Barley crusher?

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mullimat

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Why do people bother with crushing their own grain? What really is the difference with crushing it yourself and just getting the store you get it from to crush it for you?
 
Several reasons.

Control over the crush perhaps the biggest. It is not really in the stores best interest to give you the best possible crush. Less efficient the crush is, the more grain they sell to you. Also, you may find a certain crush works best with your particular set-up and can dial it in. You cannot ask the store to custom grind just for you.

Another is some people like to buy large quantities of grain (whole sacks at a time) to have on hand. The malt stays fresher longer if it is not crushed. If you have to take it to the LHBS to mill it that is a pain. Or worse still, perhaps you have it shipped and do not have a LHBS. Then you are SOL when you need to mill it.
 
Not everyone has a store, many order online, and though you can get it crushed, the longer you wait to use crushed grains, the less fresh, and able to convert it is. People can also buy in bulk and store their grain uncrushed....The can grind it at 3 am if they want to brew, instead of waiting for the store to open.

People can play around with the crush to get it to meet their needs, and tailor it to their system.


We brewers like our toys? :D

I don't have one yet, but someday....
 
I don't have one, but I want one. I want to buy one, so I can buy 50 pounds sacks of grain, and not have to order online each time I want to brew. I'd keep some base malt and a few favorite specialty malts on hand, so I could brew when I wanted without waiting for UPS and paying shipping each time.
 
I just ordered one over the weekend. I have done 2 AG's so far and the pre-crushed grain I ordered online was not crushed well on both occasions. I got low-mid 60's efficiency but I think the grain was the culprit. I guess we'll see how my next one turns out next weekend after crushing it myself......
 
you know, you can use a corona mill.

ducks

;)

Seriously though that is what I use. I buy 55 lb. sacks of MO and 5-10 lb bags of specialty grains from my LHBS. They have a mill. I get 60% (or lower) using their mill. Currently I have upped my efficiency on my corona to 75%.

I believe it was $32 bucks new. You can find them even cheaper.

Barley crushers are nice toys too though... :p
 
Controlling the crush and the ability to keep bulk malt on hand for brewing at will is all the reason I need to have a BC on hand.

:mug:
 
among the other reasons given I like to be able to buy a pound of malt and only add 2.5 oz to adjust color. Asking the guy at the lhbs to do that kinda gets you a funny look.
 
Consistency. I hit my numbers consistently with my BC. You can go with the LHBS house crush, sure, but it will not be consistent from brew to brew, your efficiency will change which will make hitting your gravities and/or post-boil volumes a challenge.
 
Consistency. I hit my numbers consistently with my BC. You can go with the LHBS house crush, sure, but it will not be consistent from brew to brew, your efficiency will change which will make hitting your gravities and/or post-boil volumes a challenge.

Excellent point, Eric! If repeatability and consistency between batches are at all important, you have to take control of the crush variable.
 
I like to save money and buy in bulk, my LHBS would probably feel betrayed if I hauled some grain in for them to mill that I didn't even buy there. Also, I sometimes don't get to brew when I want to, and I'd rather not have cracked grains lying around.

I just got a barley crusher, for those that have one...what settings do you use? I've been using stock and my efficiency sucks, but I'm pretty sure it's my setup.

I've done 3 batches with: 60%, 59%, and 66% in that order. I use the stock settings.
 
In my case, consistency has nothing to do with it. The LHBS uses the same mill that I have (JSP) and give a good grind. But the LHBS is a 60+ mile round trip from home. I buy my malt from the LHBS, and buying 50 - 100 Kg at a time as whole malt doesn't go stale quickly, it paid for itself many times over with just the one trip.

-a.
 
I bought a Barley Crusher mostly because my LHBS is either online or an actual store front that is 80+ miles away and I stock up when I get to town.

Next trip looks to be 165lbs of base malt alone. I went through that last sack way too quick. :(

Averaged 72% efficiency until I tightened the crush up. Now I'm getting 79%.
 
I bought a Barley Crusher mostly because my LHBS is either online or an actual store front that is 80+ miles away and I stock up when I get to town.

Next trip looks to be 165lbs of base malt alone. I went through that last sack way too quick. :(

Averaged 72% efficiency until I tightened the crush up. Now I'm getting 79%.

