To crush or not

[soccerguy83]

I'm going to be brewing the recipe found here, should I get the steeping grains crushed or not at my LHBS?

Thanks in advance

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

Unless you have some way to crush them at home then you will need to get them crushed at the brewstore...

 

[beernutz]

I think most people would recommend that you should mill crush them or at least crack them by, for example, pounding them carefully inside a bag using a rubber mallet or using a rolling pin, for better flavor extraction during the steep.

 

[BrewerBrad82]

If you do not have a mill, take advantage of the one at your LHBS. It can be a pain in the ar$e to do it manually.

 

[soccerguy83]

Yep no mill as I have only done Kit's up until this point.

 

[Gavin C]

Yep no mill as I have only done Kit's up until this point.

Get them crushed then.

 

[Bosh]

Well if they`re dark grains you can crush they easily with a rolling pin. Crushing lighter grains by hand is an enormous pain in the ass but can be done.

 

[soccerguy83]

They are:

1 lb. Chocolate Malt, steeped at 150 degrees 30 mins.
1 lb. Crystal 40 Malt, steeped at 150 30 mins.

This is an extract recipe and the grains are only for steeping.

 

[Genghis]

When I did extract, I used to crack steeping grains in a ziploc bag using a wine bottle. Anything over a pound was a pain. I'd get 'em crushed at the shop.

 

[kh54s10]

Well from a different angle.. Grains need to be crushed is some way. If the husks are not broken you cannot extract the flavor/sugars. You would probably get something, but nowhere near what was intended when the recipe/kit was designed.

If you don't have a mill, the easiest is to get your LHBS to mill them for you. As you progress, at some point you will probably want to procure your own mill. This give you the ability to buy grain in bulk to save money. (whole grains stay fresh longer than crushed) It also gives you consistency. The grains should be crushed to the same extent batch to batch so you know where you are starting from.

I use a Corona style mill. They can be bought for $25 -$50. Mine was $0. Christmas present.

 

[Ike]

+1 on milling at the LHBS.

Everything I've read here on HBT is that there's no loss in "freshness" for at least a couple of weeks, so there is no risk of losing anything if you mill today and don't brew for a little while.

I also feel that by not milling at home, I'm helping to reduce the amount of grain dust blowing around my place, which in turn should help reduce the chance of a lacto infection. (I'm probably overthinking this part, but oh well)

 

[CJ-3]

+1 on milling at the LHBS.

Everything I've read here on HBT is that there's no loss in "freshness" for at least a couple of weeks, so there is no risk of losing anything if you mill today and don't brew for a little while.

I also feel that by not milling at home, I'm helping to reduce the amount of grain dust blowing around my place, which in turn should help reduce the chance of a lacto infection. (I'm probably overthinking this part, but oh well)

If you are concerned about grain dust blowing around your home, you can always mill your grains outside. Consider getting your own mill if for no other reason you will get consistent results from it. There are a lot of posts on this site where people state the LHBS mill was set to an improper or inconsistent gap.

 

[soccerguy83]

I ended up getting them milled at the LHBS, brewed my Christmas Ale this past Sunday. Thanks for all the help yall!