Best value Grain Mills

[Clonefan94]

Another Vote for the Barley Crusher here. You can pick one up, complete for about $120. I got mine at my LHBS and I couldn't be happier. As far as the value goes, it seems to be in the middle of the Monster Mill on the top end and the carona mills on the low end. If you are doing 5-6 gallon batches, I would think the Barley Crusher would be just what you need. Attach a drill and you can get through 11 pounds of grain in a couple of minutes.

 

[histo320]

I just did my first Partial Mash yesterday and used this mill. Got it a a local store for under $40. It's not quite what Golddiggie but its a start.

I didn't get a great efficiency but it wasn't an issue with the crush but rather water temp. I set it to about the depth of a credit card. It took about 15 minutes to crush 9 lbs of grain.

http://www.amazon.com/Premium-Quality-Grinder-Wheat-Grains/dp/B000U5NZ4I

 

[Mojzis]

I have a 25$ corona mill. Getting 80% efficiency without grinding to flour. I use a drill to make things a little faster. I can't see ever switching.

 

[twalte]

I just ordered the Barley Crusher last week and anxiously awaiting delivery. The Monster Mill would have been awesome, but I couldn't justify the cost right now.

If I had read this thread before placing my order, I might have had second thoughts. However, I have so much money going into equipment (new brewer), that I already feel bad for the amount I am spending.

I took the savings and bought a yeast stirstarter plate. I need to improve my efficiency and pitching rates if I am ever going to get better brews going.

If you can afford it, the MM sounds like a great piece of equipment.

 

[alestateyall]

I got my Monster Mill 2 from Farmhouse for $160 with base and hopper.

http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=76

They have flat rate shipping and good grain prices, so, I added grains to my order as well.

PS. I have only used it once but it was easy with great results.

 

[Demus]

I just ordered the Barley Crusher last week and anxiously awaiting delivery. The Monster Mill would have been awesome, but I couldn't justify the cost right now.

If I had read this thread before placing my order, I might have had second thoughts. However, I have so much money going into equipment (new brewer), that I already feel bad for the amount I am spending.

I took the savings and bought a yeast stirstarter plate. I need to improve my efficiency and pitching rates if I am ever going to get better brews going.

If you can afford it, the MM sounds like a great piece of equipment.

Hey thanks for the info. And thanks to all the replies. I just brewed an 18 pound all grain batch today and don't think I'd have been happy chewing through that with a Corona mill. Middle of the road seems more my comfort level balancing price with performance.

As a side note to your comments, greater efficiency won't necessarily get you a better brew, you'll just use less grain. That said, if your efficiency issue has to do with your water chemistry, that certainly could effect your brew. Pitch rate helps as long as you have proper aeration and control the fermentation temperature. If you're trying to improve your beer, that's where to focus....

Brew on my friend, and thanks again...

 

[lockwom]

Since I haven't spotted it in a response yet: I use a Schmidling Maltmill, preadjusted. I still reach 85% efficiency with it, and can drain quickly for batch sparging.

If I were to do it again, I'd spend the extra money on a proper adjustable one, such as a Monster Mill. But, I don't see the point in upgrading right now since what I have works and works well. People seem to upgrade from their Schmlidings for the bling factor or because tighter milling improves their efficiency; you might be able to profit off their discounted sale and adapt.

 

[monsterbrewerMa]

Another vote for the barley crusher. I love it, and it is a solid mill for around 120. Worth every penny.

 

[Conan]

Following some mods outlined on here I was crushing with a pasta roller. I have since been upgraded to a Barley Crusher and, though I've only run 1 pound through it thus far, will openly say the pasta roller is not the way to go. It could just be the 'knurling' on the rollers but the feed was painfully slow. Also, the rollers tend to pop out of adjustment or jam if adjusted tight enough to crush all the grains. I had to run the grain through twice- once loose and once tighter. Kyle

 

[graduate]

I have a corona mill. After modifying it to my standards (making the grinding surfaces parallel) it work great. Never a stuck sparge and always hit my efficiency numbers. Depends on your budget and brewing amount.

