Best grain mill in your opinion?

[bleme]

I'll also add another negative for Barley Crusher. About a month ago I was brewing at a friend's house. He was brewing a 10 gallon batch and I had a 5 gallon. His mill is a Barley Crusher with the heavy Harbor Freight corded drill. Before we started, I pointed out that his rollers weren't parallel, with a much bigger gap at one end. After we straightened it out, we couldn't get it to grab the grain at all. The rollers would just spin. Finally I widened the gap up so that it was only cracking about a third of the grain, ran everything through, then tightened the gap back up and ran it again. We ended up with a decent crush but it was a pain.

He had been complaining about his efficiency ever since he moved to that house, and blamed it on the water, but I'd be willing to bet it was that mill. With the wider gap at one end, I'll bet a fourth of his grain wasn't even cracked.

 

[HDChef]

I have a JSP MaltMill that's been working great for me since I started doing all grain brews. And I still hand crank it!

 

[Jeff...]

This one any good? I like it for it's stainless rollers

https://www.hobbyhomebrew.com/produ...-grain-crusher-stainless-steel-free-shipping/

 

[grampamark]

This one any good? I like it for it's stainless rollers

https://www.hobbyhomebrew.com/produ...-grain-crusher-stainless-steel-free-shipping/

Are the rollers stainless, or aren’t they? The initial paragraph says stainless, the product description says “cold rolled steel”. I’m guessing it’s the latter, as this looks like all of the other, generic, Chinese-made, Cereal Killer type mills with a slightly larger hopper. It’s also described as having bushings instead of bearings to support the rollers. The CK has bearings.

When it comes to inexpensive, two-roller mills, I think it’s a matter of paying your money and taking your chances. I’ve had a CK for almost two years and have no complaints after 300+ lbs. In reality, unless you’re processing 100 lbs a week, any of these basic mills will probably give you you’re money’s worth long before they wear out.

 

[smata67]

Probably not a bad idea to check the gap prior to every milling. And do an inspection of the results prior to moving on to the mashing in step. "To get what you EXPECT, you must INSPECT," the old timers used to say.

 

[Bassman2003]

I recently replaced my Barley Crusher as it was not gripping the grain, even after paying postage both ways to have the guy "fix" it...

I purchased a Cereal Killer Grain Mill from Adventures in Homebrewing for $99. It fits on a bucket which I put my bag in so the grain falls right in. It is a very nice mill for the price and the crush is very good imho. Can't go wrong with this one.

 

[Jeff...]

Are the rollers stainless, or aren’t they? The initial paragraph says stainless, the product description says “cold rolled steel”. I’m guessing it’s the latter, as this looks like all of the other, generic, Chinese-made, Cereal Killer type mills with a slightly larger hopper. It’s also described as having bushings instead of bearings to support the rollers. The CK has bearings.

When it comes to inexpensive, two-roller mills, I think it’s a matter of paying your money and taking your chances. I’ve had a CK for almost two years and have no complaints after 300+ lbs. In reality, unless you’re processing 100 lbs a week, any of these basic mills will probably give you you’re money’s worth long before they wear out.

Sorry, what is a CK? Crush King?

 

[day_trippr]

Cereal Killer

 

[AzOr]

Another vote for Cereal Killer.
It’s one of those pieces of equipment that I don’t even think of anymore. Which is a great thing.
I think I have at least 25-30 batches through it, so at least 275 lbs of grain.

 

[dochawk]

Back in the dark ages, I got a Corona mill.

I quickly got a cheap $50 drill to run it, figuring out that replacing it every other years as I burnt it out was acceptable. Since I typically use 30 lbs, hand cranking isn't desirable . . .

As it turned out, it lasted 7 years--at which point I bought a 7A dewalt--a model used by contractors to mix small batches of concrete . . .

The mill lasted another several years--and could have gone longer, but the cause of death was the bolt breaking, and even a press (drill press, iirc; it was one of my students) failed to remove it.

With the corona type, you can cut the head off of a 5/16 bolt to attach your drill.

But that's not why I'm posting.

My point is to *not* use a variable speed drill--running them on this kind of load burns them out faster. Just go for a single speed drill, the heavier the better.

If I keep to it this round, I'll buy a nice mill--I suppose selling me one will make up to it to Steve for not giving him fresh tales of a lunatic showing up with 30 lbs to grind . .

