The (soon to be) great "How's my crush?" Thread!

[Jayjay1976]

I feel like this is a post I should have made a long time ago. I know there are a handful of threads on this already, but I expected to find a thread hundreds of pages long where people post their crush to have it looked at by experts, but no such luck.

I used to have my cereal killer mill tightened down to the smallest gap, but after a few dozen batches I found myself chasing down the source of an unpleasant bitter husk flavor, and tweaked a bunch of things before finally trying a wider mill gap.

I'm a single-vessel BIAB brewer, and the crush should have occurred to me sooner as a potential cause, but nevertheless here we are. My beers are much better now with a wider mill gap (credit card thickness) and I didn't even notice a decrease in my mash efficiency.

Anyway, in due diligence I'm posting a pic of my latest grain bill, 15 pounds of pale, pilsner and a bit of Munich malt that is going into a tripel tomorrow, just in case anyone sees anything wrong with the appearance, just as a gut-check.

Cheers.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Alright this post has been up for TWENTY WHOLE MINUTES, and still nobody has commented on my crush!

There, now this thread even has the requisite and obligate impatient noob post. Winning!

 

[bkboiler]

Ahhh....I remember my first crush...
To be young again.
Now your thread has its first stupid joke.
No but seriously, whats your efficiency?do u squeeze the bag?

 

[bracconiere]

Alright this post has been up for TWENTY WHOLE MINUTES, and still nobody has commented on my crush!

There, now this thread even has the requisite noob impatience post. Winning!

I get a lot more flour? what RPM was that run at? looks pretty sturdy, husks and all...i'd want the grain chunks to be a bit smaller, but that's why i'm wondering what RPM?

 

[bracconiere]

here's a pic of my usual, as you can tell there's more flour in mine though. i wouldn't mind getting the chunks the same size, with less flour if slowing my drill down would do it though...

i pull 90% effec with a two step decocc, with a crush like that....

 

[Jayjay1976]

View attachment 731365

here's a pic of my usual, as you can tell there's more flour in mine though. i wouldn't mind getting the chunks the same size, with less flour if slowing my drill down would do it though...

i pull 90% effec with a two step decocc, with a crush like that....

Well that's just......pretty. GG.

 

[soccerdad]

Bracc and JayJay sittin' in a tree....

I won't mill grain for a few days, but mine looks like JayJay's. I hand crank a Corona mill. Keeps the dust down and is part of my brewing therapy.

 

[bracconiere]

Bracc and JayJay sittin' in a tree....

I won't mill grain for a few days, but mine looks like JayJay's. I hand crank a Corona mill. Keeps the dust down and is part of my brewing therapy.

yeah well, i know i've moved on to mounted power tools, not sure about jayjay...my god it take my mounted HF drill like 20 minutes to go through 22lbs...i wouldn't want to hold a drill, and i might drink BMC if i had too!

 

[Snark_Wolf_Brewing]

... and i might drink BMC if i had too!

 

[day_trippr]

^lol^

 

[GoeHaarden]

chasing down the source of an unpleasant bitter husk flavor

You sir have quite the refined palette...

This place is riddled with universal genius and self proclaimed sommeliers.

Whatever dude...

 

[bracconiere]

Whatever dude...

if the guy can taste the off taste of broken husks, it's no worse then me being able to tell the better buzz when it has more esters.....

 

[GoeHaarden]

if the guy can taste the off taste of broken husks, it's no worse then me being able to tell the better buzz when it has more esters.....

You two were made for each other...

These schnozberries taste like schnozberries. Quit trying to pander. Just STFU and enjoy some beer

 

[bracconiere]

You two were made for each other...

These schnozberries taste like schnozberries. Quit trying to pander. Just STFU and enjoy some beer

we're talking about our crushes here! and it's the next BIG thing! lol

 

[Jayjay1976]

Hey now, I'm tryna hepp a bruddah..

For real tho. I had an off flavor that no amount of googling could help; it was only after a ridiculous degree of troubleshooting (I learnded water chem(ish) and bought an RO setup!...) and looking at everything else did I eventually look at my crush.

