Feeling ready to give up on BIAB.

[Norselord]

One of the things to consider also, is that if you are not hitting your OG, then you might be significantly over-bittering your beers.

Let's say that you have a pale ale designed for 40IBU and an OG of 1.055. You will have a designed Bitterness ratio of about 0.72. This is a decently bitter beer.

However if you miss your gravity and get an OG of 1.045 and still have 40IBU it will have a Bitterness ratio of 0.95.

The original design might be for a nice bitter ale, but the result may be a bitter pill to swallow.

After you remove the grain, take a specific gravity reading. If it is low by a certain amount, you can fix this (you will need to use a refractometer on this, or cool down your sample if using a hydrometer, or use a calculator to compensate for temperature).

Let's say that your pre-boil gravity is supposed to be 1.045 and post-boil is supposed to be 1.055. Instead your pre-boil gravity is 1.035 at a volume of 6 gallons, then you need to boil off 2 gallons to get to 1.055 postboil gravity instead of the normal 0.9 gallons. You will need to know your boil off rate, so you can still add your hops at the right time. You will also be making a smaller volume of beer that may be slightly darker and have some more malt complexity than originally intended; but at the very least it will be bittered correctly.

 

[Biscuits]

beer smith does... It actually asks you for the ambient room temps.. it also takes into account the material your mash tun is made of and whether its insulated...

Ah, my mistake.

 

[vance]

I followed Beersmith's temperature recommendations for strike water. I don't usually have so much volume in my mash, but I was brewing an IPA with a ton of hops and lately the amount I've been able to get into my keg has been a bit under 5 gallons, so I shot for 6.75 gallons after my boil, ~6 into my fermenter, and then 5 into my keg.

Re thermometer calibration: Not sure how much difference distilled vs non-distilled makes, but I checked it as I boiled some water yesterday and it read about 211.3 in boiling water.

I tried to get a good handle on my volumes, but I couldn't come up with an accurate way to get a gallon of water by weight. I don't have a scale that can handle that much, and I wasn't about to weigh out a gallon 4 ounces at a time. A gallon of room temp water is approximately 1.59" of height in my system, which makes my problem even worse since that's not a value that's easy to nail with a ruler.

 

[vance]

if you are starting with 8 gallons pre-boil WITHOUT MUCH SQUEEZING... seems like you would be a bit watered down as far as gravity... ? I start boiling with almost 7 gallons and still have 5.25-5.5 gallons for my fermenter. The only time that I thought my efficiency/OG was low was once when I took the reading after pulling the hydrometer out of very hot starsan solution to measure OG... once I corrected it for the high temp I was OK.

I aimed a bit high on kettle loss and fermenter loss this time, since I've undershot recently and I was brewing a NE IPA with tons of hops. I had a little over 7 at the end of the boil, with about 6 into my bucket.

 

[Redlantern]

Re thermometer calibration: Not sure how much difference distilled vs non-distilled makes, but I checked it as I boiled some water yesterday and it read about 211.3 in boiling water.

May not be much based on water. but it may swing a degree or two based on season and what minerals are present.

Just good practice to be consistant

 

[Ogri]

Don't have much input regarding hitting desired gravity other than to say, a cheapo Corona mill can be found for $18 to $30 on Amazon. Works perfectly for BIAB, in my experience. Getting around 90% efficiency from mashing with tap water treated with Campden tabs, here. MaxiBIAB with a sparge. Decreased grain bill in order to hit optimum gravities

Having thought about using, and posting a thread here to ask if anyone had any info on, Omega labs' "hot head" strain, I was informed it is a distillers' yeast. Supposedly not good for making beer.

 

[Epos7]

I've also had issues with conversion efficiency due to poor crush (and I even bought a $400 mill that didn't work well) and understand your frustration. I started out triple crushing using my LHBS mill, and that was even worse. If you can't afford a mill, I'd just use more grain to compensate.

