grain mill question

I'm getting into AG brewing and wondering where is the best place to buy a grain mill and which one is the best. Not looking to spend a lot but want an adjustable mill.

I've ready several good comments about the BarleyCrusher. ~$130. It has adjustable grind and several AG posters sing its praises.

There are some plans for DIY crushers but I don't have that kind of time or skill to tinker with those.

I looked at all three (Barley Crusher, JSP Malt mill and Crankenstein) and all looked to be quality crushers of similar value. Barley Crusher was the least expensive for me to get a complete ready to go mill with crank so that is what I have and I am impressed. I think you won't go wrong with any of them.
Craig

If you're not looking to spend alot of money the Corona mill is the only thing I know of that you can get for under $100. You can always find them new on Ebay for around $30 shipping included. They are adjustable and make a pretty good crush, but it takes a long time to crush all the grains for an ag batch. I use one though and it isn't bad. One of these days I will purchase a better mill, but it gets me through for now. If you're willing to spend some money I have heard really good things about the barley crusher, but never used one.

BrianP said:

I've ready several good comments about the BarleyCrusher. ~$130. It has adjustable grind and several AG posters sing its praises.

There are some plans for DIY crushers but I don't have that kind of time or skill to tinker with those.

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I'm sure that there are a lot of mills out there that would do the job that you need, but the barley crusher is one good mill for a resonable price. I use it and obtain a malt extract of 92 - 94%. I couldn't be happier......

Since we're on the topic...

If you are just starting into AG and you have limited funds, would it be ok to purchase the grains pre-crushed and skip the mill for the time being? I will get a mill in the future but how important is it to the AG product?

JamesKY said:

Since we're on the topic...

If you are just starting into AG and you have limited funds, would it be OK to purchase the grains pre-crushed and skip the mill for the time being? I will get a mill in the future but how important is it to the AG product?

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There are only a couple of issues with pre-milled grain; it doesn't keep well, so you have use it soon; The crush, and therefore your efficiency, will vary with however it arrives.
However, nothing wrong with using it until you get your own mill. It is much better than putting off all grain while you are waiting for a mill.

joshpooh said:

If you're not looking to spend alot of money the Corona mill is the only thing I know of that you can get for under $100. You can always find them new on Ebay for around $30 shipping included. They are adjustable and make a pretty good crush, but it takes a long time to crush all the grains for an ag batch. I use one though and it isn't bad. One of these days I will purchase a better mill, but it gets me through for now. If you're willing to spend some money I have heard really good things about the barley crusher, but never used one.

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How long does it take with a Corona mill (Victoria mill), per pound?

if your diy capable talk to yuri rage. he built a beautiful one bout 9-10 mo ago

JeffNYC said:

How long does it take with a Corona mill (Victoria mill), per pound?

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All my grain bills are around 24lbs per brew and it takes me about an hour to crush that with a Corona mill with a hand crank.
I got 82% on my last brew so they do work well but the only problem I have with it is that I do get a lot (or more then I want) powder. So I never get my runnings to clear up and have to run it thru a filter screen.
I'm hoping to get a good mill soon and fix this problem.

Corona mills shred the grain they don't crush it, shredded grain husk are more likely to cause astringent flavors. However they are cheap and do the job but its best to save your money and wait until you can afford a good mill like the Barley Crusher.

I use a corona-style mill using my drill to power it. I can crush 6KG of grain in about 4-5 minutes. They do shred the husk a bit but I've been averaging mid 80% efficiency with no astringency. If you take the time to set the gap correctly they do a fine job. I personally plan to get a roller mill one day but I have no problems at all sticking with this.

Waldo said:

Corona mills shread the grain they don't crush it, shreaded grain husk are more likely to cause astringent flavors. However they are cheap and do the job but its best to save your money and wait until you can afford a good mill like the Barley Crusher.

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Just a point of clarification -- I think this is really only a concern if you are fly sparging. Batch sparging is less prone to tannin extraction (generally speaking), and if you use a SS braid, it is pretty hard to get a stuck sparge. I think that despite a bit of husk-shredding, the Corona-style mills work perfectly fine for batch sparging, and there are lots of us here that are getting 80+ efficiency with them.

BTW, in response to an earlier post, I motorized my Porkert mill with a 35 cent bolt and my drill -- I can crush 10 lbs of grain in about 3 minutes.

I vote for the Barley Crusher. Works very well for me.

Thanks for all the help. I'll get a crusher this winter and make the base for it. Btw I saw where someone on the board made their hopper and it looked to be a 5gal plastic water jug, does anyone have the link to this kind of DIY project?
In the mean time I'm getting a larger boil kettle 7.5-9 gal. Just 1 step at a time so the wife doesn't get to upset. She really enjoys the beer I brew so that helps with her understanding.
Thanks again

Barley Crushers are good mills. Do you have a LHBS, though? Many of them have good mills and will happily crush for you when you buy there. I doubt I'll ever get a mill, unless I move somewhere without a friendly LHBS.


