Advantage of milling grain?
- Thread starter KayaBrew
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Clonefarmer
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Control of the crush. Grain keeps much longer. Can buy in bulk.
Laughing_Gnome_Invisible
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What he said
I finally ordered a Barley Crusher just 30 seconds ago. It will be sooo nice not to have to work around the LHBS's schedule any more. Maybe I can do better than 65% now too.
Next up is a bulk grain order and a bulk hops order:rockin:
Next up is a bulk grain order and a bulk hops order:rockin:
Laughing_Gnome_Invisible
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I almost cried with joy when my first 55# sack of Maris Otter arrived. It was the most satisfaction I ever got from a bag with a girly name.
Holy sh*t! I just pissed myself!! I think we have a new front-runner in signature quotes!:rockin:
Thanks for the replies. I also just ordered a crusher. And a bag with a girly name.
I see Morebeer has US 2-row in a 50lb sack for $32! I'll pay for my barley crusher in no time!
I have to rush home and tell SWMBO how much money I'm about to save by buying brewing equipment
Nikobrew
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I know the feeling, my LHBS is right down the road so I can have my grain crushed quickly but the 65% efficiency is killing me.. mainly my pride lol bulk grain is cheap enough. Do they carry 50lb bags for you?
I am questioning your honesty here KayaBrew. You say you are from NY, but then you post "I am FIXIN' TO"! Either you ain't really from there, or my theory is correct and even the north has hillbillies....
In answer to your question, get a grain mill. You will save money by buying your grain in bulk, you will be able to control your crush, your efficiency should improve a lot, and you can be one of the cool kids like us!
Get Ed at Brewmaster's Warehouse to hook you up with a Barley Crusher. You WON'T be disappointed.
jackson_d
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alright noob question here... why do you get better efficiency? is it better to crush the instant before you steep? should i not use leftover grain that i crushed last weekend for this weekends brewing? or can you set the distance between the 'rotors' in the miller to a more effective setting? if i have the option to buy unmilled grain from the LHBS, i always do, and then crush there, and then brew a day or two later. am i way off on any of this?
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You can get better efficiency because you can set the crush yourself. Some may show worse efficiency until they get it setup right if you're getting a good crush from your Grain supplier already.
I have a Mill on my number 2 slot for equipment purchases so I can buy in bulk and be able to brew on demand.
I have a Mill on my number 2 slot for equipment purchases so I can buy in bulk and be able to brew on demand.
You can use last week's grain, just seal in a bag and put in fridge.
Yes, you can adjust the distance between rollers (or plates) and crush finer, which will more easily give up the sugars and improve efficiency. But if you go too fine you risk clogging the MLT when sparging (stuck sparge).
I'd highly recommend getting your own crusher if you start buying bulk. Or build one...
DarkHelmet
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How much longer do grains keep when they aren't pre-crushed?
chumprock
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Better control of your crush vs. accepting the crush your HBS gives you.
Most HBS's hold back on their crush to avoid their customer's facing the frustration of a stuck sparge.
If you have a cool dry place to store the grain, it can last a year or so. I keep bulk grain and specialties on hand so that I can brew whatever I want on a moments notice. You can do that when you're waiting for a milled grain order to arrive.
Uncrushed kept cool and dry for many months. Crushed in the fridge they say to use in like 3 weeks...
Of course you will want to keep the mice out of the grain when you store it... I put away all the bird seed in the attached shed and now the mice have had to move into the house to find food. But they don't check out.
I caught a young mouse yesterday and put him in the cage with my daughter's pet mouse and waited for the fight, but they did ok and I noticed they were cuddled up together in the mouse house today.
I see Morebeer has US 2-row in a 50lb sack for $32! I'll pay for my barley crusher in no time!
I have to rush home and tell SWMBO how much money I'm about to save by buying brewing equipment
You're thinking on their wavelength! Nicely done
how many times have you heard a woman saying "I couldn't pass up these shoes they were on a 80% off sale, think of how much money I'm saving !!!!":O
farmbrewernw
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Having a mill allows fine tuning, for instance last weekend I decided to try a finer crush setting on my mill. As a result I was able to increase my eff by 5%, went from 75% to 80%.
I am questioning your honesty here KayaBrew. You say you are from NY, but then you post "I am FIXIN' TO"! Either you ain't really from there, or my theory is correct and even the north has hillbillies....
In answer to your question, get a grain mill. You will save money by buying your grain in bulk, you will be able to control your crush, your efficiency should improve a lot, and you can be one of the cool kids like us!
Get Ed at Brewmaster's Warehouse to hook you up with a Barley Crusher. You WON'T be disappointed.
LOL!! You must understand here, Bull, I'm in NORTHERN NY...up in the Adirondacks. We're not quite hillbillies, mountain people maybe. But for those not familiar with Northern NY, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, "redneck" is NOT just a "Southern" thing. Yankee rednecks are a MEAN bunch.