The conversion efficiency could be the source of your flavor issues. I've learned making citra pale ales that if conversion efficiency is poor causing OG to be low, the balance between maltiness and hoppiness will be off, and the beer won't taste quite right. I thought I was getting off flavors at first, before I realized that without the proper malt/hops balance, some hops just don't taste right. If you can compensate for your poor conversion efficiency by using more grain, you should be able to produce beers that are more in balance.

 

[markstache]

I would listen to the advice regarding crush and temperature. If you don't have one already, buy a digital thermometer. Dial thermometers are particularly easy to get out of calibration. A decent one can be had for less than $20 (or you can pony up for something more expensive).

I'd also suggest trying other sources for ingredients. Order from an online source that will do double-milling. Perhaps also try an extract batch to eliminate the mash as part of your procedure. Keep narrowing it down.

Finally, I am of the opinion that pretty much all off flavors can, at times, be caused by bacterial and wild yeast contamination. Double and triple check your sanitization procedures.

 

[TheMadKing]

Ok so after reading this whole thread I'll pitch in my $.02. Some of it is redundant, so I apologize for piling on. I have BIAB since my first all grain brew, and my mash efficiency has balanced out around 75%. I even just did a barleywine where I hit 69%. So the problem isn't BIAB, it's something in your process.

1: Ask the LHBS to double crush your grain. It will help a ton!
2: You are using way too much water. If you're making 5 gallon batches, you should be somewhere in the neighborhood of 7.5-8 gallons, this seems like the most likely reason you are missing your gravity numbers. I have a 15 gallon pot with a 1.2 gallon/hour boil-off rate and I usually use about 7.5 gallons to start with. I end up with about 1/4 gallon of trub in my kettle, and 1/2 gallon of loss in my fermentor, so I aim for 5.5 gallons post boil.
3: as far as measuring your volume, do you own a blender with graduated markings on it? or use a 2L soda bottle, or any other container of a known size to measure your volume into the kettle. Pour in 1 gallon, Use a piece of copper pipe, and place it vertically in your kettle and make a mark on it at the water line. Then one more mark for each gallon of water you add. Take a hack saw and cut a line into the copper at each mark. Then you have a permanently marked dipstick.
4: Beersmith is worth the money, but even brewersfriend should steer you pretty well. Make sure you are putting in your ingredients and volumes accurately. These programs are garbage-in-garbage-out
5: Try a dunk back into your wort after your grains have drained. You can gain a few points of gravity that way too.
6: No offense, but it sounds like you are sort of just trying stuff without a real plan... slow down man... you have time. Be methodical, analyze your batches, try to identify the problem.
7: Follow a recipe. I don't know if you are already doing this, but it always helps to know you are making a beer that was good for someone else first.
8: Pay attention to the details. Missing your volume by 0.5 gallons can have a fairly large effect on your gravity readings.
9: Simplify as much as possible. Don't try to fiddle with every variable. It doesn't matter if your mash temp drifts from 154 to 147. People mash overnight without issues. Just ignore the temperature drift and focus on getting your initial temperature and volume correct. Keep your mineral additions basic. Try 100% RO water with only lactic acid to control mash pH. Don't try to outsmart your equipment by changing your volume drastically (1 gallon more water) between brews. Small changes, refine the process, relax, don't try too hard.
10: Mash for 90 minutes

It's always frustrating when nothing seems to be working, but that's ALWAYS because you haven't tried the right thing yet. The answer exists, you just have to work the problem and find it. Be methodical, change 1 thing at a time, stick to the recipe. Good luck!

 

[HOPME]

As the late great Jimmy V once said, "don't give up, don't ever give up". Well, OK, he was battling cancer but you get it.

Brew on brother, you'll figure it out with all the advice shared here. We're not pro's, and even they F up multiple times before they get it.

 

[brew703]

I brew BIAB and my efficiency is in the 75% range. I do crush my own grain and that did help some with efficiency. MY LHBS used to frown when I asked for them to double crush my grains so I just bought my own.
A Corona mill can be had for cheap so I would save up for one.