 

[Jeff...]

I also have a Corona mill, well actually two Corona Mills, one for each hand. I haven't used them for grains but I have for whole corn they make dandy corn flour. Just need to run the corn through twice. For grits once is enough. Besides they are a good workout for your biceps I don't want to think about running 10+ lbs of grains trough one, without a drill, my arm might fall off.

 

[dochawk]

You also need to increase the spacing, ,or . . .

if memory serves, removing a ball bearing gave me just what I needed.

 

[beerisyummy]

I finally settled on the Malt Muncher 3-roller. A bit more than I had thought to spend originally, but now that I am sheltering in place and my LHBS is closed, I feel better mail-ordering unmilled grain and crushing it myself. Found it at a slight discount at the company I usually do business with here:
https://www.morebeer.com/products/m...Nv4tzITHgnG1hWhiXS_m-rHUHZq76DNhoC4SMQAvD_BwE

So far, so good!

 

[Jeff...]

I finally settled on the Malt Muncher 3-roller. A bit more than I had thought to spend originally, but now that I am sheltering in place and my LHBS is closed, I feel better mail-ordering unmilled grain and crushing it myself. Found it at a slight discount at the company I usually do business with here:
https://www.morebeer.com/products/m...Nv4tzITHgnG1hWhiXS_m-rHUHZq76DNhoC4SMQAvD_BwE

So far, so good!

I thought about a roller mill but most all have cold rolled steel rollers. That has me conserned about rust. If the rollers were stainless I would bite.

 

[walker111]

I have a Barley Crusher and have done about 10 brews with it. It was great for the first 8-9 mill sessions but the last one I ran into some problems . It could be my own fault.

I was milling for a double batch of stout ( first time with this beer) and I milled my oats and conditioned and I think I gummed up the rollers. Had to adjust 3-4 times to complete the milling.

Going right now to mill 25 pounds for a double batch of pale ale and will see how it goes . I want the gap to be tighter than the factory .39 or so as I never had a stuck sparge and drain really slow.
Hope it goes better than last time !

 

[RPh_Guy]

I have a Barley Crusher and have done about 10 brews with it. It was great for the first 8-9 mill sessions but the last one I ran into some problems . It could be my own fault.

I was milling for a double batch of stout ( first time with this beer) and I milled my oats and conditioned and I think I gummed up the rollers. Had to adjust 3-4 times to complete the milling.

Going right now to mill 25 pounds for a double batch of pale ale and will see how it goes . I want the gap to be tighter than the factory .39 or so as I never had a stuck sparge and drain really slow.
Hope it goes better than last time !

What kind of oats are you using that needed milled?

 

[PrrCabin]

I have a Barley Crusher and have done about 10 brews with it. It was great for the first 8-9 mill sessions but the last one I ran into some problems . It could be my own fault.

I was milling for a double batch of stout ( first time with this beer) and I milled my oats and conditioned and I think I gummed up the rollers. Had to adjust 3-4 times to complete the milling.

Going right now to mill 25 pounds for a double batch of pale ale and will see how it goes . I want the gap to be tighter than the factory .39 or so as I never had a stuck sparge and drain really slow.
Hope it goes better than last time !

I have a BC and the unpowered roller stopped rolling. Kind of a pain when the hopper is full

Anyway. I took it apart and cleaned and lubricated the rollers and Viola!
I now have a fully functioning mill again
I have mine set to .023" and I BIAB

 

[Beholder]

I thought about a roller mill but most all have cold rolled steel rollers. That has me conserned about rust. If the rollers were stainless I would bite.

I’ve got an MM3 and no rust over the years I’ve used it, and it lives in a humid garage. That said, I don’t condition the malt and use compressed air to keep it clean, YMMV.

 

[walker111]

What kind of oats are you using that needed milled?

4 pounds of flaked oats I believe.
Worked great yesterday and I tightened the gap. OG called for 1.068 and I got 1.071.

 

[Jeff...]

I’ve got an MM3 and no rust over the years I’ve used it, and it lives in a humid garage. That said, I don’t condition the malt and use compressed air to keep it clean, YMMV.

Good to know...cold rolled steel rusts, it's just a fact of life. My first post in this thread, has stainless steel rollers, that's why I was considering it. I thought it set it's self apart from many of the other roller mills I've looked at.

