Do you recommend getting a mill

[Dog House Brew]

I've brewed with 3 year old grain before. Couldn't imagine not having my mill. The crush is fantastic and most of all repeatable. I just run my MM-3 with a mounted, old school 1/2" drill. Set about 030 Bought a speed control. It runs about 200 or so rpm. Bought the hopper w extension from Monster. Just ran a batch w 43# of grain and it held it w a little room. I've been really happy with it.

 

[filthyastronaut]

If you have the money to spare, a mill is a really nice investment. Get a Cereal Killer and a drill, and find a way to set it up that works for you.

 

[Terek]

i prefer to mill my own. Not only is bulk grain cheap, but you can control the milling process. When the LHBS mills for you, a lot of the time it goes a long time without being adjusted. When you are milling a hundred pounds of grain, or more a day, it can get out of sink. When you have your own, you can always adjust, and re mill if the crush seems off. And its just more fun. Also its nice to be able to adjust for smaller grain. I use rye a lot, and it is a smaller grain than say two row. I like to tighten my mill down a bit when i crush rye, to make sure my conversion is the best it can be. I prefer my main crush a lot smaller than most. I almost crush it to powder. Most LHBS dont crush that small.

 

[Terek]

also, you dont need one of those fancy, over priced mills. A corona mill off amazon is around $20 and they work GREAT. The same, if not better, than a cereal killer, or equal home brew mill./

 

[beernutz]

I am not made of money but when buying homebrewing equipment, saving money is now rarely a factor in the decision. Homebrewing is a hobby where my goal is to make good customized beer, not a way to make beer cheaply.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

I have owned a single roller philmill, a corona, a cereal killer, an monster mill mm-3 and now a 3-roller Kegco mill from Bev Factory referenced above. Based on that, I am most pleased with the Kegco 3-roller. Keep an eye on Beverage Factory for Black Friday deals, etc. I ended up getting mine for less than $120 shipped! But honestly, at $150 it is still great value!

 

[Morrey]

I have owned a single roller philmill, a corona, a cereal killer, an monster mill mm-3 and now a 3-roller Kegco mill from Bev Factory referenced above. Based on that, I am most pleased with the Kegco 3-roller. Keep an eye on Beverage Factory for Black Friday deals, etc. I ended up getting mine for less than $120 shipped! But honestly, at $150 it is still great value!

I really like my Kegco 3 roller mill. I used an online discount from Beverage Factory and got it for $140 to include free shipping. Keep looking and you may do even better.

Couple of things: You'll need to build a base. I bought a blank, unpainted round tabletop from Home Depot for just a few bucks. The diameter is right to overhang a 5G bucket by an 1" all around. Just cut out a rectangular hole to fit the mill base into and good to go. Set the mill/base on the HD bucket and use the bucket for a catch basin.

The roller's drive shaft needs a 1/2" drill chuck. Being 3 roller, this mill uses a pretty good amount of torque to drive the rollers and do a tight crush. I bought a Harbor Freight 1/2" hammer drill and it gets on with the program! You want to turn Off the hammer feature when using to drive the mill of course. Somewhere around $34 then use a 20% off coupon.

For around $175 total (maybe less if you keep watch), you'll be grinding your own grain and controlling your entire brew process.

 

[mongoose33]

also, you dont need one of those fancy, over priced mills. A corona mill off amazon is around $20 and they work GREAT. The same, if not better, than a cereal killer, or equal home brew mill./

How long does it take you to crush, say, 13# of grain w/ a Corona? Does your arm get tired?

 

[Morrey]

How long does it take you to crush, say, 13# of grain w/ a Corona? Does your arm get tired?

Yeowwwww....I don't want to mess up my beer drinking arm!!

 

[Morrey]

I am not made of money but when buying homebrewing equipment, saving money is now rarely a factor in the decision. Homebrewing is a hobby where my goal is to make good customized beer, not a way to make beer cheaply.

Ironic you say this. I first decided to resume brewing since commercially kegged beer is getting more and more expensive. When I was in college, no frat party was thrown w/o a keg or three, mainly because it was cheaper than canned beer. Now, ounce for ounce, it is not uncommon for kegged beer to cost more than cans. My initial home brewing goal was to make beer more cheaply than commercial, and I bet lots of home brewers have this same thought in mind when they begin.

My custom crafted beers are awesome and getting better and better. Proper equipment makes a huge difference as does knowledge of the brewing process. How much does a 5G keg of my beer cost compared to commercial kegs? I really don't even try to keep tabs as I am much more impressed with the quality and style of my beers rather than a few dollars I might save. Brewing is a hobby that I very much enjoy....regardless of the costs or cost savings.

 

[kh54s10]

How long does it take you to crush, say, 13# of grain w/ a Corona? Does your arm get tired?

I have a Corona style mill. I only hand cranked the first 2 times. 13 pounds I guess would take 15 minutes or so.

I quickly adapted to a drill. I found a bolt with the same thread, cut screwed it in and cut the head off. I used a weak, cheap drill. It would overheat so I bought a 1/2 inch hammer drill at Harbor Freight for about $30. Now it takes 5-10 minuted depending on recipe.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Just as an FYI the Kegco 3 roller mill has a 15/32" shaft for the handle or for motorizing.

 

[InTheBasement]

It has been done! I ordered the 3 roller mill from Kegco. Also got myself a good scale to weigh it all out. Now I guess I have to start looking into bulk grain and storage, and also a place to properly store it all. Unfortunately, the mill is out of stock and on backorder, so I will have to wait a while.

 

[Transamguy77]

You can look to your local bakery for icing buckets for grain storage, some places may want a few bucks a bucket or free.

Your LHBS can prob sell you grain by the sack for a reasonable price if not look to a local brewery, they may sell you grain also.

 

[PADave]

I have the Cereal Killer mill and am happy with it so far. Depending on where I ordered my grains from I'd get a different crush. So trying to dial in my system was getting to be a pain. Also, I do BIAB, so a finer crush than I was getting makes things better. My efficiency numbers went from the mid 60's to over 80%. I bought a mill for more control with my brewing process, not to save money. I was ordering ingredients for 2-3 brews at a time, so sometimes the crushed grains were sitting for months. Now I don't have to worry about that either. You don't have to have a drill/motor for your mill. I'm one of those weirdos that doesn't mind cranking by hand, just sayin'.

 

[govner1]

It has been done! I ordered the 3 roller mill from Kegco. Also got myself a good scale to weigh it all out. Now I guess I have to start looking into bulk grain and storage, and also a place to properly store it all. Unfortunately, the mill is out of stock and on backorder, so I will have to wait a while.

Lowes has 5 gal food grade buckets & gamma lids. A 5 g bucket will hold 25 lbs of grain.
The same kids will fit 6 gal buckets, if you can find them, & they'll hold about 27+ lbs for 25 kg bags