Best grain mill in your opinion?

[RPh_Guy]

The point of milling is to break open the husk of the grain. Flaked/rolled grains have no husk that needs to break open, and they disintegrate quickly in hot water.

Look at any online supplier for flaked oats. There's no milling option like there is for every other grain.

Attached is a PDF from Briess that says there's no need to mill them.

 

[IslandLizard]

I've never used steel cut oats,

Steel cut oats are not pregelatinized as they're cut from the whole kernels. They're also called groats (compare to grits if they were corn).
Groats need to be cereal mashed first (or boiled for 30-60' depending on their size) to gelatinize the starches.

 

[Dog House Brew]

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.

My MM-3 has stainless rolls. Love that mill

 

[IslandLizard]

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.

Not a very good excuse...
Cold rolled steel is harder than stainless, should wear less, lasting longer.
Store your mill indoors, in a dry area, steel rollers should not rust there. If you're conditioning your grain, run a couple pounds of dry grain through at the end to dry the rollers. Or use a hairdryer or a paint stripping gun.

 

[day_trippr]

I had often read a half pound would do it, but I've found reserving a scant pound of base malt is enough to reliably dry out rollers and knock out anything stuck to them.

That said, conditioning is all about the husk, and husks take a minute or two to become pliable. There should be no desire to moisten the kernel within as that will only increase the potential of loading up the rollers with no gain in either efficiency or "even better" husk preservation. The process time between applying moisture and milling should be short...

Cheers!

 

[Jeff...]

Not a very good excuse...
Cold rolled steel is harder than stainless, should wear less, lasting longer.
Store your mill indoors, in a dry area, steel rollers should not rust there. If you're conditioning your grain, run a couple pounds of dry grain through at the end to dry the rollers. Or use a hairdryer or a paint stripping gun.

Yeah... a little TLC I guess.

I already have two Corona mills. Although I don't believe they are true Corona. They are pretty old say SS Made in the USA. My wife nabbed them at a garage sale, both are identical. I'm assuming SS means Stainless Steel? They are very old but not a speck of rust on them.

I used one earlier this week to mill grains I received from More beer. That I ordered milled, but they weren't milled or so poor I couldn't tell.

The only issue I have with my old style Corona mills is they are very touchy. There is a very fine line between a good crush and creating flour.

Here is the batch milled with one of my Corona mills. I got 87% efficiency, though I thought I might get a stuck sparge. I didn't so it was all good, I guess. Maybe I should just stick with my old Corona style mill. There's a historical kind of feeling milling grains with it.

 

[Beerisgud]

I purchased a cereal killer from AIH at $99 after reading this thread and asking the boss lady what’s in the budget. Looking forward to doing my first all grain with BIAB! The better my beers taste to my wife the more stuff I can get away with cramming into my basement brewery

 

[IslandLizard]

Yeah... a little TLC I guess.

I already have two Corona mills. Although I don't believe they are true Corona. They are pretty old say SS Made in the USA. My wife nabbed them at a garage sale, both are identical. I'm assuming SS means Stainless Steel? They are very old but not a speck of rust on them.

I used one earlier this week to mill grains I received from More beer. That I ordered milled, but they weren't milled or so poor I couldn't tell.

The only issue I have with my old style Corona mills is they are very touchy. There is a very fine line between a good crush and creating flour.

Here is the batch milled with one of my Corona mills. I got 87% efficiency, though I thought I might get a stuck sparge. I didn't so it was all good, I guess. Maybe I should just stick with my old Corona style mill. There's a historical kind of feeling milling grains with it.
View attachment 678209

All those corn mills are pretty much based on the same design. Mill away. You can tell stainless steel from cast iron can't you?

It's hard to tell without a closeup if that's milled fine enough. 87% mash efficiency is very good!

Unless you fly sparge, a stuck mash/sparge is rare. That is until you start using large percentages of rye or wheat, but that's not due to the fine milling, that's from the high beta glucan and protein content.

 

[dochawk]

I am going to upgrade my JSP Maltmill to an adjustable model as soon as it dies.

unfortunately, Jack left business after the fire

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I have had a Barley Crusher for many years (15+) and have been happy with it. It might be getting near its life span.

Anybody know if there are other American or European made mills? Seems like it is harder to find info on where products are manufactured than it should be and I am willing to spend a few extra $ for an American/European product.

 

[Wayne1]

Monster Brewing Hardware

and Crankandstein are two American made mills.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Crankandstein are two American made mills.

Does it say somewhere on their site that crankandstein is 100% USA parts and assembly?

 

[Wayne1]

I did not see it stated on the website, so I reached out to Don Obenauer.

This is his reply:

"Thanks for the interest.
I haven't done any kind of certification given the few parts I buy like
screws. Since I make the mills myself, I know the vast majority of the
parts are made here.
Don"

 

[RPh_Guy]

"Mostly" American made.

 

[QTikiBrew]

For those with corona-type mills (I don't worry about the name, I already had the dang thing), can you point me to a good all-in-one place for recommended modifications?

I've read about adding washers on the sides where part of the gap adjustment is, as well as various means of connecting a drill (what are the better ways of doing that?)

I'm not too worried about burning out drills, last owner of my my house left two corded drills . . . as well as a belt driven wet grindstone, belt driven scroll saw, two wheel grinder, belt driven router table (no attachment for the bit area, sadly) DeWalt radial arm saw, an arbor bench saw (unfortunately originally hardwired into a junction box that was removed, so no plug . . .) two foot treadle sheet metal shears . . .