I got my start brewing my first real batch of beer ever with my fresh-built electric BIAB setup, including a brand-new cereal killer mill and a sack of avangard pils. Thought I had those variables nailed but it took some time to learn the shortcomings of my system.

 

[Jayjay1976]

You sir have quite the refined palette...

This place is riddled with universal genius and self proclaimed sommeliers.

Whatever dude...

It took me a long time to recognize my own issue with a subtle but persistent bitter off flavor as a husk issue. Sounds simple now in retrospect but I did a lot of work to isolate the problem.

 

[Jayjay1976]

You two were made for each other...,

You might STFU.

 

[day_trippr]

Skeptical Cat is skeptical This is the first time I've read a claim that crush affects astringency. And because I don't believe crush has anything to do with astringency, I gotta ask: are we adjusting our sparge liquor to keep the runoff pH below 5.6 to the last runnings?

Cheers!

 

[Jayjay1976]

Skeptical Cat is skeptical This is the first time I've read a claim that crush affects astringency. And because I don't believe crush has anything to do with astringency, I gotta ask: are we adjusting our sparge liquor to keep the runoff pH below 5.6 to the last runnings?

Cheers!

Indeed we are! I'm an avid user of lactic acid to adjust my pH, but there exists a flavor from the 'mud' that overly milled husk produces.

 

[bracconiere]

You might STFU.

lol, i really never considered us that tight? unlike my mill gap compared to yours.....but i'm still wondering what RPM you run it at to get the whole husks?

Skeptical Cat is skeptical This is the first time I've read a claim that crush affects astringency. And because I don't believe crush has anything to do with astringency, I gotta ask: are we adjusting our sparge liquor to keep the runoff pH below 5.6 to the last runnings?

Cheers!

maybe surface area has a role to play?

 

[Jayjay1976]

lol, i really never considered us that tight? unlike my mill gap compared to yours.....but i'm still wondering what RPM you run it at to get the whole husks?



maybe surface area has a role to play?

I'm running my CK mill at <150 rpm using a Bosch 18v cordless drill at partial speed. In my case, mill gap made a huge difference in the final quality of my beers. 60+ batches in, I'm not a f@c#ing noob and nobody will convince me that mill gap wasn't the issue. Sorry but I've got plenty of evidence of my own.

 

[bracconiere]

you know i GOT to brew tomorrow, if i want to or not because i'm down to my last keg...think i'm going to mill my grain now at my best guess at 100-200 RPM. or as low as my 1/2" drill will crush it and take a pic to look at the hulls....

 

[Jayjay1976]

lol, i really never considered us that tight?

Wtf, we're homies aren't we?!

 

[bracconiere]

Wtf, we're homies aren't we?!

if we talk about moderater actions we'll both get banned again! lol

 

[hout17]

When they say a thread has gone off the rails ya know? I don't know if this thing was on rails to begin with . I should be crushing some grain with my crop duster set at .034" in a couple of days and I'll be sure to post a pic.

 

[Jayjay1976]

God help me I was trying to start an honest thread about mill gap.

 

[bracconiere]

wait it's got Ai steering, i just milled and took a pic at lowest speed my drill would turn....i'm thinking maybe keep my 0.028-26" crush and maybe use conditioner/water?

my husks are mashed up...and it won't go any slower...

damn battery is low.....oh well, it's about bed time anyway.....i'll either dream about hot girls or, a good malt crush!

 

[Jayjay1976]

Ahhh....I remember my first crush...
To be young again.
Now your thread has its first stupid joke.
No but seriously, whats your efficiency?do u squeeze the bag?

My brewhouse efficiency is 70%, I hit my numbers every time, and btw I use a length of rope as a garrote to squeeze the ever-loving schitt out of my grain bag.

 

[bracconiere]

God help me I was trying to start an honest thread about mill gap.

but you made it clear you wanted it to be memorable!

