Can I Use a FLOUR Grain Mill?

As the title says, can I use a grain mill intended to make flour to crush my brewing grains?? I know most grains, this one included, are probably good at cracking grains, but what about brewing grains?

I'm eyeballing this: Country Living Mill As you can see, it definitely costs a pretty penny, and I know brewing mills aren't cheap either...

Is it theoretically possible? Or are brewing mills and bread mills two different animals?

Thanks!

Looks like too fine a crush for homebrewing. Get a mill made for crushing barley, preferably one that you can hook up to your drill (no hand crank). You will not be sorry.

I have no experience with that particular mill, but it appears to operate similarly to a Corona mill. You may be able to produce decent grist with it, but at the price of $429.00 plus shipping IMO you would be much better off buying a mill designed specifically for grinding malt. You can get a bare bones Monster Mill for $117.00 and for another $40.00 you can get the hopper and base to go with it. Some of the savings could be used to motorize the mill. The downside is that a malt mill won't produce very fine flour if that's important to you.

Is there a reason you want to spend such a ridiculous amount on a very subpar mill? Get a Barley Crusher... a great adjustable roller mill for under $150? You can't really go wrong.

emjay said:

Is there a reason you want to spend such a ridiculous amount on a very subpar mill? Get a Barley Crusher... a great adjustable roller mill for under $150? You can't really go wrong.

Click to expand...

Yes, I'm also an avid baker. I plan on getting this mill and then grinding my own wheat and rye berries for flour to bake bread.

I was hoping to kill 2 birds with one stone, but looks like I'll have to get two mills instead.

EDIT: Plus, the thing I like about the linked mill above is it comes with a 20 year warranty. Woulda been ubber cool if I could double duty it.

I use a Corona Mill, it makes flour and with a bit of adjustment mill's my grain just fine. Cost me $25.00.

You can get a corona mill for under 40 bucks, and with the stone plates you can do the same thing, use it for grain AND making Flour...even as low as 20 with some hunting( the stones for flour will be a few more bucks) And you can motorize it with a drill.

It's probably usable, but at over 400.00 you could by 3 barley crushers for the same amount of money.

I second the idea of getting a corona mill to crush grains and to make flour. That country living mill is for suckers that don't know better.

So I just read this- I am looking for a grain mill as well. I've posted on a few forums, and the Barley Crusher keeps getting mentioned. Am I right assuming that this is one of the more popular ones and its a decent price??

thanks

hoppygirl79 said:

So I just read this- I am looking for a grain mill as well. I've posted on a few forums, and the Barley Crusher keeps getting mentioned. Am I right assuming that this is one of the more popular ones and its a decent price??

thanks

Click to expand...

Yep. The Barley Crusher is definitely the best bang for your buck when it comes to roller mills. It's not the best one on the market, but for homebrewing use it's more than enough, and has all the important features (eg, easily adjustable gap from BOTH sides) and comes with the "extras" (hopper, base, hand-crank) at no extra charge, unlike with many other mills.

I'd have a very difficult time recommending any other mill to a homebrewer, simply because this mill is better than even some pricier ones, and has everything a homebrewer needs... the features on the more-expensive mills - stainless steel rollers, 3 (or more) rollers, etc - are nice, but are unnecessary for typical homebrewer use and just not worth the premium you'll pay for them (and I say this as someone with an almost entirely stainless steel brewery.)

Basically, unless you're brewing much more annually than what you're legally allowed to, the Barley Crusher is really the only way to go IMO.

hoppygirl79 said:

So I just read this- I am looking for a grain mill as well. I've posted on a few forums, and the Barley Crusher keeps getting mentioned. Am I right assuming that this is one of the more popular ones and its a decent price? thanks

Click to expand...

A Monster Mill would be my pick:

http://www.monsterbrewinghardware.com/

Here's the bare bones base model for $117. Base and hopper for another $40. You can easily power these mills with a cheap $40 Harbor Freight 1/2" low speed drill motor.

http://www.monsterbrewinghardware.com/mm-2.html

Any of the Crankenstein Mills would also be a good choice.

the corona grain/corn mill works pretty well. it is hard to keep adjusted but it crushes without shearing to much. NOT the same as a roller mill but at $25 it rocks the spot for now till we get our larger mill.

I'm thinking about the Country Living Mill also. I've read all the reviews and posts about the mill that I could find but I don't know of anyone using it to crush grain for brewing. I want to make my own flour for baking and crush several hundred pounds of grain on brew day for my friends and I too. This mill gets the best reviews for flour and the company offers a 30 day money back gaurantee so I'm really thinking about this hard. I also called the company and they said the mill is infinately adjustable so technically you could run grain straight through it with out even crushing it. I wonder if that's really true? Tough decision $$$...

My friends and I have ran thousands of pounds through a barley crusher and it just hasn't held up very well. It may have something to do with how it's been cared for over the years, but it doesn't matter because it won't mill fine flour for my needs. If someone else is using a good mill available on the market to make flour and crack grains for brewing, I'd love to hear about it.

Just wondering if any of those considering the Country Living Grain Mill have took the plunge yet. My wife has been clamboring for this mill for her baking needs, but as has been pointed out, it isn't cheap. However, if I could justify the purchase to support my homebrewing, then I would be more inclined to authorize the purchase for SWMBO.

It's much easier to say "hey look at what I bought you" and then later say "you know what, I wonder if that would also work for crushing my brewing grains. Mind if I try it out?" rather than "there is no way we are spending $400 on a flour mill so you can make delicious and nutritious bread for the whole family....but...look at the great deal I got on this grain gobbler to help me make the beer that you don't like!"

...I'm wondering too... did anyone try out the Country Living Hand Grain Mill?

I've talked to the owner of my LHBS and he's mentioned going through numerous mills (I think they were Monster). I realize I won't be grinding as much everyday as the LHBS, but I'm the type that would rather spend $430 on a mill now and be set for life, instead of throwing $140 every 10 years for a new Monster mill...

...if anyone has bit the bullet already and tried it out for brewing, please let us know!

Baking mills generally aren't the best for brewing. They're meant to create flour, not to leave the hulls intact. By creating flour, sparges will become very easily stuck, and you'll end up with a ton of undesirable tannins in your wort.

At the very least it should have an adjustable gap. If it doesn't, it can't be used for an acceptable brewing crush. Ideally, you'll want it to be a roller mill too, but that's not quite as necessary.

demuzik said:

...I'm wondering too... did anyone try out the Country Living Hand Grain Mill?

I've talked to the owner of my LHBS and he's mentioned going through numerous mills (I think they were Monster). I realize I won't be grinding as much everyday as the LHBS, but I'm the type that would rather spend $430 on a mill now and be set for life, instead of throwing $140 every 10 years for a new Monster mill...

...if anyone has bit the bullet already and tried it out for brewing, please let us know!

Click to expand...

If you're concerned about durability, get hardened steel, or IDEALLY stainless steel. And the larger the diameter, the less the rollers will wear.

The (relatively) new Rebel Mill from Rebel Brewer has stainless rollers with a good diameter, and for a great price. It's a bit more than a Barley Crusher, but it should last longer than *several* BCs. It is more than durable enough for any individual brewer.