First Crush

I just got my first bag of crushed grain from AHS. I don't know if it's a good crush or not...it looks a little under-crushed to my untrained eye. Just looking for some opinions. If it does turn out to be under-crushed, what are my options? Can I beat it with a hammer in the bag? Roll it with a rolling pin? Suck it up and deal with low efficiency? Any advise is helpful and appreciated. Thanks.

Deacon

http://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q354/edgeofrandom/Crush.jpg

That looks bad. Do you know anyone with a mill that can mill it for you. Is there a local Brew Club you can contact?

Yes that is very bad I would get it milled again.

I've never purchased an pre-milled grain. But I don't think you can tell by looking at the bag after shipping has settled all the 'flour' to the bottom, since hulls are supposed to remain intact.

Everything I've read about milling says you have to catch the grains as they exit the mill, and they should look about 50% flour, with hulls intact.

I guess you ought to dig into the bag, looking for how many hulls still have intact berries inside?

That's almost uncrushed, it should look like this........

it's not "almost uncrushed", it IS UNCRUSHED. they must have missed that checkmark on your order. You need to find someone with a mill, or better yet, buy one. Your efficiency with that grain will be somewhere around 0%, so you're gonna have to come up with something.

it's not "almost uncrushed", it IS UNCRUSHED.

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I know that but I did not want to hurt anybodys feelings.

shafferpilot said:

Your efficiency with that grain will be somewhere around 0%, so you're gonna have to come up with something.

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You will get about 30% efficiency with uncrushed grain.

WBC said:

I know that but I did not want to hurt anybodys feelings.

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It seems that some crushing has been done as there are some broken grains. But I go with the others in saying that this is a rather poor crush.

Kai

First Crush?

I thought this thread was gonna be about our kindergarden sweeties. lol

To the OP, that is not a bad crush...that is a non-crush.

Looks like someone didn't see the check mark next to "Yes, please crush my grains.

WBC said:

That's almost uncrushed, it should look like this........

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That looks vaguely familiar...

I just got a few bags of crushed from AHS for the first time and my 8lbs of 2-row looks about right in between the OP's and WBC's pic but there is a good bit of flour that settled. The strange thing is my 2 lbs of Vienna looks like a really good crush. Seems that there is some inconsistency. I'm doing my first AG on Friday though regardless. I figured it's more of a test run to figure out the process. If I get a good beer...that's a bonus!! I will be buying a crusher before my 2nd attempt though....

Thanks for all the replies. I don't know anyone with a mill or I'd have them run it through. There is some flour that settled on the bottom of the bag, but not much.

This really hacks me off. They know what a good crush is supposed to look like...you would think so anyway. Why in the world would they send me a bag of grain that looks like this??

So what are my options? Any? Am I just SOL? I was hoping to brew on Sunday, but I don't have much confidence after reading these posts...

BierMuncher said:

To the OP, that is not a bad crush...that is a non-crush.

Looks like someone didn't see the check mark next to "Yes, please crush my grains.




That looks vaguely familiar...

View attachment 7602

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I know, I use you're nice picture all the time.

Deacon,
You need to get it crushed or crush it yourself with a rolling pin or whatever you can find that will do the job. Each grain must be crushed open or the sugars can not get out.

Also, I did check the "crush my grain" box. I'm being as picky as possible as I want to make sure all my bases are covered. This just goes to show that if you want something done right...

Deacon1856 said:

Also, I did check the "crush my grain" box. I'm being as picky as possible as I want to make sure all my bases are covered. This just goes to show that if you want something done right...

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Call AHS and tell them they sent you uncrushed grains. Don't try to explain that you think they are under-crushed. I believe they simply overlooked crushing the grains.

Explain that you've shown the picture of your grains to folks on HBT and you're willing to email them a pic.

My guess is that they will make good and send out the right order. Maybe not in time to brew this weekend, but still...

Im with biermuncher........AHS is pretty well respected around these parts, so im sure they will back it up

Deacon1856 said:

This really hacks me off. They know what a good crush is supposed to look like...you would think so anyway. Why in the world would they send me a bag of grain that looks like this??

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It looks a lot like the "crush" I got from Northern Brewer last month. (Actually, yours looks slightly worse.) I got something like 57% efficiency out of that batch. Only slightly better was the "crush" I got from MoreBeer in the Imperial Stout AG kit. A whopping 60% out of that one. (Anyone for a 1.063 Imperial Stout?)

Given what I've read in a few threads here, I've given up on crushed grain from online vendors. My LHBS does a decent job (70%+ effiiciency on those brews) but the selection is hit and miss. I may be buying a grain mill sooner than I thought.

As far as yours...brew it if you want, but you'd better be prepared to either add some extract to make up for what will surely be a much lower gravity than you planned, or cut the hops back in some attempt to keep it in balance.

