are corona grinder ok?

[JLubbert]

hello everyone:

i have a corona grain mill and i've just used it once. but i noticed that there are others like roller grinder (i don't know if it is the right name) that are more eficient. is it corona grain mill acceptable for high quality beer?

regards
JLubbert

 

[dezman]

I used one for a long time and it works fine. Just make sure not to crush too fine. Should be able to get a nice crush though with proper adjustment.

 

[ajf]

I used one for several years before switching to a roller mill. The only problem I had with it was that it was difficult to adjust to get a good crush, and the crushing took a long time. I got the same efficiency with the Corona and the roller mill, but the roller mill cut about 30 minutes off the brew day.

-a.

 

[Polboy]

I use corona mill because its cheap but if you have money go with the crusher, its easier to use and get great consistant results when with corona you have to dial your crash over few brewing batches to get it right. I think quality of beer will be very similar at the end, its more of getting consistant efficiency and its easier with the crusher
btw i use electric drill with my corona and "in a bucket" setup, 20lbs of grain in 10min or so

 

[rico567]

I have never used anything but a Corona type ("Victoria" branded) mill to crush my malt. After dialing in the crush over the first few batches, I have never had any issues. I hit all my numbers when I mash, so why would I want a different mill? I bought a 25 cent bolt at the hardware store to enable me to use an electric drill to drive it. 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the grain bill.

 

[JLubbert]

Wow thanks for the quick replies guys!!

I tried to get the crusher but here (in Chile) is not avaliable or i hadn't found it yet, but the corona grinder here is everywhere...

Anyways, for all the corona grinders outthere here is a link to make it a little bit faster!!



regards
JLubbert

PS: I almost forgot!!! I have used it once, and the grain i think got too grinded and i got a very high density wort... it was amber ale and it has been fermenting almost 2 weeks...

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

If you use one your beer is ****ed. Once it's done fermenting send it my way for safe destruction.

 

[Revvy]

It's good enough for Charlie Papazian he gets 87% efficiency using his.

We have a detailed thread on using them here.

I used one for years and it worked great. Unfortunately it wasn't cast iron but cast aluminum and one day I dropped the front grinding plate and it broke. My GF just bought me a more expensive roller mill.

And guess what?

They BOTH WORK FINE...They do their job, they crush grains. They hit their numbers. That's all that matters.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with using one, especially if you follow the insights in the thread I linked and do some tweaking.

 

[JLubbert]

thx a lot Revvy!!! great ideas a lot simpler

 

[VladOfTrub]

I bought a Corona in the early 80's. That was the only mill readily available back then. I gave it to another brewer and he has run a lot of grain through it. Set the plates so they don't shred the grain. I have a triple roller mill that I bought a little over 20 years ago and have put one set of bearings in it. I like the roller mill better. Especially, if the grain has a high moisture content. IMO a Corona is a good mill for the price.

 

[xenophobe2020]

My lhbs actually uses a carona mill to crush their grain, obviously motorized. It doesn't seem to take obnoxiously long for them to crush 10 lbs for me, maybe 8 to 10 min. Talking to the store owners son, they actually recommend them over roller mills. Not 100% sure why though, so I will not speculate.

Anyway, I told the wife I want one for christmas, and made certain to repeat it 3-4 times, slowly, caaaarooonnnaaa mill... hopefully it sunk in.

relax, have a home brew.

 

[RM-MN]

Look into BIAB (brew in a bag) with your Corona mill. Grind your malts pretty fine since the bag won't get you a stuck sparge and the finer you can grind without it all going through the bag material, the faster your conversion and the higher efficiency. You can dunk sparge or pour through sparge if you want but even without sparging you will get pretty high efficiency if you squeeze all the wort possible out of the bag.

 

[friday]

I actually think a corona mill is better, it's slower and I get seem to get a more consistent grind. If it's a quality mill and you get it dialed in it's great.

The problem is adjusting it is a pain. I do a lot of raw wheat and if I try to do wheat or rye on the same setting as I do malt barley it binds up the mill.

 

[JLubbert]

I bought a Corona in the early 80's. That was the only mill readily available back then. I gave it to another brewer and he has run a lot of grain through it. Set the plates so they don't shred the grain. I have a triple roller mill that I bought a little over 20 years ago and have put one set of bearings in it. I like the roller mill better. Especially, if the grain has a high moisture content. IMO a Corona is a good mill for the price.

thanks for the responde

cheers

 

[moose7710]

Well, you guys have sold me on the Corona's. I've been hesitant to get one, but now it's done, I just bought one on Amazon. With Shipping it was only $27.

 

[RM-MN]

Well, you guys have sold me on the Corona's. I've been hesitant to get one, but now it's done, I just bought one on Amazon. With Shipping it was only $27.

You spent too much!

Just kidding. You will do fine with that mill and as you try different settings you will find what is just right for your setup.

 

[whitehause]

My LHBS grinds for free, and will adjust to whatever crush I like. They are very laid back, and once they know you, they trust you to grab your own grains and grind them yourself. I have often thought about getting a corona mill just to have one. I have a kitchen aid mixer with the pto on the front. I might get one just to see if I can retro-fit it to the mixer.