IDEA: Corona Mill for Speciality Grains

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njnear76

njnear76

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Hi everyone,

I'm thinking of purchasing a Corona mill for my speciality grains. My LHBS sells speciality grains by the pound ($1.75 per pound), and it kind of sucks to have to throw away what I don't use.

I don't have too much storage space for massive amounts of grain, so this seems to make the most sense. What do you guys think?
 
bradsul said:
Great idea! I currently use a corona mill for AG brewing and it works great.

...let the barley crusher praise posts begin! :D
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Heh. I figured that would happen. Corona mills are small and cheap. I figure I wouldn't even have to adjust it, because it is probably better that my speciality grain resembles flour.
 
njnear76 said:
Heh. I figured that would happen. Corona mills are small and cheap. I figure I wouldn't even have to adjust it, because it is probably better that my speciality grain resembles flour.
Click to expand...
You don't want it quite that crushed, if you're using a steeping bag you want to be able to contain most of it in there. A little flour is a good thing though.
 
Depends on two things:

  1. How cheap can you find a corona mill...eBay perhaps? EDIT: Free is good!
  2. Storage issues notwithstanding, do you have any plans in the mid-term future to move up to all-grain brewing? If so, you should instead invest in a barley crusher at this point.
 
Kids got me a Victoria (Corona style) grain mill for Christmas. Works great for specialty grains; adjustment is kind'a hit and miss, but you can get there.

Rick
 
Evan! said:
Depends on two things:
  1. How cheap can you find a corona mill...eBay perhaps? EDIT: Free is good!
  2. Storage issues notwithstanding, do you have any plans in the mid-term future to move up to all-grain brewing? If so, you should instead invest in a barley crusher at this point.
Click to expand...
I am an All Grain brewer, but I brew currently at my brother-in-laws. I think they would kill me if I brought a barley crusher into their home.
 
njnear76 said:
I am an All Grain brewer, but I brew currently at my brother-in-laws. I think they would kill me if I brought a barley crusher into their home.
Click to expand...

Why? We're not talking about wheeling in a big piece of industrial factory equipment. The thing measures maybe 14" x 14" x 12"h. If he (or you at your place) doesn't have room for that thing, then I'd say it's time to throw out some chotchkes and make room. Why would he kill you???:confused:
 
Barley Crusher fits easily on top of a 5-gallon bucket (drop $3 at Depot for a clean one).

EDIT: For just crushing a few specialty grains, though, a free (or cheap) Corona will be fine, no need to drop $120 on a BarleyCrusher until/unless you decide to go AG, or maybe if you start doing bigger partial mashes.
 
the_bird said:
Barley Crusher fits easily on top of a 5-gallon bucket (drop $3 at Depot for a clean one).

EDIT: For just crushing a few specialty grains, though, a free (or cheap) Corona will be fine, no need to drop $120 on a BarleyCrusher until/unless you decide to go AG, or maybe if you start doing bigger partial mashes.
Click to expand...
Well, I plan on buying a barley crusher after we move into a house and the wife is almost done with graduate school.

Living in central NJ is expensive. Even though I feel like I make good money, we are just making our bills.

Thank god for beer and this hobby otherwise I would be on a cliff.
 
I thought about upgrading from a corona mill but made some adjustments and gave it another chance before moving on. I replaced the weird concave washer between the cotterpin and moving plate with a couple regular washers to eliminate wobble keeping a consistent gap while grinding. I also set the gap with a couple pennies between the moving and stationary plates (on the advice of a friend). My last batch saw an 84% efficiency, up from the low 70s. :)

I think I'll keep it a while longer and invest the money in hops. :D
 
bikegeek said:
I thought about upgrading from a corona mill but made some adjustments and gave it another chance before moving on. I replaced the weird concave washer between the cotterpin and moving plate with a couple regular washers to eliminate wobble keeping a consistent gap while grinding. I also set the gap with a couple pennies between the moving and stationary plates (on the advice of a friend). My last batch saw an 84% efficiency, up from the low 70s. :)

I think I'll keep it a while longer and invest the money in hops. :D
Click to expand...

So that's a 2 penny space or a 3 penny space? Hmmm... It seems like these things are pretty hard to work with, but once you figure them out, they can work pretty well.
 
njnear76 said:
So that's a 2 penny space or a 3 penny space? Hmmm... It seems like these things are pretty hard to work with, but once you figure them out, they can work pretty well.
Click to expand...
It was a one penny gap using several pennies around the perimeter of the milling plates to ensure the plate didn't go cockeyed on me as I tightened it down. Then I backed off just a bit (increasing the gap) once I saw the grind I was getting.
 

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