If you have a blender or food processor, try adding grain and grinding it down to almost flour. If you have a good bag you should not have any issues crushing fine.

I brew 3 gallon batches (into fermentor). I calculate my grains for 3.5 gallons. I mainly brew APA's and use approx. 5.8 gallons of strike water. My system boils off .9-1 gallon per hour. I usually have approx. .5 gal or less in my kettle after draining. I brewed this past Friday and added about 10% more of my base malt to see if my efficiency would increase. I gained a small percentage more in efficiency but not sure if it was enough to make a difference.

My next batch I'll cut back on the water to 5.5 gallons to see how that works.

Also, if you are using tap water try adding a campden tablet to your water then add your salt additions. 3.7ML of Lactic seems high as when I use it I add less then 1ml (usually .5) to get my ph around 5.4. You can also try using acid malt (3%) to your grain bill. I've done that and most times I don't need to add any Lactic.

What are the temps in your basement? if it's 24 degrees outside I would think your basement would be in the 50's or low 60's? Low 60's would be good for most ale yeasts. Anything lower than that maybe switch to using lager yeast.

Temp control and water were the two most important factors for me in getting better beer. Try using only distilled water and use Bru N Water for additions. I use 50% filtered and 50% distilled and that has worked good for me.

Good luck and keep brewing.

 

[hezagenius]

December, today: NE IPA. For one, I screwed up my hop amounts I think - I bittered at 60 and added 2 oz each of Galaxy and Citra, at 10 and at flameout. My wort came out a nasty green color, and I'm regretting not adding whirlfloc. As for gravity, Beersmith projected 1.053, but I hit 1.04 or even lower - couldn't get a great reading, I forgot to take gravity until I had already shaken up my fermenter to aerate it a bit so there was some foam.

All my NEIPAs have a pea soup color when they go into the fermenter, but they come out with a nice golden glow. That green is all the suspended hop matter. It will settle out during fermentation.

 

[BowAholic]

I aimed a bit high on kettle loss and fermenter loss this time, since I've undershot recently and I was brewing a NE IPA with tons of hops. I had a little over 7 at the end of the boil, with about 6 into my bucket.

I was just playing with a specific gravity calculator... here's what I found out... if you are suppose to put 5.5 gallons of 1.050 wort into your fermentor but instead you have 7 gallons post boil wort, it will only be 1.039 due to being deluted.... which explains your low numbers...? It would also be watered down flavor and not balanced.

 

[vance]

Ok so after reading this whole thread I'll pitch in my $.02. Some of it is redundant, so I apologize for piling on. I have BIAB since my first all grain brew, and my mash efficiency has balanced out around 75%. I even just did a barleywine where I hit 69%. So the problem isn't BIAB, it's something in your process.

1: Ask the LHBS to double crush your grain. It will help a ton!
2: You are using way too much water. If you're making 5 gallon batches, you should be somewhere in the neighborhood of 7.5-8 gallons, this seems like the most likely reason you are missing your gravity numbers. I have a 15 gallon pot with a 1.2 gallon/hour boil-off rate and I usually use about 7.5 gallons to start with. I end up with about 1/4 gallon of trub in my kettle, and 1/2 gallon of loss in my fermentor, so I aim for 5.5 gallons post boil.
3: as far as measuring your volume, do you own a blender with graduated markings on it? or use a 2L soda bottle, or any other container of a known size to measure your volume into the kettle. Pour in 1 gallon, Use a piece of copper pipe, and place it vertically in your kettle and make a mark on it at the water line. Then one more mark for each gallon of water you add. Take a hack saw and cut a line into the copper at each mark. Then you have a permanently marked dipstick.
4: Beersmith is worth the money, but even brewersfriend should steer you pretty well. Make sure you are putting in your ingredients and volumes accurately. These programs are garbage-in-garbage-out
5: Try a dunk back into your wort after your grains have drained. You can gain a few points of gravity that way too.
6: No offense, but it sounds like you are sort of just trying stuff without a real plan... slow down man... you have time. Be methodical, analyze your batches, try to identify the problem.
7: Follow a recipe. I don't know if you are already doing this, but it always helps to know you are making a beer that was good for someone else first.
8: Pay attention to the details. Missing your volume by 0.5 gallons can have a fairly large effect on your gravity readings.
9: Simplify as much as possible. Don't try to fiddle with every variable. It doesn't matter if your mash temp drifts from 154 to 147. People mash overnight without issues. Just ignore the temperature drift and focus on getting your initial temperature and volume correct. Keep your mineral additions basic. Try 100% RO water with only lactic acid to control mash pH. Don't try to outsmart your equipment by changing your volume drastically (1 gallon more water) between brews. Small changes, refine the process, relax, don't try too hard.
10: Mash for 90 minutes