 

[bracconiere]

My brewhouse efficiency is 70%,

??? isn't that sorta thing supposed to be for "why is my effec so bad" threads? lol

 

[jerrylotto]

Mine is powered by 1650 RPM washing machine motor, pulley ratioed down about a factor of four to about 400 (2" d pulley on the motor, 8" d on the mill) It crushes fast but evenly and I can process 10 lb in about a minute with a .022" gap

 

[GoeHaarden]

God help me I was trying to start an honest thread about mill gap.

This thread had potential.

Post your grain pic, the mill and gap you used, your efficiency, and move on.

If I was new here and I read your OP, then it might scare me into thinking that my off flavor is somehow related to the crush, then I would wonder why my efficiency dropped off. Claiming you can taste a difference in your crush when all other numbers are the same is laughable.

squeeze the ever-loving schitt out of my grain bag.

Maybe this is your problem...

Maybe we all should just crack each husk by hand

 

[MON5TER]

I can taste the difference with my grain crush. But I was told licking the mill wheels is stupid and dangerous…..so I can’t taste it any more.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I was trying to start an honest thread about mill gap.

And, if one skips over the (attempts at) humor, there's actually interesting content here.

but after a few dozen batches I found myself chasing down the source of an unpleasant bitter husk flavor, and tweaked a bunch of things before finally trying a wider mill gap.

I had an off flavor that no amount of googling could help; it was only after a ridiculous degree of troubleshooting (I learnded water chem(ish) and bought an RO setup!...) and looking at everything else did I eventually look at my crush.

It took me a long time to recognize my own issue with a subtle but persistent bitter off flavor as a husk issue. Sounds simple now in retrospect but I did a lot of work to isolate the problem.

My brewhouse efficiency is 70%, I hit my numbers every time

Indeed we are! I'm an avid user of lactic acid to adjust my pH, but there exists a flavor from the 'mud' that overly milled husk produces.

 

[AkTom]

I have nothing to add..., I just want to be a part of such an epic thread

 

[bracconiere]

10 lb in about a minute with a .022" gap

10lbs ina minute at 022? i'd like to see a pic next time you mill some grain. it takes me about 10-15 minutes at 026

 

[DBhomebrew]

I BIAB with a wilserbag. My crush is fairly tight, a good amount of flour. Somewhere between yours and bracc's. I dunk sparge once and let gravity do the work of lautering.

How long do you mash? Long enough, the crush makes less difference as far as conversion and mash efficiency go.

Do you get 70% brewhouse every time? No matter the gravity? If so, are your preboil volumes always the same? By which method do you measure volume?

What are your mash efficiencies like? Brewhouse takes into account factors further down the chain that have no bearing on the crush, conversion, or lauter and gets in the way of comparing to others' BIAB experiences. With just gravity and a single sparge, my 1.040-45 beers regularly hit 90% mash efficiency, 95% conversion.

In your exhaustive search for the grainy off-flavor, had you tried skipping the garrote? You squeeze the schitt out of it, maybe the schitt is just that and better left in the grain bed? With just gravity, I lose .0875gal/lb. What's your absorption rate?

ETA: My thought is that the coarse crush gives you less schitt to squeeze out, but your garotting might be more effort than it's worth. Is the tight crush the problem or is the loose crush preventing the unwanted effect of garotting? Is the garotting really needed? All questions of personal preference, of course.

 

[bracconiere]

here's what i got running my drill as slow as it would go, and still have the torque to crush the grain.

my husks are still pretty torn up, but the grain looks a bit finer...

so that's what a gap of 026, run at ~100RPM looks like. sparges fine with a bazooka tube in a round cooler.

i've always heard crush till you're scared, and i have no sense of taste, so i can't comment on the husk flavor.

next time i mill some wheat or oats, i'll snap a shot and post it here.

 

[bracconiere]

anybody who conditions their grain before milling reading this? this thread could use a pic of their intact husks?

 

[day_trippr]

I do but I've never taken a pic. I'll try to remember to do that next brew.
Meanwhile, imagine much longer husk pieces that are kind of curly...

Cheers!