KitchenAid grain mill

Has anybody ever used them for crushing grains?

This has been a topic of discussion many times previously, and something I had personal interest in since I have a KitchenAid that sees a lot of use.

The general consensus (and I'm sure someone will chime in to correct me) is that they just aren't very good at it, and the crush you get from a KA grain mill attachment isn't appropriate for brewing. I would go even further to say that there really isn't a lot of overlap in terms of mills that can both crush grains for brewing, as well as making a good fine grind for flour. Maybe some expensive commercial mills, but for the hobbyist level I haven't really found anything.

I ended up getting a Barley Crusher a couple years ago...maybe 3? And it has been very solid. I know some people here on HBT have had issues with theirs, but I haven't experienced any of them so I don't really have a personal opinion beyond "it works great for me".

There are 2 types, a older all metal cast and a newer plastic case model. I have the metal one and it runs 45 min to get all the grain through it. I now condition the grain before adding it to the mill and it works much better than my non adjustable Schmidling mill. The Plastic model says not to run it for more than a couple of min, so I don't see how that would work. Also they are very expensive, if you didn't own one already, the new plastic ones cost as much as a good roller mill.

I was thinking maybe I could get one and it would both crush malt and adjust to grinding grain for flour and cornmeal. I have a hard time with uni-tasking equipment. I just don't know if I can justify the cost of a barley crusher or equivalent and only have it do one job.

Billie said:

I was thinking maybe I could get one and it would both crush malt and adjust to grinding grain for flour and cornmeal. I have a hard time with uni-tasking equipment. I just don't know if I can justify the cost of a barley crusher or equivalent and only have it do one job.

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Well, then you need one of these:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/paper-shredder-mill-203515/

Thanks for the replies, just did a search on it and found all the answers I needed. I usually do that first when I have a question, but didn't even think about. Must have had a brain-fart. The paper shredder had me thinking though!

passedpawn said:

Well, then you need one of these:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/paper-shredder-mill-203515/

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Private Data Pale Ale?

Carbon Copy Kolsch?

Bank Statement Steam Ale?

The possibilities and new adjunct additions seem endless!

RegionalChaos said:

Private Data Pale Ale?

Carbon Copy Kolsch?

Bank Statement Steam Ale?

The possibilities and new adjunct additions seem endless!

Click to expand...

Actually, made a Wit yesterday. I forgot all about using the shredder, though.

Love the names. Thanks.

I have one of the aluminum ones that I use with my 600W Pro KA mixer and it works fine for me, after a few slight mods and determining what setting to run. I get consistent, decent brewhouse efficicency (~80%-81%) and have done so for the couple years I've used it.

Care to share any information on the mods that are working for you, Boodlemania?

I bought one of these today, after weighing my options and seeing that the KitchenAid was available for 40% off at Amazon:



http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B003DVP1V6/ref=ox_ya_os_product

The sale price is just barely above the cost of a Corona-style mill from my LHBS, and far less than a proper barley crusher. I've already got a KitchenAid mixer, I wouldn't be crushing huge grain bills any time soon and don't have a ton of space in my apartment to dedicate to a milling station. Hopefully I can get a servicable crush out of this thing as well as the occasional use for milling other grains, since it's adjustable...

I understand that the lion's share of the opinion here is very much against the KitchenAid mills, but for those who have had acceptable results (or have been able to improve their output), I'm all ears!

Oh, and there's a further $20 mail-in-rebate from KitchenAid up to December 24th. So... the deal seemed worth the attempt. So speak up, KitchenAid crew... hopefully I haven't completely wasted $80?

I'd be careful not to burn out the motor on your kitchenaid. I had problems using the pasta maker attachement with a dough that was too stiff and it started heating up the motor to a scary amount. I don't think you would have the same problem with grain but be careful and check how hot your machine is getting.

worxman02 said:

I'd be careful not to burn out the motor on your kitchenaid. I had problems using the pasta maker attachement with a dough that was too stiff and it started heating up the motor to a scary amount. I don't think you would have the same problem with grain but be careful and check how hot your machine is getting.

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I've had the motor smoke just mixing dough. I bought the artisan model; I should have gone with the Pro.

I've had that pasta attachment on my list for the last 3 years. Thanks for the heads up. If I get it, I'll keep on eye on it.

passedpawn said:

Well, then you need one of these:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/paper-shredder-mill-203515/

Click to expand...

That's hilarious. I had not seen that.

Cancelled Check Cream Ale. sorry, couldn't resist.

Mill arrived from Amazon. Looks like a high-quality adjustable Corona-style mill that should work well enough on the second-most coarse setting. There are substantial grills on both the hopper and where the grain exits the mill which necessitate disassembling the mill (two screws) to clean it. If I had a grinder I might modify it by removing these so I could just sweep it out with the included brush.