Corona grain mill?

[Synovia]

I was about to go the route of buying grain in bulk and milling it myself, but then I calculated the cost vs. my LHBS and I decided to not go the route of buying a grain mill.

It seems like the average cost (including shipping) for a 50 lb sack of 2-row is around $65. That's 1.30 per pound. My LHBS sells it for $1.32 per pound crushed. I really couldn't see the need to invest in a mill to save $0.02 per pound. If anyone can point me to a cheaper alternative for bulk grain in the Dallas area I am all ears!

$65 is not average cost. $65 is "your LHBS is laughing at you when you leave" cost.

I pay $27 for bags of 2-row from country malting group. They'll ship 4+ bags freight, and I'd be surprised if it comes out to more than $10 a bag shipping.




Also, you LHBS has cheap milled grain. Mine wants over $2/lb.

 

[fratermus]

How long does it take you guys to mill around 15lbs of grain with a corona mill and a power drill?

A few minutes. Most of that is stopping to fill my dinky hopper. If I made one of those Ozarka hoppers it'd take less.

 

[Jumbo82]

I've used a Corona for years and it works fine. My efficiency is in the 80s, I never have a stuck sparge, and it my beer tastes good. The only problem is that you'll get a bit more astringency than with either a good mill or from buying pre-crushed grains (and I'm not talking from your LHBS with his Corona). The Corona mill shreds the husks and thereby contributes to the astringency, whereas a good barley crusher won't. All the beers I crushed myself and submitted to competitions mentioned some astringecy. After ruling out the usual suspects, I bought some pre-crushed grains and the problem went away. Comparing the pre-crushed side-by-side with my Corona crushed grains was quite a difference. I now use my Corona mostly for specialty grains and try to avoid crushing base grains if I can avoid it. That's my two cents, take it for what its worth.

 

[brewdogskip]

I'm not sure you could break a corona mill without doing something stupid. They're all cast iron.

I busted my corona knock-off (grizzly) the first time I used it. I cranked away for over an hour for a 12# grist and one of the cast gussets cracked all the way through. I ended up getting an actual old school corona mill off my landlord and it is much more solid than that cheap piece of sh!t.

 

[Reelale]

Papa Charlie still uses a Corona mill and consistently gets efficiencies in the 80's.

Papa Charlie uses a "genuine" Corona. And he used that before most mills were even commercially available. If you enjoy re-engineering and re-designing, then the knock-offs are for you. If you simply want to crush grains correctly and efficienctly, get a Monster Mill or equivalent (i.e. roller).

 

[Richard-SSV]

$65 is not average cost. $65 is "your LHBS is laughing at you when you leave" cost.

I pay $27 for bags of 2-row from country malting group. They'll ship 4+ bags freight, and I'd be surprised if it comes out to more than $10 a bag shipping.




Also, you LHBS has cheap milled grain. Mine wants over $2/lb.

$65 seems to be the average cost from on-line HBS. Northern Brewer sells a 50 lb bag of 2-row for $36, but shipping to Dallas is $35. Austin Homebrew Supply has $8 shipping, but their price for a 50 lb bag is $60. My LHBS offers a 0.10 per pound discount for bulk orders.

 

[Synovia]

$65 seems to be the average cost from on-line HBS. Northern Brewer sells a 50 lb bag of 2-row for $36, but shipping to Dallas is $35. Austin Homebrew Supply has $8 shipping, but their price for a 50 lb bag is $60. My LHBS offers a 0.10 per pound discount for bulk orders.

Which is why you don't buy from those places unless they're willing to do freight shipping. When you buy a bag from an online shop, it needs to be shipped twice, and you're paying for both of those, and generally you're paying shipping per bag, not combined freight.


Buy from a malting supplier, and buy in bulk. If you buy 4+ bags, I bet Country Malting can get it to your house for less than $1/lb.