It's always frustrating when nothing seems to be working, but that's ALWAYS because you haven't tried the right thing yet. The answer exists, you just have to work the problem and find it. Be methodical, change 1 thing at a time, stick to the recipe. Good luck!

1. This is on the list for next time.

2. I used priceless' BIAB calc to get the 9.27 strike volume figure. I estimated 1 gallon of fermenter loss, since I was brewing a NE IPA with a ton of hops, and 1 gallon kettle loss as well. I don't usually use this much, but I've been only getting about 4.5 gallons into my keg before hitting trub so I overshot this time to see what happens.

3. No, I bought a 1 gallon measuring cup off Amazon. I double checked with weighting quarts of water and it's accurate as far as I can tell. I made markings on my plastic dip stick, but I did them off lengths, not pouring a gallon each time, and it was a last minute thing. A more accurate dipstick is on the list before next time I brew, just need to figure out how to properly differentiate 1, .25, and .5 increments.

4. Been using Beersmith for every batch since the second

5. Never heard of this one. Straight back into the wort? Seems like I'd just reabsorb a ton of liquid I squeezed out.

6. Probably. I really didn't change much from my last batch to the one I brewed last night, my only major difference was switching the homebrew store I went to. I had hoped going to a dedicated LHBS with a nicer mill would fix my OG issues. Part of the problem is I have absolutely no good sense of taste - so while I can tell when I don't like the flavor of my beer, I have no clue what that flavor is or where it comes from, or even how to describe it.

7. I usually base my recipes off something, often from here, but a SMaSH wouldn't be the worst thing to do. It's pretty hard to make a bad beer with Citra and Galaxy, I feel.

8. I agree, this is why I need to figure out how to get pin-point volume measurements (although it changes with temperature, so now I'm realizing my dip stick done at room temperature won't work at wort temps...)

9. Yeah I'm not worried about mash temps, it was all within conversion range and only dropped so much since it's so damn cold in Ohio. I only used CaCl, gypsum, and lactic this time which I feel is pretty simple. I'm conflicted on going back to my tap water - on one hand, all of the beers I liked were made with it, but on the other hand I don't even like to drink it without running it through a Brita pitcher, so why would it make good beer?

 

[vance]

I brew BIAB and my efficiency is in the 75% range. I do crush my own grain and that did help some with efficiency. MY LHBS used to frown when I asked for them to double crush my grains so I just bought my own.
A Corona mill can be had for cheap so I would save up for one.

If you have a blender or food processor, try adding grain and grinding it down to almost flour. If you have a good bag you should not have any issues crushing fine.

I brew 3 gallon batches (into fermentor). I calculate my grains for 3.5 gallons. I mainly brew APA's and use approx. 5.8 gallons of strike water. My system boils off .9-1 gallon per hour. I usually have approx. .5 gal or less in my kettle after draining. I brewed this past Friday and added about 10% more of my base malt to see if my efficiency would increase. I gained a small percentage more in efficiency but not sure if it was enough to make a difference.

My next batch I'll cut back on the water to 5.5 gallons to see how that works.

