when I need to switch buckets due to the size of the grist. I can usually fit about 16# into what I mill into. Need to find some larger (than 6 gallon) clear[ish] buckets to mill into.