crushing specialty grains?

The grains that came with my extract kit were not crushed. Can i put them in the food processor briefly, or do I have to find a LHB shop to get them milled?

Brandon

No. Put them in a zip lock bag a little at a time and crush with a rolling pin or beer bottle.... You don't want to grind the grains, just crack them.

Crush is the word. Too fine and they'll form a ball of mush that water can't penetrate.

sometimes i'll use my coffe grinder. pulse it one or two times and it comes out about right. i found it easier than cracking them with a wine bottle in a bag.

My LHBS crushed my first sepcialties last week for me. I was surpised at what they looked like. Definitely NOT ground...more looked like it was just 1/2 cracked open. Whatever it was, worked nice, as I got a nice steep out of them- the aroma was fantastic. Next time, I am going to try my hand on crushing them myself.

Cracked is exactly how you want them. They do smell wonderful at 155 don't they?

gaelone said:

Cracked is exactly how you want them. They do smell wonderful at 155 don't they?

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yeah they do- it was my first time working with grains. I found myself grabbing the bag and taking a big sniff when I walked by them prior to brewing. I am doing some Black Patent, Roasted Barley, and Chocolate this weekend for my stout- I can't wait.

your place is going to smell absolutely blissful this weekend. Enjoy!

my neighbor and i found the smell amazing, his wife however thought it smelt like ass.

At 155, the smell is gorgeous. I tend to err on the side of caution, with maybe a few grains uncracked as opposed to having too many pulverized shells.
After my last two partial mashes, I think I'll be ready soon for all grain. And it's mostly because of you people easing my paranoia that everything is going to go wrong. A few homebrews help too.

I of course mean that you're easing my paranoia that things will go wrong, not that because you're easing my paranoia things will go wrong. I just re-read this and realized that what I wrote could be read the wrong way.