Also, if you are using tap water try adding a campden tablet to your water then add your salt additions. 3.7ML of Lactic seems high as when I use it I add less then 1ml (usually .5) to get my ph around 5.4. You can also try using acid malt (3%) to your grain bill. I've done that and most times I don't need to add any Lactic.

What are the temps in your basement? if it's 24 degrees outside I would think your basement would be in the 50's or low 60's? Low 60's would be good for most ale yeasts. Anything lower than that maybe switch to using lager yeast.

Temp control and water were the two most important factors for me in getting better beer. Try using only distilled water and use Bru N Water for additions. I use 50% filtered and 50% distilled and that has worked good for me.

Good luck and keep brewing.

Right now, basement temps are in the mid 60s I'd guess. Still a little high for ales. When I was brewing the two batches in kegs, though, Ohio had a bit of a warm streak going and it was probably close to 70 or a few degrees above. I've used RO + additions for my last two batches now, we'll see how this one tastes. Still trying to figure out how the hell bru'n water works but I think I worked out my additions for this batch.

 

[vance]

All my NEIPAs have a pea soup color when they go into the fermenter, but they come out with a nice golden glow. That green is all the suspended hop matter. It will settle out during fermentation.

That's my hope, only done one of these before and I don't recall the wort color. It smelled great when I checked it a little while ago though! (Although no krausen yet :/)

 

[vance]

I was just playing with a specific gravity calculator... here's what I found out... if you are suppose to put 5.5 gallons of 1.050 wort into your fermentor but instead you have 7 gallons post boil wort, it will only be 1.039 due to being deluted.... which explains your low numbers...? It would also be watered down flavor and not balanced.

Huh, that might be my issue actually. I'm checking my Beersmith recipe again - 1.053 expected OG, 5.75 batch volume, .5 gallon kettle loss. I must not have adjusted these when I was using priceless' BIAB calculator for my volumes. Man, BIAB volumes are a pain in the ass sometimes.

 

[brew703]

Right now, basement temps are in the mid 60s I'd guess. Still a little high for ales. When I was brewing the two batches in kegs, though, Ohio had a bit of a warm streak going and it was probably close to 70 or a few degrees above. I've used RO + additions for my last two batches now, we'll see how this one tastes. Still trying to figure out how the hell bru'n water works but I think I worked out my additions for this batch.

I ferment ales 62-64 degrees for the first week then up to 67 to finish. As for bru n water, it's still confusing to me. I usually do 2:1 Calcium Chloride to Gypsum for my pales and reverse for IPA's. Next batch will go for 1:1 on the additions.

I've got 36 brews under my belt and most are pretty darn good. Still have a couple that are not want I was looking for but still drinkable. Have not yet dumped a batch

I quit doing IPA's until I can get a keg system set up. Had issues with oxidation, mainly with NE IPA's. I'm now focusing on APA's and Ambers as those are what I mostly drink.

Hope it all works out for you.

 

[vance]

This one ended up at almost exactly 2:1 gypsum to CaCl, so at least we're on the same page even if it's wrong! Last night's batch was 10 or 11, and the blonde in my keg right now is the only one so far I've wanted to dump, so I guess that's not a bad success rate. I just need to get back into brewing beer I am proud to share, not just grudgingly drink myself.

 

[xCSx]

I brew BIAB and my efficiency is in the 75% range. I do crush my own grain and that did help some with efficiency. MY LHBS used to frown when I asked for them to double crush my grains so I just bought my own.
A Corona mill can be had for cheap so I would save up for one.

If you have a blender or food processor, try adding grain and grinding it down to almost flour. If you have a good bag you should not have any issues crushing fine.

I brew 3 gallon batches (into fermentor). I calculate my grains for 3.5 gallons. I mainly brew APA's and use approx. 5.8 gallons of strike water. My system boils off .9-1 gallon per hour. I usually have approx. .5 gal or less in my kettle after draining. I brewed this past Friday and added about 10% more of my base malt to see if my efficiency would increase. I gained a small percentage more in efficiency but not sure if it was enough to make a difference.

