Does this crush look good for BIAB?

Went to another LHBS today and the guy refused to change the setting to crush the grain a little more fine. I asked him to run it through twice and he said he wasn't allowed according to the owner...I was a bit annoyed but didn't want to drive another 30 minutes to the other store so I bought it anyway. I've already added a couple extra ounces figuring my efficiency would not be ideal using the BIAB method. How does this crush look?

I don't BIAB and crush finer than that. Those guys are dip****s...nice customer service! One the other hand its not a bad crush.

Ya, that crush sucks!

Probably would get better efficiency with no crush.... just kidding! But I definitely wouldn't go to that homebrew shop again!!!

It actually looks better than my last few purchases, but it could be a little finer crushed. Mine are too fine I think and contributed to a stuck sparge. I have never BIAB but I suspect it would be more forgiving in overly crushed instances.

I'd go back once and talk to the owner about double crushing. I get A lot finer crush than that for my 3 tier gravity rig using my Corona style mill.

In these days if a LHBS will not work with the customer they might not be around for long.

Put it in a bag and get at it with the rolling pin. A wine bottle could sub if you don't have one.

cmybeer said:

Put it in a bag and get at it with the rolling pin. A wine bottle could sub if you don't have one.

Click to expand...

What type of bag?

I'm still really annoyed with the shop, I wish I would have just left. So I can put it in my brewing bag and crush with a wine bottle, how fine do I go?

Yea it looks a bit coarse to me. Are those intact grains intact, or are they broken on the inside of the husk and just not broken open? If those grains are intact, this is a horrible crush.

I have some notes and photos of the crush I look for here on my website.

It may help us a bit if you had a dark background behind the photo (black paper) so we can see how much flour and endosperm are in there alone.

Get yourself a corona mill a bucket and peiece of 2x4... LHBS's don't crush for efficiency think about it... More efficient means less grain for your brew... No? Less grain means less sales..

One time I forget to crush at the store so I just put it in a grocery bag I think. Laid it flat and rolled it until it looked better. If you want I guess you could just do it on a large table/counter top. Smashing it up would also be an option.

You can get a corona style from Walmart online shipped to store for about $30 and you'll never be in that position again.

So we all agree I need to try and crush this a little bit with a wine bottle before brewing? I'll post a picture against a black background in a few minutes.

How about this one from Amazon for $20?http://www.amazon.com/Premium-Quality-Grinder-Wheat-Grains/dp/B000U5NZ4I/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1342954737&sr=8-4&keywords=corona+mill

I do understand shops setting their mills to a certain setting because they want to sell grain and make money...but when a customer specifically asks to change the setting or double crush they need to do it!!

I would have let him crush it and then told him to keep his grains since the crush was not good enough and walked out...

Pics against a black background. There are some hulls that are not cracked at all. So I'm thinking I'll put a small amount in a large ziploc bag and crush with a wine bottle until all hulls are crushed. How fine do I need/want to go, just so all hulls are crushed open?

>>How about this one from Amazon for $20?http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000U5NZ4I/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

That has some god awful reviews. Its probably not what people mean when they say Corona Mill

Whatta dodgey LHBS, they won't crush the grains the way the customer needs them crushed? I'd shop elsewhere. The original pic of how they crushed the grain looks like b@lls, good enough for steeping but not for mashing BIAB.

Crushed them further in a ziplock with a wine bottle, think I got them pretty good. It's mashing now so I know shortly!!

Hit my mash and sparge temps right on. I didn't loose as much water during the 70min boil as I thought but efficiency was great at nearly 80% with an OG of 1.064. Fermentation has not begun, or at least that I can see. Trying to be patient as I've ready it can take up to 48 hours, but nervous as all my other batches started within 6-12 hours and it's now approaching 36 hours.