 

[RPh_Guy]

4 pounds of flaked oats I believe.
Worked great yesterday and I tightened the gap. OG called for 1.068 and I got 1.071.

Flaked oats do not need to be milled. They're already crushed, just look at them.

Good to know...cold rolled steel rusts, it's just a fact of life. My first post in this thread, has stainless steel rollers, that's why I was considering it. I thought it set it's self apart from many of the other roller mills I've looked at.

FWIW, rusting seems like a pretty rare occurrence; even those of us that condition our grain don't have rusty mills.
Just don't store it somewhere damp.

 

[Dave Sarber]

The downside of stainless rolls are that they are softer and wear out quicker. My Kegco 3 roller has stainless rollers, and that is the only thing bad about it. If it had hardened steel rollers, it would be head and shoulders over everything else on the market.

 

[Jeff...]

Flaked oats do not need to be milled. They're already crushed, just look at them.


FWIW, rusting seems like a pretty rare occurrence; even those of us that condition our grain don't have rusty mills.
Just don't store it somewhere damp.

Where I live in Southern IL, storing somewhere thats not subject to humidity or dampness is pretty much mission impossible. I appreciate the conversation though, thanks.

 

[Jeff...]

The downside of stainless rolls are that they are softer and wear out quicker. My Kegco 3 roller has stainless rollers, and that is the only thing bad about it. If it had hardened steel rollers, it would be head and shoulders over everything else on the market.

QQ - is the basic idea behind a 3 roller mill that you get a double crush with one crank of the handle?

 

[Dave Sarber]

The usual setup with 3 rollers is that the top two rollers have a non-adjustable gap, .060 in the Kegco. This promotes easier feeding, since the grain is only slightly crushed. The bottom roller is adjustable. As the slightly crushed grain from the top 2 rollers is fed in, the bottom roller crushes it more, depending on the gap setting.

 

[beernutz]

I have a JSP MaltMill that's been working great for me since I started doing all grain brews. And I still hand crank it!

I am going to upgrade my JSP Maltmill to an adjustable model as soon as it dies. Unfortunately I have used it over 20 years and it is still going strong so its probably going to outlive me.

 

[mabrungard]

In commercial breweries, they use mills with big rollers (like 6"). So I went with the biggest rollers that I could find and that was the Monster 2-2. It produces a fantastic crush with plenty of flour and nearly intact husks (but I condition my grain prior to milling).

If I wasn't a tight-wad and hadn't already bought a mill, I'd consider that new mill from SS Brewtech. Wow, quite a machine, but its $800. At least it already has the motor drive. I've got to believe that it would do a good job.

 

[Bobby_M]

In commercial breweries, they use mills with big rollers (like 6"). So I went with the biggest rollers that I could find and that was the Monster 2-2. It produces a fantastic crush with plenty of flour and nearly intact husks (but I condition my grain prior to milling).

If I wasn't a tight-wad and hadn't already bought a mill, I'd consider that new mill from SS Brewtech. Wow, quite a machine, but its $800. At least it already has the motor drive. I've got to believe that it would do a good job.

Having had the Monster 2-2.0 in my shop for the last 5 years and recently demoed on the SSbrewtech, I can guarantee you wouldn't be happy. I just upgraded to the Monster 3pro gear drive. That gives me a crush that looks like a malt-conditioned run through the 2 roller.

 

[IslandLizard]

Flaked oats do not need to be milled. They're already crushed, just look at them.

Only "quick" or "instant" oats are broken down into smaller bits.

But "flaked" oats as bought in the brew store and typically used by craft breweries, are rolled. They are whole, flattened oat kernels, their oval-ish shape and surface texture make that apparent. Same true for what is sold as "flaked" wheat, barley and rye, they're rolled too.

Milling them will break them into smaller pieces for faster hydration. You need a fairly narrow gap for that, a regular barley crushing gap (0.034" or wider) won't do much.

I mill flaked goods on the "small kernel" gap, the one used for wheat, rye and other small kernel grains of that size, around 0.025".

 

[Dave Sarber]

I use flaked or rolled oats, and when I do, I just add them with the rest of the grains. But I also sometimes use whole kernel malted oats, and they do need to be crushed. Being smaller than barley kernels, they do need a smaller gap setting, as @IslandLizard points out. I've never used steel cut oats, so don't have any opinion there.