Crushed or Unmilled

Which form is grain normally mashed in?

Always crushed.

Always crushed.

Unmilled grain won't mash much if at all.

As an aside, I believe the un-milled lasts longer in storage, but we'd have to have an all grainer weigh in on that to back me up.

Uncrushed is for a lite beer.

busta98 said:

Which form is grain normally mashed in?

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My first all grain I tried to do 5 pounds of grains by way of a rolling pin. My grains were hardly crushed at all, and my efficiency was about 30%. I made beer tea. Luckily, instead of panicking I boiled a few pounds of light DME, and dry hopped with an ounce of cascade and it turned out to be one of my best beers to date.

Please, do not misunderstand. If you are using grains for some sugar extractions (or even steeping), they need to be crushed.

Chudz said:

As an aside, I believe the un-milled lasts longer in storage, but we'd have to have an all grainer weigh in on that to back me up.

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True. But, if you buy unmilled grain, you better have a way to mill it once it comes time to do your mash.