Benefit of conditioning malt before milling.

[olotti]

Just curious as I’m about to get my own mill what the benefits are. I’ve never heard of this technique till today doing research on mills since I’ve always had a lhbs crush-the grain. And what’s the appropriate technique to doing this.

 

[day_trippr]

I'm surprised this isn't easily found, but...

The premise is to make the husks flexible enough to travel through the mill without fragmenting like dried oak leaves.
So, a bit of moisture is sprayed on the malt while mixing it thoroughly, then the grain is immediately passed through the mill.
A side benefit is dramatic reduction in dust production.

- The typical recommendation is 2% water by weight of the grain - I tend to use closer to 1%
- Do not apply water to wheat - there's no husk so all you'll do is make a pasty mess of the mill
- Do not condition flaked grains for the same reason - and don't add them to conditioned malt before milling
- Do not apply water then leave the wetted grains to sit.
- Finally, reserve a short pound of unconditioned base malt to run through the mill at the very end, to knock out anything stuck and dry the rollers

Cheers!

 

[olotti]

Appreciate the reply and I did search the site but never found an exact explanation. So when I get my mill Ill spray it down and stir then mill it , I use flaked oats in my neipas but I don’t mill then now anyway. I was just curious if the purpose of doing this. Does it increase efficiency? I get the husks are used as a filter so otherwise what’s the benefit.

 

[day_trippr]

The principle benefit is keeping husks much more intact, which depending on the grain bill can be intrinsically quite helpful (think wheat beers).
But, that also provides for the potential exploitation to tighten the mill gap while still producing fluffy husks (and the first time you do it you'll see what I mean by fluffy). I dropped from the 0.039" factory gap recommendation for barley down to .032" for my usual base malts since I started conditioning...

Cheers!

 

[olotti]

The principle benefit is keeping husks much more intact, which depending on the grain bill can be intrinsically quite helpful (think wheat beers).
But, that also provides for the potential exploitation to tighten the mill gap while still producing fluffy husks (and the first time you do it you'll see what I mean by fluffy). I dropped from the 0.039" factory gap recommendation for barley down to .032" for my usual base malts since I started conditioning...

Cheers!

so I brew mostly ipas, neipas and the grain Bill is 85-90% base malt of either 2 row, Pilsner or Golden promise. So this TECHNIQUE sounds like it def could help my efficiency

 

[VTX1300]

Malt conditioning is well worth the extra effort. I have my 3 roller mill down to a .025" gap. That gives me very fine crush without shredding the husk. I use a spray bottle to lightly set the grains while mixing. Then leave the grain sit for about 15 minutes before milling.

 

[Dland]

I tried it for a few brews, but did not experience much of a benifit for the extra effort. I know it is one of the "LODO" practices, and it does help keep hulls intact, but is an extra step. Make sure there is no grist stuck to rollers when done, it takes a bit of effort to get out if it dries in the knurls.

 

[monkeymath]

I've tried it three times and decided to stop doing it. Yes, it does keep the husks more intact. But if you do not tighten the gap of your mill - which is impossible with my grain mill -, there will be lots of almost intact grains. You can easily "grind" them between your fingers, since they have been crushed, but they do not lose their shape. As a result, I ended up with the worst efficiency/extraction ever.

So yeah, it totally works, just mill a handful first and adjust your grain mill accordingly.