 

[wilserbrewer]

"Best value grain mills"

Well you can buy a corona mill here for $25 shipped
http://www.discounttommy.com/p-189-...er-for-wheat-grains-or-use-as-a-nut-mill.aspx

and apparently can sell one rather quickly here for $30 shipped, with a line forming
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f16/corona-grain-mill-excellent-condition-377147/

thusly making $5 profit...haha you like the maths...

 

[gizmodog51]

my $89.00 cereal killed shipped is one difficult mill to beat.

i respect people who demand the best of equipment.

myself i've always drove used cars and work in a budget.

i suggest you educate your self on the many mills on the market & prices.

set yourself down and figure out how much you will use your mill, what kind of brewing you'll be doing , this will determine the crush you want and what you want to pay.

i had a brand new corona purchased on sale from williams, sent it back because i thought i needed a roller mill for ALL GRAIN. after some thorough reading from among the guys here i found out i could've gotten away for less than half of the cost of my cereal killer and been good to go for the kind of crush needed for BIAB with the corona.

lucky for me WILLIAMS refunded even the freight cost without a wimper. i call that above board customer service.:rockin:

i'm very happy with my cereal killer though and it fits right onto a bucket.
the corona needed mounting.

best of luck to you in your equipment quest!

GD

 

[greendragonbrew]

I was lucky and picked up a Barley Crusher for $15 from a small brewery that was moving and selling a lot of their smaller equipment. Took a bit of cleaning to get it in shape, but I am excited to try it out for the first time this weekend.

 

[Demus]

my $89.00 cereal killed shipped is one difficult mill to beat.

i respect people who demand the best of equipment.

myself i've always drove used cars and work in a budget.

i suggest you educate your self on the many mills on the market & prices.

set yourself down and figure out how much you will use your mill, what kind of brewing you'll be doing , this will determine the crush you want and what you want to pay.

i had a brand new corona purchased on sale from williams, sent it back because i thought i needed a roller mill for ALL GRAIN. after some thorough reading from among the guys here i found out i could've gotten away for less than half of the cost of my cereal killer and been good to go for the kind of crush needed for BIAB with the corona.

lucky for me WILLIAMS refunded even the freight cost without a wimper. i call that above board customer service.:rockin:

i'm very happy with my cereal killer though and it fits right onto a bucket.
the corona needed mounting.

best of luck to you in your equipment quest!

GD

Where'd you get it?

 

[gizmodog51]

Where'd you get it?

adventuresinhomebrewing.com

http://www.homebrewing.org/Cereal-Killer-Grain-Mill_p_2310.html

i got in on the pre-order for christmas saved $10.00

cheers

GD

 

[Demus]

adventuresinhomebrewing.com

http://www.homebrewing.org/Cereal-Killer-Grain-Mill_p_2310.html

i got in on the pre-order for christmas saved $10.00

cheers

GD

Awesome! Did it come set for a good crush or did you have to adjust it?

 

[gizmodog51]

Awesome! Did it come set for a good crush or did you have to adjust it?

actually it did.....i checked it with a credit card which fit with a slight drag.

i monkeyed around with it some and ended up back at the credit card setting.

it worked for me but as a BIAB brewing i go for a finer crush than spray spargers. depending on your brew style you may want to adjust it, yet there are many testimonials stating roller gap was perfect for them outa the box.

good luck.........

cheers

GD

 

[355Newell]

I really like my Barley crusher. The 10-12% jump in mash efficiency was nice too.

 

[Zymurgist05]

How do you know how fast the drill is turning?

The heavy duty drill I have is a variable speed, from 0-500 rpms. Since this drill is torque monster, I'm assuming the load of milling the grain won't decrease to total rpm's significantly. BTW... the highest rpm's to use with the Barley Crusher is 500.

 

[slim49]

Hello,
been thinking on making teh Concrete Crusher, but
I found a great price on 11#, 3 roller w/ hopper.

Kegco KM11GM-3R Grain Mill has 11 lb Hopper and 3 Rollers.
at $140.
I hope its still there!
Slim49

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Zombie thread... but, slim49 I have the Kegco 3 roller mill and it is a great. I have also owned a monster mill and a cereal killer-- I won't be replacing this Kegco mill.

 

[urg8rb8]

I just got a corona style mill and it is awesome!!