Do these look crushed enough?

[RobertHSmith]

Warning the pics are big

I'm wondering what others think, is it crushed enough? I'm going to use a rolling pin on this grain before brewing I think.

http://www.robertandcathy.com/images/DSCN0858.jpg
http://www.robertandcathy.com/images/DSCN0860.jpg



...edited because the links didn't work

 

[Kaiser]

No, they are hardly crushed.

I never had sucess using a rolling pin.

Kai

 

[joed123]

fix your links...you have backslashes in there separating the folder & filename but you need forward slashes

as for the pics themselves, i'm no crushed grain expert (Still extract brewing...) but those hardly look touched, IMO

 

[bradsul]

I agree those are barely touched.

Just get a little mad at them and go to town.

 

[Soulive]

+1 for barely crushed

 

[RobertHSmith]

links fixed.

This may be an issue where I am use to something comming off a grain mill like a crankenstien and these may have been processed in a different way. I'm waiting on a response from where I purchased them.

On a positive note, they definatly don't look like I'll get a stuck sparge

 

[SeaMonster]

So...I asked something along the lines of this before and got a big thumbs down on the rolling pin.

Here, check this link out.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=56613

 

[RLinNH]

Another votr for no, they are not crushed nearly enough. Bradsul has the best answer though...:fro:

 

[kenb]

No. Your efficiency would be really poor. They don't even look crushed in the least from the pics...

 

[boo boo]

Those are uncrushed grains there.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

I disagree. You really only need to break the husks.

 

[boo boo]

I disagree. You really only need to break the husks.

Well me no see meat

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

I see cracked husks. Doesn't anyone else?

 

[FSR402]

I disagree. You really only need to break the husks.

really you want to break the husk off from the grain without breaking the husk up into small bits or powder. And if you can break the "meat" fo the grain into 2 or 3 bits at the same time even better.

 

[RobertHSmith]

I disagree. You really only need to break the husks.

My SWMBO says they look cracked to her and that she read somewhere that all you need is to crack them open. She usually is able to keep me from panicking. I still may get out her rolling pin and crush them...it may work out some frustrations...

 

[Beerrific]

Where did you get that grain? Looks like the grain I got from Northern Brewer. My efficiency suffered somewhat but not too bad.

 

[Kaiser]

when you pick them up and look at them, do they look like as if the mash water can get to all of the endosperm. Meaning, is the husk open?

Kai

 

[kenb]

My SWMBO says they look cracked to her and that she read somewhere that all you need is to crack them open. She usually is able to keep me from panicking. I still may get out her rolling pin and crush them...it may work out some frustrations...

Just cracking them open results in a coarse crush and will likely yield very poor efficiency. There should be at least some powder, even in a course crush.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Easiest way to tell if they are cracked enough is to rub a few between your fingers. If they fall apart then they are ok.

 

[WBC]

It's not crushed at all.

This is crushed:

 

[kenb]

It's not crushed at all.

This is crushed:

That is a nice looking crush. A medium crush i would say, halfway between coarse and fine.

 

[RobertHSmith]

there is some powder at the bottom of the bag. They do look like they have been crushed, but not what I was expecting. I did order the grains from NB, but I have also been to their store and have run grain that I measured through their motorized grain mill, which gives a much finer milled grain.

This is not a slam against NB, but a question posted by a new brewer who probably went AG too quickly.

The guys at NB are very helpful and know their stuff and if I ordered crushed I have no doubt that they crushed the grains as they are labeled as crushed. I just wonder if they have a different crushing process for grain that is shipped out of their warehouse vs. being crushed in their grain mill in the retail location.

I'm not even sure how to calculate efficiency yet, so no big deal there... In the end it will still be beer and I will still drink it...

 

[gallagherman]

but a question posted by a new brewer who probably went AG too quickly.

No such thing...

 

[Donasay]

Someone definitely ran that through a grain mill, the question is just about how finely crushed it is. I have had poorly crushed grain from northern brewer before, it is their standard crush, and the main reason I don't buy milled grain from them any more. It will work, but may not pull as much of the good stuff out of the grain. I say brew with it and if you OG is low, add a pound or two of extract to get the gravity up.

 

[cubbies]

Do you have a LHBS close to you? If so, I would run by there and use their mill. That is a very poor crush and I wouldn't even bother brewing with that personally.

 

[Yooper]

I got a bad crush once from Austinhomebrew.com, and I sent them an email. They called right away and thanked me for telling them, because the setting on the grain mill was wrong and they didn't realize it. I had to wait to brew, but they resent the grains to me and apologized for the problem.

So, call the HBS that you bought the grain from. If you use them as is, you really would be wasting your time with that crush. With the price of hops now, you would also be wasting alot of money. So, either recrush, or wait until you have properly crushed grains.

Just my $.02.

 

[RobertHSmith]

I've got permission from my wife, since this is hers...and since I'm the only one that really cooks...to use this:

should get a good workout

EDIT: I'm wondering if my rolling pin attempt will work at all...or just make a huge mess

 

[Donasay]

I've got permission from my wife, since this is hers...and since I'm the only one that really cooks...to use this:

should get a good workout

EDIT: I'm wondering if my rolling pin attempt will work at all...or just make a huge mess

I feel sorry for you man, that is going to take hours...

 

[Beerrific]

IMO, if you are paying extra for crushed grain (which is the case at Northern Brewer), you should not have to 'fix' them with your rolling pin. They should.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Time to build a grain crusher.

You never did answer my question as to whether or not the grain breaks apart when you roll it between your fingers.

 

[RobertHSmith]

I just crushed one bag for a nut brown ale and it worked out pretty well. Took 45 min. I'll post some pics later after I do the IPA grain.

I've been corresponding with someone from NB who has been very helpful and is making it right. They were appreciative of the pictures I sent and have been very professional and even gave me about the same advice some of you have with my rolling pin idea...which seems to be working so far... and about the loss in efficiency.


Edited b/c my I wrote some incoherent sentences...

 

[RobertHSmith]

here is the pics, warning pics are huge:

• The first attempt, about two handfulls - DSCN0862.jpg
• two minutes in I started doing one cup of grain at a time - DSCN0876.jpg
• The finished batch about 45 min later - DSCN0878.jpg

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Looks better. Should be good to go now.

BTW, you can use the image tag to display images inline.

 

[BierMuncher]

It's not crushed at all.

This is crushed:

Hmmmm...

That pic looks familiar...

 

[RobertHSmith]

I'm not sure if I'd volunteer to do that again to save a couple of bucks, but It's good to know it will work in a pinch.

 

[bandt9299]

My Barley Crusher fell apart the other day, I panicked, now I know I can roll it out, all 12+ pounds, ouch.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

My Barley Crusher fell apart the other day, I panicked, now I know I can roll it out, all 12+ pounds, ouch.

It'ts a lot easier when he grains are already cracked. You're screwed. lol

 

[Jaybird]

I wonder what a paper shredder would do to crush grain??
JJ

 

[natefitz]

In my experience, a plastic cutting board with a little texture keeps the grain from sliding around under the pin, but it's still not fun.
Last time I got so frustrated that I began ransacking my kitchen in a fit of rage. I was lucky enough to find an old conical burr hand-crank coffee grinder which is easier but not much faster.

+1 On the paper shredder, post pics.

Cheers

 

[WBC]

Hmmmm...

That pic looks familiar...

I borrowed it to show'em how a pro does it.