Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer Mill

So, my wife has a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer, with a grain mill attachment.

Does anyone know what setting you would need it on to mill for all grain brewing? I figured I'd run some through really coarse and see what it looks like first, but if anyone is already using this set up, any input would be great.

That thing is so expensive, not many people have it, but since it's made for turning grain into flour, I'd start at the coarsest setting and adjust from there based on the kind of crush you get. My guess is that the coarsest setting may still be too fine for avoiding stuck sparges.

My room mate just got one. I would like to know how it works out for you. I was thinking about getting the mill as well, or at least putting it on my x-mass list.

I read somewhere that the coarse settings actually work fairly well. The main problem comes with the hopper size. I think it holds about a cup and if you need to do 10-15lbs of grain you're looking at a long boring process. Would be fine for partial mash or extract + steeping I would think though.

bradsul said:

I read somewhere that the coarse settings actually work fairly well. The main problem comes with the hopper size. I think it holds about a cup and if you need to do 10-15lbs of grain you're looking at a long boring process. Would be fine for partial mash or extract + steeping I would think though.

Click to expand...

Bingo, I tried this is the past and it took me way too long. I was only partial-mashing and the milling alone took me about an hour!

Right. I was thinking I'd put together a larger hopper stack on top of it. But here's the thing. The last time I was at the LHBS, I watched a guy grinding his grain by hand for half an hour. Also, all the stuff you can buy is basically $100 to start.

So I'm thinking, I can grind it at home, and not do it by hand. I may lose a little time, but not that much when you consider that I'm not driving anywhere to do it, or cranking it myself.

Also, it's free. I will keep you guys posted as to how it works out.

I was looking at Amazon and the mill attachment is $109 a monster mill is $99, I think I would pick up a monster mill first.

with all the creative home projects shown on this site, expanding that hopper is about the easiest one of the bunch. Plexiglass is very easy to work with and some sheets, the bonding agent, a straight edge and a utility knife is all you need to "git er done".

aw heck, cardboard/chipboard and duct tape would make Red Green proud

I have a KitchenAid and a few attachments, but not the grain mill (so take this advice with a grain of salt).

Based on the way the other attachments work, I don't think you would really want to put a very big hopper on the KitchenAid grain mill. It would put too much weight and stress on the machine, and potentially ruin the attachment or the power take-off thingy.

But apparently, anyone that has used one says they crush just fine on the really coarse settings.

Some other recent discussion:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=43080

So I used it last weekend. It doesn't really work well for brewing, to be honest, and I was really hoping it would be fine. Just so you realize I'm not looking for a reason to buy a Maltmill.

It really tears the grains up a lot. I had my base malt shipped already crushed, and did my specialty stuff in the Kitchen Aid mill to compare. I know they were different grains and all, but the grains were completely shredded. Even if you weren't worried about tannins and whatnot, it looks like a recipe for a stuck sparge. I would not use it to grind an entire batch worth. And again, I was really hoping it would be fine, as I wasn't worried about the small hopper (it's totally motorized). Bummer.

From the sound of the posts, I'm really lucky. I call up my LHBS and order the grain bill I want and then go pick it up milled for me the next day. He doesn't charge for this either. Does milling the grain the night before hurt anything?
I have been doing AG for two years now and I would have no idea that a 24 hour resting period would do anything to your brew.


Oscar,

Gregg Meyer said:

From the sound of the posts, I'm really lucky. I call up my LHBS and order the grain bill I want and then go pick it up milled for me the next day. He doesn't charge for this either. Does milling the grain the night before hurt anything?
I have been doing AG for two years now and I would have no idea that a 24 hour resting period would do anything to your brew.

Click to expand...

Overnight is no big deal. I've sometimes crushed my grain a week ahead (I usually do night before, but sometimes brew day gets cancelled). Crushed grain is good for a few weeks for sure as long as you keep it cool and dry.

I've used my KA grain mill for several dozen all-grain batches and it works great, with a minor alteration. The coarsest setting is still too fine for a brewer's needs. What you need to do is turn it to the coarsest setting, then use an allen wrench to remove the knob, put it back on with the indicator three settings down from coarsest, and reattach. Voila, now just turn it back up to coarsest and you're in business. The small hopper is an issue I'm trying to remedy. In the meantime, I just throw in a couple of cups at a time while I'm setting up and preparing my strike water, and it's ready when I need it.