Anyway, I'm growing winter barley, so I'm have to eventually buy a mill, and the wife bakes, so corona is the way I'm going to go, as I'm going to ALSO make the dehulling adapter for the mill, so's we can make barley flour, and maybe even buckwheat (I still have over three pounds of buckwheat seed . . . I bought it as a fast growing cover).

To reiterate my lost point, looking for a good place to find all the better recommendations for how to modify a corona type mill. I do BIAB, 4-5 gallon batches.

 

[ChiknNutz]

Just came across this one on ebay for $60...anyone have one of these? The grammar indicates an overseas mfg.

https://www.ebay.com/c/6036426451

 

[QTikiBrew]

Just came across this one on ebay for $60...anyone have one of these? The grammar indicates an overseas mfg.

https://www.ebay.com/c/6036426451

Sounds like one of the "generic, Chinese-made, Cereal Killer type mills with a slightly larger hopper".

If the rollers are stainless steel - great, no rusting . . . but from what I have read here, don't expect them to last a lifetime like the ad copy says, they're too soft.

I originally thought stainless would be better, and then read comments here, and I'm now avoiding it, by going with cast iron . . .

 

[fourfarthing]

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.

I am actually considering the SS for simplicity sake (power, mill, hopper all come as one, etc) and what appears to be quality. Can you elaborate on the MM 3 vs SS product comparison you note?

 

[ChiknNutz]

I've not looked into these in any detail, just saw it and wondered what folks thought. Going by my engineering background, though, stainless is great for what it is...corrosion protection. For something that needs to have a long useful life under abuse, hardened steel would be much better than cast iron or stainless. Cast iron is brittle and not all that strong. Case in point...ever used stainless deck screws? They are quite a bit weaker than typical coated screws and break far more often. They have their place but not for a strong application.

 

[QTikiBrew]

Cast iron is brittle and not all that strong.

For me, the advantage of cast iron is price and flexibility - I'm looking at using a mill for barley crushing (for BIAB) and dehulling (for flour making) and flour milling.

So I'm going with the old standby corona type.

 

[IslandLizard]

Just came across this one on ebay for $60...anyone have one of these? The grammar indicates an overseas mfg.

https://www.ebay.com/c/6036426451

It indeed screams China-made. As is most stuff we get, but these just look more like a toy.

Scale!
Looking at the dimensions pic, the hopper is only 8.5"x8.5" square. That's kinda small. Rollers are maybe 5" long, 6" for the frame, overall. And inconclusive what material, perhaps stainless?

 

[Stand]

My Barley Crusher is toast after 7 years. Stops constantly, and the knurling is flat.

I am trying to wait for Kegland Maltzilla, but god knows when they are coming to the US.

https://www.kegland.com.au/maltzilla-with-12v-motor-the-diamond-mill.html

 

[Wayne1]

You might want to read this from Aussie Home Brewer. It appears the design of the MaltZilla was not thoroughly researched.

MaltZilla comes with leg broken off

 

[Stand]

I may just get a Malt Muncher if it is having those sorts of issues.

So tired of my broke*** mill.

 

[jma99]

I have now put over 300lbs through this guy:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D1Y51WT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
SLOW at 40 rpm, but it does the job. Heavy enough that I can fill the hopper, turn it on and walk away while it grinds.
It's cheap Chinese crap, but it does the job and seems very heavily built.

 

[IslandLizard]

SLOW at 40 rpm, but it does the job.

The specs claim:
Output Efficiency: 13-22lbs/hour (!)
That would mean around 3 minutes per pound at best.

That sounds really slooow. Is that 40 rpm under load or perhaps much less?
Compared to my Monster Mill at 150-160 rpm, it chews through 12 pounds in less than 5 minutes (a wild guess, I never really timed it).

 

[jma99]

It takes me about 20 min to grind 20 to 25 pounds of grain. (I do 10 gal batches)
Crush looks pretty good too!

 

[RPh_Guy]

It's cheap Chinese crap, but it does the job and seems very heavily built.

Which is it? Cheap crap or heavily built and functional? The other reviews on Amazon make it sound pretty bad.

I did cover these mills and every other aspect of milling in my **************** article:
https://modernbrewhouse.com/wiki/Milling
I believe I've helped answer a lot of questions people have. I'd appreciate any of you taking a look to make sure everything is accurate.

Cheers

 

[jma99]

Which is it? Cheap crap or heavily built and functional? The other reviews on Amazon make it sound pretty bad.

I did cover these mills and every other aspect of milling in my **************** article:
https://modernbrewhouse.com/wiki/Milling
I believe I've helped answer a lot of questions people have. I'd appreciate any of you taking a look to make sure everything is accurate.

Cheers

Great Article, very well done!!

My experience with the Vevor has been good. The base fits the top of my mash-tun (cooler), so I just fill the hopper, turn it on and walk away. Its heavy enough that it won't walk off the cooler. The rollers are adjustable and the set screws work well holding the gap.
I like that the motor has a gear reduction unit and is mounted to a heavy metal plate. Not a speck of wood or press board on it.

Your video shows a Capt. Crush mill. I had one of these but could never get it to work and sent it back. The Capt. also has a ton of bad reviews, but as with everything, YMMV.

Cheers!

 

[Brewer_Dad]

What about this one?

https://www.amazon.com/Hullwrecker-2-Roller-Grain-All-Grain-Brewing/dp/B0778WNW3W?ref_=ast_sto_dp