Crushing small amounts of specialty grains

Up to now, I've either bought kits with pre-crushed grains or bought my small amounts of grain at the LHBS and used their mill. In what seems like a logical step forward, I've started buying larger amounts of extract, hops and specialty grains and measuring out my own recipes. Problem is, the bulk grains are not pre-crushed. Well, actually it's not a problem...it's part of the strategy. I figure it's just like coffee, I should crush immediately before use and minimize oxidation. Better, fresher ingredients = better brew. Still, it means I've got an additional step to do.

Can anyone suggest a better way for a humble extract brewer to properly crush a pound or so of specialty grains? I did my research, and today I gave the old rolling pin trick a try. Sadly, it took a lot of time and effort, and gave rather poor results, with some grains clearly not cracked at all. I finished up with a rubber mallet, but there has GOT to be a better way.

An old book I have (Better Beer & How To Brew It) suggests using a blender, but that method seems to be universally rejected by the experts here. (Frankly, that book is FULL of terrible and outdated information. Twenty years ago it was my bible, but it seems comical now.) Anyhow, if anybody has any other suggestions or new ideas, I'd appreciate hearing them.

For smaller amounts of grain I have used my electric coffee grinder...the kind where you press down on the lid and the blades turn...

The best results (where you don't chop up too much of the husk) is a quick 2 secs.

The best way to do it is with a purpose built grain mill. Try buying pre-crushed grains.

Otherwise...the blender, a coffee grinder, or a food processor might work in the short term. It's not the best way, but if you're just steeping some specialty grains, it'll work ok.

Buying pre-crushed is what I'm trying to get away from. I'd rather have my grain cracked moments before steeping, rather than days, weeks or months.

I'll give the food processor a whirl, no pun intended. Hopefully a few quick pulses will crack most of the grains and not turn it into flour. The worst possible outcome is that I ruin a dollar or two worth of malt.

Thanks guys.

Get yourself a cheap Corona-type mill. I have seem them as cheap as $15 new. They don't produce an ideal crush, but there are a surprising number of all grain brewers here that use them with great success. Undoubtedly they will do a fine job for crushing a bit of specialty grains in your brews.

My LHBS has a coffee grinder like you would see in a supermarket. I dunno if you have one around your area or not.

Maybe try a food processor on a low pulse setting, it has room for lots of grains and should make quick work of them.

Just a tip if you use your regular coffer grinder: Tear up a piece of soft bread and run it through the coffee grinder. It cleans up all the dust and coffee residue quite nicely.

I'll give the food processor a shot this weekend. (Sunday has been brewday around these parts for a few months now!) If I'm not happy with the results, I'll look into a cheap corona type mill.

Thanks again.

i'm in the same situation, and considering a Corona mill too. I'd like to hear how the food processor works for 'ya. I'd like to crush enough for a partial mash, so I'm thinking a food processor might not really hold enough.

That crush is going to be way off anyway, something bordering on flour. There's no half way on this really unless you buy a cheap corona mill. I've tried rolling pins, rubber mallets, coffee grinders, etc. No use unless you're talking 8 ounces worth.

I too found that the rolling pin method gave me poor results. I finally bought a Corona grain mill at my local shop. I think it was $40. It's kind of a pain to get set right in that it likes to either pulverize the grains to dust or not crush at all. There is a "sweet spot" where it works great! I just have to mess with it a bit to get it right. Good luck!

Remember, if you are doing extract, you don't need to worry about stuck sparges, so it doesn't really matter if you pulverize the grains.... EXCEPT when you try to extract the grain bag without leaving a bunch of finely ground husk in your brewing water.

Therefore, if you're grinding with a coffee-grinder, I strongly urge you to use the higher-quality reusable grain bag and limit yourself to about a 2-3 second pulse to crack the grains. The cheap cotton cloth bags will almost certainly let too much of the grain escape.

Damn Squirrels said:

Remember, if you are doing extract, you don't need to worry about stuck sparges, so it doesn't really matter if you pulverize the grains....

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Good point, about extract vs AG. All the more reason to at least try my food processor once.

I normally skip the grain bag and steep in a second, smaller pot while I get the balance of my water heated in the main pot. After steeping, I pour the grain and water into the main pot through a fine wire strainer that is further lined with a few layers of cheesecloth. Then I do a half-assed sparge by slowly pouring another few quarts of 150° water through the grain. Seems to work well, and virtually no particles get through. The spent grain goes right into the compost heap, and eventually ends up in my vegetables!

For steeping grains I've had good results with the rolling pin. I find it works much better with smaller amounts of grain. If I'm steeping 1.5#, I'll split it into 3 smaller bags and then crush with the rolling pin. Then I combine everthing into the grain bag and it's good to go.

rolling pin for steeping. LHBS for PM

I used a rolling pin and got fairly good results. I think the trick is to crush it in small batches.

I put only enough in a large zip lock bag to make a single layer of grain when it's spread out on the rolling surface. Any more than that and you're probably going to get a lot of un-crushed grain.

If using a rolling pin be careful where you crush. It cost me a kitchen makeover when I put hundreds of little dents in the counter top.

Barry

By way of a follow-up, yesterday I used my food processor to crush the 1.25lb of crystal destined for my APA. I split it into three equal parts, and used quick pulses in the processor. Results were mediocre, containing quite a bit of powdery dust as well as a lot of uncrushed grains. The hulls were shredded fine, for the most part.

After steeping 30 minutes, the resulting wort had a somewhat bitter tannin taste, with little of the sweetness it normally has. I added my DME and balance of the water, and once the boil was completed, my OG was a few points lower than it should be. A quick check with Beersmith indicated that the OG was exactly what it would be had I not added the specialty grains at all.

Guess I'm back to the rolling pin and rubber mallet.

BlindLemonLars said:

I'll give the food processor a shot this weekend. (Sunday has been brewday around these parts for a few months now!) If I'm not happy with the results, I'll look into a cheap corona type mill.

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Keep your eye open for a cheap Corona mill. They work fine for PMs and batch sparging AG brews.

Many many years ago I used a rolling pin and a hammer (have to take it easy with the hammer).

As long as you get them cracked open without pulverizing them, you're OK.

The darker the grain, the easier it is to pulverize. Don't want that nasty husk astringency in your beer.

I use a rolling pin, but I stand on it with the grain on the floor in gallon size ziploc bags. Helps if your put down a large plastic cutting board or some other smoothish surface to crush against. Tile would work well too, but anything too rough will tear the plastic bags. Also it's easier to "balance" on and maneuver the rolling pin underfoot if you have something to hold onto, like a porch railing or countertop.

I get pretty good crushes using this method. Some flour and small peices, some larger chunks, and split but not torn husks. Takes awhile to do more than a pound though.