Well, I finally bit the bullet. I either made a great economical purchase or a phenomenally stupid decision.
After finding out that my LHBS sells bulk grains at better prices than most online retailers, I made an impulse decision and bought 165 lb of bulk imported grains there for less than $190 (German 2-row, German Pilsner, and Maris Otter). I think I got an amazing deal but that's besides the point.
Now I'm caught at a crossroads. My LHBS has already told me I can use their mill at any time, free of charge. I've never experienced poor efficiency from their mill, but the LHBS is still a 30 minute drive & probably not worth the gas & effort of $5 worth of adjunct every brew. So I think I want to take the next step down the homebrewing rabbit hole. I want my own malt mill.
However, any potential purchase must overcome a few issues:
Issue 1: I live in a tiny 1BR apartment. And it's pretty much at capacity with all of my homebrewing crap. Another (potentially) huge piece of equipment will stretch my storage space to the breaking point. The mill has to be small.
Issue 2: I live in a tiny 1BR apartment. And it's surrounded by cranky neighbors and paper thin walls. I can't make noise like I'm performing dental surgery every 2 weeks. The mill has to be quiet.
Issue 3: I hate taking half-measures. I'm not going to buy a piece of equipment with the expectation of it breaking a few months down the road. I've used Corona mills before, and they are not fun. I'm intrigued by the Cereal Killer, but I've read they are somewhat temperamental as well. The mill has to work, again and again.
Tl;dr looking for a small, quiet & effective malt mill for a decent price. :rockin:
After finding out that my LHBS sells bulk grains at better prices than most online retailers, I made an impulse decision and bought 165 lb of bulk imported grains there for less than $190 (German 2-row, German Pilsner, and Maris Otter). I think I got an amazing deal but that's besides the point.
Now I'm caught at a crossroads. My LHBS has already told me I can use their mill at any time, free of charge. I've never experienced poor efficiency from their mill, but the LHBS is still a 30 minute drive & probably not worth the gas & effort of $5 worth of adjunct every brew. So I think I want to take the next step down the homebrewing rabbit hole. I want my own malt mill.
However, any potential purchase must overcome a few issues:
Issue 1: I live in a tiny 1BR apartment. And it's pretty much at capacity with all of my homebrewing crap. Another (potentially) huge piece of equipment will stretch my storage space to the breaking point. The mill has to be small.
Issue 2: I live in a tiny 1BR apartment. And it's surrounded by cranky neighbors and paper thin walls. I can't make noise like I'm performing dental surgery every 2 weeks. The mill has to be quiet.
Issue 3: I hate taking half-measures. I'm not going to buy a piece of equipment with the expectation of it breaking a few months down the road. I've used Corona mills before, and they are not fun. I'm intrigued by the Cereal Killer, but I've read they are somewhat temperamental as well. The mill has to work, again and again.
Tl;dr looking for a small, quiet & effective malt mill for a decent price. :rockin: