Cheapest way to mill your own grain

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thrstyunderwater

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So I live in Hawaii and I know I'm not going to be here that long. What's the cheapest way I'm going to be able to mill grain? I can get a Corona grain mill for 55 bucks, but I've read those don't work to well. Anyone try the grain mills that attach to the kitchenaide stand mixers? Any other recommendations? I've seen some electronic mills on ebay but those seem to be more for making flour than milling grain. Not sure how well they'd work.
 
im a fan of the rolling pin approach. thats basically what a grain mill is. two counter rotating rolling pins you can set a specific distance apart.
 
So I live in Hawaii and I know I'm not going to be here that long. What's the cheapest way I'm going to be able to mill grain? I can get a Corona grain mill for 55 bucks, but I've read those don't work to well. Anyone try the grain mills that attach to the kitchenaide stand mixers? Any other recommendations? I've seen some electronic mills on ebay but those seem to be more for making flour than milling grain. Not sure how well they'd work.


Check out this thread for tons of info about Corona mills.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-ugly-junk-corona-mill-station-90849/

Many people on here (including myself) have bought a Corona knock off from Discount Tommy on ebay. You can get one of those shipped for $30 or less. I just tried mine for the first time last night. It works great. Some say they have to mess with theirs quite a bit to get the right crush. Took me about 45min last night.
 
I second the "My Ugly Junk - Corona Mill Station"

I built one from parts I had around the house. The bucket in a bucket idea is really good!
 
A Corona mill is the cheapest. I've never used one, but some folks swear by them. I like my roller mill - which costs about the same as the Kitchenaid attachment. These are the common brands for homebrewing:

Monster Mill
Crankandstein
Schmidling Malt Mill
Barley Crusher

Look for them at homebrew supply shops either online or locally. Google them if you'd like to order direct from the manufacturer.
 
The cheapest way is to mill it at a LHBS but that's not always the cheapest if they have expensive malt compared to online.

I use a corona type mill that I bought from Ebay for $23 shipped. Many around here have used the same mill from the same seller (DiscountTommy) with good results. I get a rather fine grind that gives me ~78% efficiency and no tannin astrigency that I can detect. It works good for me but other people with other setups and expectations may not like it. One word of advice is make sure you have a good drill with quite a bit of torque if that's how you plan to crush.
 
The kitchenaid attachment operates the same way as the corona type mill...so save yourself the money if you go that way, or get one of Yuri's suggestions.
 
I just ordered this one off Amazon for $33 with free shipping and should have it thursday:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000T3ML4G/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I think it's a little better than the grizzly one for a couple reasons- it has the big hopper, and it has a guard over the top of the grinding wheels... so it won't take as much work to shield it, especially since I'm gonna run it with a drill.
 
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Funny, I picked up a device that looks similar to these from my grandads house. I thought it was a meat grinder or something. I had no idea I was picking up such a useful tool months before I started brewing. Thanks again grandad.
 
I think it's a little better than the grizzly one for a couple reasons- it has the big hopper, and it has a guard over the top of the grinding wheels... so it won't take as much work to shield it, especially since I'm gonna run it with a drill.

The covering over the grinding wheels is a good thing to have. The one I purchased does not have it and it tends to throw grain EVERYWHERE. Not a big deal for me now as I have it mounted in a bucket with a lid but it was a ***** before I had the entire mill enclosed.
 
I got a free Corona a couple of years ago and then being a curious type searched the Web and including local friends found about 40 who had sung it's praises.I wrote to all and asked "do u still use it? If not,why not?" 38 replied and 36 no longer used it because it didn't work well!! If U are strapped for cash U can get it knowing that in a few years U WILL be going to a roller mill..or just bite the bullet and get the roller now..I love my barleycrusher and use the Corona to create whole grain flour.Imagine u want to crack (not squeeze) the pecans in a bag without tearing the bag-A CORONA TEARS THE BAG- A ROLLER MILL DOES THE JOB.
 
Our local Home Brew club holds it's meetings at the club president's business. He runs a machine shop. He's built a great grain grinder that the club members use.

There's a lot of advantages to belonging to a club, someone makes a supply run to the big city, someone has extra yeast for those batches when your yeast doesn't arrive in time. Plus the knowledge of the other members is huge. And drinking a dozen or so samples of homebrew at a meeting is great too.

I'd bet that there's at least one club in your area. Good Luck...

Good Luck...
 
I used a corona mill knock off for years and even motorized it, and it worked good. I asked for a Barley Crusher last year for Christmas and got it and it works great, and I recently motorized it and it workes even better now.
 
I got a corona from grizzly and was thrilled with the results. My first try with it, I got 72% efficiency. I'm lucky to get 70 from my LHBS that uses a maltmill.
 
I used a corona mill knock off for years and even motorized it, and it worked good. I asked for a Barley Crusher last year for Christmas and got it and it works great, and I recently motorized it and it workes even better now.

You should put that on the pay it forward forum. Be sure to PM me before you do though....
 
I used a corona mill knock off for years and even motorized it, and it worked good. I asked for a Barley Crusher last year for Christmas and got it and it works great, and I recently motorized it and it workes even better now.

You should put that on the pay it forward forum. Be sure to PM me before you do though....
 
I have friend a few mile away who has a mill and a couple of times when I wanted to use it he was busy/out of town,etc.I felt like someone who was borrowing a friend's lawn mower.My brewclub has LOT of stuff including a mill but then I have to drive 30 mins to get the key to the storage locker when the storekeeper and I can synch on a pickup time another 30 to the locker then 20 tn my house to grind and repeat after grinding-3.5-4 hrs blown on ONE trip-I make enough per hr to avoid all that hassle
 
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