Barley Crusher WOW

I brewed Biermunchers Octoberfast on Sunday. My pre boil was 14 brix @ 12.5 gallons by my calculation thats 1.056ish right where I was suppose to be post boil .I ended up with 16 brix 1.064 with just a hair over 11 gallons. I checked this with my hydrometer @60* and it was dead nuts. I have made this recipe before and hit 1.056/58 post boil with pre crushed grains.

My only deviation was to use 2 row american @ 1.8 instead of the 2 row Pilsner. Which really shouldnt have effected the efficiency. I think I will need to adjust my calculations from now on. The 24 Volt Bosch eat up the grain like nothin on the # 1 setting, 375-400 RPM's

Right on. My BC is enroute from Brewmaster's Warehouse and I'll be using it on my next batch. Might be wishful thinking on my part (or not), but I'm going to base my next recipe on 75% efficiency and see what happens.

Sweet! I just got a new BC for V-Day. Looking forward to using it for the first time.

I used mine for the first time last weekend. Checked the gap first and it was a little out of parallel and slightly tighter than the claimed .039". I set it to .039", milled and mashed and got 90% efficiency on 11 gallons of Edworts Haus Pale Ale. I usually get 83-88% on 6% ABV grain bills with the LHBS crush so I'm happy with it right now at .039".

I used my BC for the first time on my last batch. I had been using 70% efficiency which is what I was getting with my online crushes from various places. I adjusted the crush to .035 and crushed away. Efficiency jumped to 85%! I boiled it down a little less so I didn't end up with a Duvel-ish barley wine!

I love my barley crusher, but didn't get it on Valentines day....how appropriate would that have been

Am I the only person on earth that has been less than happy with their BC? The rubber o-ring of mine is on the roller itself, I'm guessing it's not supposed to be there. The hopper is held to the frame with bolts, but they don't go through holes in the hopper, they go through slots.

Twice now, even though well-tightened, I've had the hopper come off from the frame on one side while I've been pouring in the grain, hence ruining brew days.

ok, I'm done now. </vent>

I'd take that issue up with the people that make the BC. I've heard their customer service is extraordinary.

atkinsr said:

Am I the only person on earth that has been less than happy with their BC? The rubber o-ring of mine is on the roller itself, I'm guessing it's not supposed to be there. The hopper is held to the frame with bolts, but they don't go through holes in the hopper, they go through slots.

Twice now, even though well-tightened, I've had the hopper come off from the frame on one side while I've been pouring in the grain, hence ruining brew days.

ok, I'm done now. </vent>

Click to expand...

You can return yours and they will generally fix or replace for free.

How do you adjust it and know how fine it is crushing the grain? Got mine last night and fooled around with it a bit.

I left it at the factory settings. I was a little nervous when I started to crush was way finer than what I had been used to. Also my sparge was a little slower than before and the grains really compacted. But no stuck sparge and 7-8 points on efficiency was a welcomed relief

Stevorino said:

How do you adjust it and know how fine it is crushing the grain? Got mine last night and fooled around with it a bit.

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You adjust it by loosing the screws on the side plate of the free wheeling roller and turning the knobs.

You set the gap with a set of standard automotive feeler gauges from most any automotive store. I picked up a SS set for $3 at AutoZone a few weekends ago when I couldn't find my old set.

atkinsr said:

Am I the only person on earth that has been less than happy with their BC? The rubber o-ring of mine is on the roller itself, I'm guessing it's not supposed to be there. The hopper is held to the frame with bolts, but they don't go through holes in the hopper, they go through slots.

Twice now, even though well-tightened, I've had the hopper come off from the frame on one side while I've been pouring in the grain, hence ruining brew days.

ok, I'm done now. </vent>

Click to expand...

The O-ring can be snipped off. It's to make sure that the rollers spin freely during testing at the manufacturer. Doesn't really serve a purpose when you are using it.

I've not had a problem with the hopper coming off my 7lb model. My 5 yo pours the grain in as his part of brew day and isn't gentle when he does it. Something must be up with yours.