TL

I bought a "Crank and Stein" mill and they come ready to go. Just chuck your 3/8 drill on the shank which has flats and will not slip and crush your grain. You do not have to make anything as it comes with the round metal hopper and base.

http://www.crankandstein.com/

I read some reviews and some people are saying that the single roller design of the philmill provide a very good crush similar to mills with larger rollers, anybody have experience with one.
You can get one for $80 here

http://www.greatsoda.com/all_grain.html

Seems like a good price and I have a drill to hook up to it.

Does the barley crusher shred the hulls also? How do the size and "gripping" of the rollers compare to a Victoria/Corona mill?

What it comes down to is that those of us who own and use a corona type mill do so because we couldn't afford a roller mill. We still make good beer, but this is one part of our system that could be improved imo.

A roller mill properly spaced out shouldn't shred the husk, but rather just break the grain exposing the insides and breaking up the insides so we can extract the sugars contained when mashing.

JamesKY said:

Since we're on the topic...

If you are just starting into AG and you have limited funds, would it be ok to purchase the grains pre-crushed and skip the mill for the time being? I will get a mill in the future but how important is it to the AG product?

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I'm a hold out on the mill thingy (for the time being).

I've done...well...let's just say I've done a lot of AG beer this year and ordered all of my grains precrushed. No real issues except that I've come to accept a 67% efficiency (not for long though ).

IF you want to go all grain and would rather invest elsewhere, ordering precrushed grains is a good way to go.

Yuri will make some aluminum rollers for a good price if you want to manufacture the rest of your mill. I'll probably go that way when the mill hits the top of my wish list. Something about building my own equipment really appeals to me. I guess I'm a Yuri-wanna-be.

I'm a hold out on the mill thingy (for the time being).

I've done...well...let's just say I've done a lot of AG beer this year and ordered all of my grains precrushed. No real issues except that I've come to accept a 67% efficiency (not for long though ).

IF you want to go all grain and would rather invest elsewhere, ordering precrushed grains is a good way to go.

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Having a grain mill is almost a must have item for AG, I have 20 canisters filled with specialty grains and a bag of Thomas Fawcett Optic pale two-row and a bag of Rahr two-row, Lots of hops and yeast, I can brew just about anything I want at a moments notice. I would hate to have to order every time I wanted to brew.
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Waldo said:

...I would hate to have to order every time I wanted to brew...

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Me too. I'm a dork.

I love my Barley Crusher. Ready to go right out of the box!



One of the best Christmas presents from SWMBO ever!

I'm TOTALLY asking Santa for that!

I don't think I can wait until Christmas...

JeffNYC said:

I don't think I can wait until Christmas...

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Northern Brewer has the Barleycrusher for $119 and they now have $5.99 flat shipping until Oct 15th. I just ordered one, along with everything else, and it should be here on Friday.

I figured I ordered 40 lbs of grains, hops, yeast, a scale and still only paid $5.99 for shipping!!

Waldo said:

Having a grain mill is almost a must have item for AG, I have 20 canisters filled with specialty grains and a bag of Thomas Fawcett Optic pale two-row and a bag of Rahr two-row, Lots of hops and yeast, I can brew just about anything I want at a moments notice. I would hate to have to order every time I wanted to brew.
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I hear yah man. IMO, one of the best things about AG is the ability to store the grains in bulk and then measure out and crush the exact amount that you need without having to order online or go to the LHBS constantly.

When I say that I would be holding off on purchasing a mill, it would only be for two or maybe three batches (about 3 months for me). I just have to be reasonable with my budget and I would rather spend a little extra to get a nice mash tun instead of a cheaper one that won't last me as long.

That Barley Crusher looks hawt!

JeffNYC said:

Does the barley crusher shred the hulls also? How do the size and "gripping" of the rollers compare to a Victoria/Corona mill?

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Corona mills do not have rollers, they are flower grinders that have two plates that rotate against each other with the grain in between. The Barley Crusher has two rollers that are knurled to better feed the grain into the gap. I don't think is does much shredding.
Craig

If anyone is interested, I just posted a brief testimonial on the Barley Crusher Customer Service.

CLICKY

BierMuncher said:

If anyone is interested, I just posted a brief testimonial on the Barley Crusher Customer Service.

CLICKY

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Just three days ago you said you were holding off on a grain mill... :cross:

John Beere said:

Just three days ago you said you were holding off on a grain mill... :cross:

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I change my mind a lot. I'm like a women that way.

I had a Corona and that lasted for about 1 year. After that, it decided to take a permanent vacation. I then bought a CrankandStein mill (a 3 roller mill that is adjustable for around 150) and it is great. I did research the others mentioned and this one did feature a lifetime re-knurling of the rollers (although i'm sure others do too). i have been using this mill for about 3 years and have no reservations.

I also have a three roller CrankandStein and think it's fantastic. It's probably out of your range if you're looking for something cheap, but if you want something really good, look no further.