I think NB forgot to crush my grains..

And I DON'T have a mill. Any other suggestions other than using a rolling pin and a cutting board?

I think someone mentioned a steam roller in another thread...

But them in a freezer baggy and then use the roller, it works...

If it's a lot of grain, more than two pounds, I'd complain to them and have them ship me crushed. Even doing two pounds with a rolling pin is an absolute PITA, and it's hard to get a good-enough crush. Pisser if it means you can't brew this weekend, though.

the_bird said:

If it's a lot of grain, more than two pounds, I'd complain to them and have them ship me crushed. Even doing two pounds with a rolling pin is an absolute PITA, and it's hard to get a good-enough crush. Pisser if it means you can't brew this weekend, though.

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The crappy thing is I made my starter last night. I guess I could put it in the fridge and complain to NB to see if I can get them to send me crushed grain.

It's 9 lbs worth on one batch and 8 lbs in another.

The steam roller does sound handy though....my neighbor down the street has a small one!!??!!

If you use a rolling pin be careful not to break the handle off...or else SWMBO WILL get back at ya...

no LHBS close by? Mine has a mill they would let me use if needed.

Up to a pound or two of specialty grains, I'll just "crush" in a coffee grinder. Sure, it's brutal, but for a pound or two, you aren't too concerned with protecting the husks. Anything more than that, fuggedabouditt...

Wht kind of grains were they? I don't think NB adjusts their mill and my experience has been that some of the smaller grains will be virtually uncrushed. In my case, the problem was with Halcyon Optic.

He has 17lbs of grain! Definatly complain. I would consider investing in my own mill if I was using that much.....but I can also buy them bulk right downtown.

bnutting said:

The crappy thing is I made my starter last night. I guess I could put it in the fridge and complain to NB to see if I can get them to send me crushed grain.

It's 9 lbs worth on one batch and 8 lbs in another.

The steam roller does sound handy though....my neighbor down the street has a small one!!??!!

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Make sure you specified "crush" on the order or you'll just be a jerk if you complain. If it was their fault, you're still gonna keep these uncrushed and use them sometime right? I doubt they'll want you to ship back.

See if these guys will do it for you

http://www.pittsfieldbrewworks.com/

Cheers

Toot said:

Up to a pound or two of specialty grains, I'll just "crush" in a coffee grinder. Sure, it's brutal, but for a pound or two, you aren't too concerned with protecting the husks. Anything more than that, fuggedabouditt...

Wht kind of grains were they? I don't think NB adjusts their mill and my experience has been that some of the smaller grains will be virtually uncrushed. In my case, the problem was with Halcyon Optic.

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The two batches that I'm going to make are:
California Common:
8 lbs 2-row pale
1 lb Simpsons CaraMalt

Cream Ale:
7 lbs 2-row pale
.75 lbs Gambrinus Honey Malt
.25 lbs Dingemans Biscuit

At least they don't "look" like they are crushed. At least if they are they're not crushed very well, I see a lot of whole grains in there.

Now this may sound like a stupid question, but why use a freezer bag? Couldn't I just use a rolling pin and a cutting board? The grains seem like they are 'kind of' crushed. So I would just be crushing them a little, I think.

I think that we need a picture to be sure.

wop31 said:

See if these guys will do it for you

http://www.pittsfieldbrewworks.com/

Cheers

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I just called over there and they said to bring it on over.
Don't know why the hell I didn't think about those guys!!

They seem pretty nice too..

I'm ashamed, I haven't made it down to there yet. Got some nice-sounding beers on draft.

Hey, maybe they'll sell you a bag or two of bulk grain, if you ever get yourself a mill!

the_bird said:

I'm ashamed, I haven't made it down to there yet. Got some nice-sounding beers on draft.

Hey, maybe they'll sell you a bag or two of bulk grain, if you ever get yourself a mill!

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Hey that's actually a good question. I'll have to have a conversation with them about that. I think I spoke to one of the owners on the phone and she said that she would be there around 9:00 am on Saturday and if I wanted to come by then before I wanted to start brewing she would let me in do both batches of grain for me.

I'm impressed. I know their brew is good. They have a great sampler you can order which is small glasses of all their brews for the price of a normal glass of beer.

Good stuff.

Glad to hear you were able to salvage the day. I must be odd but the first thing I bought when I switched to AG brewing was a Barley Crusher mill, I figured I wanted to have more control over my brewing process and it starts with the crush. Get a Mill!!!

During shipping, any uncrushed grains 'float' to the top. Have you checked out the bottom of the bag? It would be significantly flour-y if crushed.

So, how'd it go this weekend?

the_bird said:

So, how'd it go this weekend?

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Great!
When I got to Brew Works I asked/showed them the grains and they said that the grains looked like they were "kind of" milled. Not very well to say the least. We ran them through their small mill and there was a noticeable difference. She was very friendly and we had a chance to talk beer for at least a few minutes (I had to bring my two kids, so I did not have a lot of time to talk).

Anyway later that day (Saturday) I mashed and brewed my California Common. If BTP is correct then I hit 75% doing a batch sparge. Temps were a little higher than I was shooting for. I preheated my MLT cooler with near boiling water and did not have the temperature drop that I was expecting. I will adjust BTP to compensate for that. Other than that I was right on the money with volume and gravity readings.

All in all I chalk the whole thing up as a success.

I would highly recommend anybody in the western Mass area to go and check out the Brew Works. She would not take any money for letting my use the mill and she simply said "think of it as one brewer helping another".

She also said that they would be willing to sell some grains in bulk at cost. What they pay for them they will sell them for. Which I think is pretty cool!!