That's good advice BierMuncher...I'm going to call them tomorrow. I'll be sure to mention HBT. It just seems like the cards are stacked against me on this brew. I'm having trouble tracking down some BASIC equipment here in town, SWMBO thinks the whole brewing idea is the dumbest thing she's ever heard, and now I couldn't brew the grain I bought if I had to. Methinks this will just make my first batch taste that much better. Perseverance through Adversity...or some such something like that.

I can't thank you guys enough for talking me through this. I know it seems like a little thing, but it's something I've wanted to do for years, and I'm getting nothing but static from everyone but this board! I appreciate the fact that you guys understand my itch.

On another note, just to scratch a bit of my itch I stirred up some of EdWort's Apflewine (sp?) this afternoon. No yeast activity yet, but it's only been about 4 hours. I see them moving yet, but I don't see any bubbles bubbling. It's only a matter of time.

Again, many thanks to everyone who's responded. I'm soaking up everyone's knowledge like a big fat sponge.

hmm, the same person who crushed your grains must have done mine. my grain from AHS looked EXACTLY like that for my 999 barleywine. i somehow managed to get 62% efficiency from them though. well actually probably worse than that since it was 62% efficiency for the whole brew and it had some sugar in it which would have been 100% efficient.

While everyone loves AHS on this board and they seem to usually make things right, their attention to detail the first time around seems to be typically lacking.

I will look at the mill and adjust it. I need to make sure that the new people in the shipping department are aware. It seems like it didn't get crushed. PM me your info so I can look into making this right for you.

Can you guys do me a favor? Please refer to my store as Austin Homebrew not AHS. Noobies won't know the acronym. I can't search for 3 letter words on the forum. I usually search for Austin to find posts I need to respond to. No one in the first 2 pages used the word Austin. I was also looking for a cute story about someones first crush.

Also, if there is a problem let me know. I can't fix the problem if I don't know about it. I am striving to have the best homebrew store possible so if you have suggestions let me know. If you need me to carry something or you need some assistance let me know.

Forrest

Hey Forrest
I just got home from a trip and looked at the grains that arrived from your store on Monday. Same problem as the OP (barely, if any crush). It's not too much of a problem since I have a small crusher so I can fix it but I thought I would let you know.

I use to order my grain crushed and found that I always had to run it through the mill again.

I've sent a message to Forrest via PM.

Message boards like this allow business owners to connect with their customer base in a more personal way which is good for them and good for us as their customers.

I appreciate Austin Homebrew's commitment to their customer base. I will be sure to let everyone know how this shakes out.

I just received an order that was shipped Tuesday afternoon and the grain crush is just as it has always been.

Thanks again!

I am re-shipping your grain today. Thanks for letting me know about the problem.
I adjusted the mill and retrained all of the employees.
Forrest

Thank you so much Forrest. I really appreciate your willingness to take care of this. I'm a happy customer.

I have the same problem on a grain order that I just received today. Its barely crushed at all. Forrest, I'll PM you the details. All my previous orders from Austin Homebrew hav been perfect, just this one.

Am planing on brewing tomorrow with some grains I got from Austin Homebrew. Now you all got me worried. This is only my second all grain so I am not to sure what properly milled grain should look like. If I am screwed is there anyone in South Jeresey with a mill who could do a fellow brewer a favor? [/IMG]

Looks good to me.

jcarson83 said:

Looks good to me.

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Actually I didn't think it looked very good, but was waiting for someone with a crusher nearby to chime in. There are a couple of picks of good crushes earlier in this thread.

Paul

dzlater-

I did my first AG yesterday with crushed grains from Austin Homebrew. They looked about like yours and I was concerned at first but after looking at them closely, it did appear most of the grain was cracked so I went ahead with it. I got 70% efficiency. I will be getting a crusher before my next brew though.....

dzlater,

Where in "South Jersey"????

I'm in Wall. if you are close enough I'll mill it.

Mike

wilserbrewer said:

dzlater,

Where in "South Jersey"????

I'm in Wall. if you are close enough I'll mill it.

Mike

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I'm in Mt Laurel, Walls a bit of a ride but thanks any way.

That Ed Abbey quote is almost the rules that I live by! That I need a cabin though. That is awsome.

shafferpilot said:

it's not "almost uncrushed", it IS UNCRUSHED. they must have missed that checkmark on your order. You need to find someone with a mill, or better yet, buy one. Your efficiency with that grain will be somewhere around 0%, so you're gonna have to come up with something.

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Doesnt surprise me a bit from ahs. I have placed 3 orders from them and 2 orders had missing items. i placed an order today for my first attempt at AG and wanted the grains milled by them. Hopefully they do a decent job on my order this time.

UPDATE: Got my grain from Austin Homebrew. These look much better. They even enclosed a handwritten note. I appreciate the personal touch. Thanks again Forrest.

I'm glad I found this thread because my crushed grain looked exactly like the OP's picture and I ended up with 62% eff. on my first AG. I was wondering what I did wrong and how to fix it so I'm actually glad the grain may have had something to do with it.