How much did you tighten it up from the base setting?
 
Well, i guess i will have to get a crusher then. That is, eventually get one. I feel like i should probably get my basic AG process down first. My first two AG kits i ordered from AHS and ordered it pre-milled of course so i hope they turn out ok.
 
I turned the adjustment knob to about 1:00.

Real precise, I know. :eek: It works for me.

Do yourself a big favor and invest in a set of feeler gauges. Just eyballing my BC, and adjusting it per the instructions from the company I screwed up my settings and ended up with a batch at 59% efficiency, which sucked for the IPA I was making.

I just set mine all the way down to .036" using a proper set of feelers and I hit 89% on the last brew I did on Sunday night.:rockin:
 
Do yourself a big favor and invest in a set of feeler gauges.

Exactly what he said. A feeler gauge is $5 at Autozone, so there's no excuse not to have one. ;)

Ya, I have the gap on mine set at 0.036in too. I routinely hit ~85% efficiency.
 
Do yourself a big favor and invest in a set of feeler gauges. Just eyballing my BC, and adjusting it per the instructions from the company I screwed up my settings and ended up with a batch at 59% efficiency, which sucked for the IPA I was making.

I just set mine all the way down to .036" using a proper set of feelers and I hit 89% on the last brew I did on Sunday night.:rockin:

I know. Feelers are on my list of things to get when I stop for wiper blades for winter.

Since I tightened the BG up I've averaged 79% +- 2 points over the last 5 batches. I'm pretty happy with where I'm at but I'll check with feelers.
 
I turned the adjustment knob to about 1:00.

Real precise, I know. :eek: It works for me.

+1. I got that from EdWort! It's about 0.036", I think. I'm consistently at 83% efficiency but no stuck sparges. Maybe I'll pick up a feeler gauge and check. I have read elsewhere 0.035" is the limit where you start getting stuck sparges.
 
So I bought a 12V Black and Decker (can you TELL I know nothing about powertools?). This isn't really cutting it. (it does it...but not very smoothly, that's for sure)

What kind of drill should I get that will crush through 10 gal grain bills without dying or breaking the bank? Do I need higher than a 12V
 
So I bought a 12V Black and Decker (can you TELL I know nothing about powertools?). This isn't really cutting it. (it does it...but not very smoothly, that's for sure)

What kind of drill should I get that will crush through 10 gal grain bills without dying or breaking the bank? Do I need higher than a 12V

I use a regular 3/8" corded B&D and it works great, it's just noisy and takes a bit of practice to run it a bit slower.
 
I have read elsewhere 0.035" is the limit where you start getting stuck sparges.

I cranked mine down to .025" and did not have a stuck sparge.
A stuck sparge will depend greatly on the design of the manifold, I use a CPVC manifold with about a billion 1/16" holes drilled into it, and have absolutely NO problems.

However, My Dad's false bottom for the 10G rubbermaid, will get a stuck sparge if it is milled below the factory setting for the BC.

It all depends on the design.
 
I could have sworn that I read a few people going all the way down to 0.017" without stuck sparges. Does that wash with what others have read. Sometimes BHT is a haystack and even the search tool can't find that needle!
 
I have a corona mill. took some tweaking since it was designed to make corn flour. added 2 washers on each side (adjustment screws) and tightend down to washers thickness, then just play with main plate adjustment to get proper grind.
 
think a feeler gauge would work in a Corona grain mill. I've just been eyeballing with pretty much success on my few partial mashes. Would love to eliminate the guess work.
 
and upgraded to a BC.... traded my Corona for a carboy & a pint glass. Corona worked with fiddling & an AC (wired) drill, but was a major PIA.

BC is a 5 minute job with my cordless drill. Worth every penny
 
Oh, Christmas Tree,
Oh, Christmas Tree,

There better be a $#%# Barley Crusher under there for me...

I think I've dropped the wife enough hints:D
 
I did a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale clone yesterday and used the Barley Crusher for the first time. My first reaction was that if the crush is supposed to look that way, the pre-crushed grain I used on my first 2 AG's was horrible and very under-crushed! I used the default setting and had a big jump in efficiency. My first 2 AG's were at 69% and 65%. I jumped to 78% on this without doing anything differently except for using the BC.:rockin:
 
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