Any Harm in Milling Grain Twice?

[yournotpeter]

I just ran my grain through my mill and for the most part I got an excellent crush....but I saw quite a bit of unmilled grain. Is there any harm in me running it through the mill again?

 

[Golddiggie]

There are plenty of people that will mill twice... I've not done that with my own grain mill, since I check the gap often enough to know it's correct (for me).

What are you using for a mill? Are you sure that you're getting unmilled grain? If you are, then you could run it through again. You could also try adjusting the crush size to make sure you get a better end result. You could also try to condition the grain to get better crush.

I wouldn't go beyond two, maybe three, passes through the mill if it was me. If you need to go beyond that, you need to figure out why and resolve that issue.

 

[stat]

The mill at my lhbs is not so great so I have him run it through twice every time. Seems to work fine so far, every brew is between 70-80% efficiency.

 

[yournotpeter]

What are you using for a mill? Are you sure that you're getting unmilled grain?

I'm using the BarleyCrusher. If I grab a handfull of crushed grain, I'm seeing a fair amount of grain that's not cracked at all.

I just ran it through again and it looks MUCH better

 

[Golddiggie]

Was it set at the factory original .039" gap or did you change it before starting??

 

[wilserbrewer]

I just ran my grain through my mill and for the most part I got an excellent crush....but I saw quite a bit of unmilled grain. Is there any harm in me running it through the mill again?

??? Quite a bit of unmilled grain IMO would be a horrible crush...keep milling until there is no unmilled grain, that is a nice crush!

 

[Golddiggie]

If you spin the rollers too fast, your crush won't be as good... I spin mine at no more than ~250rpm (hand drill, in the 0-500rpm range, at about 1/2 speed)... At those speeds, I get really good crush the first time through.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Sounds like your mill gap may be uneven, i.e. bigger on one side than the other. Use a feeler gauge to get a consistent gap, and mill slowly to preserve the husk.

 

[Ravenshead]

The mill at my lhbs is not so great so I have him run it through twice every time. Seems to work fine so far, every brew is between 70-80% efficiency.

Which LHBS do you go to? I've had similiar experience with B&S in Seabrook. I'm wondering if DeFalco's is any better.

 

[yournotpeter]

If you spin the rollers too fast, your crush won't be as good... I spin mine at no more than ~250rpm (hand drill, in the 0-500rpm range, at about 1/2 speed)... At those speeds, I get really good crush the first time through.

In hindsight, that was EXACTLY the problem. I was in a hurry and I just let the drill crank full out....the previous times I had used the crusher, I went nice and slow. I was wondering if that was the problem...and it is good to hear that I may have been right!