My next batch I'll cut back on the water to 5.5 gallons to see how that works.

Also, if you are using tap water try adding a campden tablet to your water then add your salt additions. 3.7ML of Lactic seems high as when I use it I add less then 1ml (usually .5) to get my ph around 5.4. You can also try using acid malt (3%) to your grain bill. I've done that and most times I don't need to add any Lactic.

What are the temps in your basement? if it's 24 degrees outside I would think your basement would be in the 50's or low 60's? Low 60's would be good for most ale yeasts. Anything lower than that maybe switch to using lager yeast.

Temp control and water were the two most important factors for me in getting better beer. Try using only distilled water and use Bru N Water for additions. I use 50% filtered and 50% distilled and that has worked good for me.

Good luck and keep brewing.

I also do 3 gallon BIAB, I usually start with 5.25 gallons. .28 Setting on my Cereal Crusher.
I usually end up with around 3.5 gallons left in the kettle FWIW...

 

[doug293cz]

..

5. Never heard of this one. Straight back into the wort? Seems like I'd just reabsorb a ton of liquid I squeezed out.

...

You are correct. This one is pretty much nonsense. You can't rinse out additional sugar by using wort that is the same SG (or higher) than the wort you just drained. You need to rinse with lower SG wort (best is water) to reduce the retained sugar in the grain.

Brew on

 

[brew703]

I also do 3 gallon BIAB, I usually start with 5.25 gallons. .28 Setting on my Cereal Crusher.
I usually end up with around 3.5 gallons left in the kettle FWIW...

Just got a new burner and used it two times so far. Going to cut back on the water next brew. I set my mill using a credit card. I had it tighter but when I use terrified wheat the gap was too tight and would not crush the grain. I have since switched to white wheat and the grain is not as thick so I can tighten up the gap a bit more. Hopefully that will increase my efficiency to the upper 70's to 80%.

 

[RM-MN]

Just got a new burner and used it two times so far. Going to cut back on the water next brew. I set my mill using a credit card. I had it tighter but when I use terrified wheat the gap was too tight and would not crush the grain. I have since switched to white wheat and the grain is not as thick so I can tighten up the gap a bit more. Hopefully that will increase my efficiency to the upper 70's to 80%.

Are you willing to throw a few bucks at this to get the efficiency up and end the problem with torricied wheat? I use a Corona mill (around $30) and haven't found a grain that it wouldn't grind up. I set it as tight as I can and haven't had a batch with less than 80% efficiency.

 

[TheMadKing]

You are correct. This one is pretty much nonsense. You can't rinse out additional sugar by using wort that is the same SG (or higher) than the wort you just drained. You need to rinse with lower SG wort (best is water) to reduce the retained sugar in the grain.



Brew on

I thought so too when it was suggested to me, but I tried it on my last batch and saw a jump from 1.035 to 1.040. I figured it was worth a shot to a desperate man.

I drained and squeezed my bag as normal. I took 4 refractomter readings before dunking my bag and averaged them, and 4 after and after averaged them. I double checked the calibration of my refractometer, and the waited for the temperature to equalize with the air with each sample. I stirred my wort vigorously between samples to ensure no stratification.

Maybe it was just coincidence, but I'm fairly certain that it was a real effect, though I agree that I don't understand the precise mechanism of what happened.

 

[brew703]

Are you willing to throw a few bucks at this to get the efficiency up and end the problem with torricied wheat? I use a Corona mill (around $30) and haven't found a grain that it wouldn't grind up. I set it as tight as I can and haven't had a batch with less than 80% efficiency.

I no longer use torrified wheat. But have considered getting a Corona Mill.
next batch will tighten up the gap to see if I can get any more efficiency. I usually average 75% so I am satisfied with that.

 

[TorMag]

You seriously need to go for the Corona Mill in the bucket like many have suggested. So easy to do and fairly cheap. $20-$30 on Amazon http://amzn.to/2hVwXM3

 

[Morrey]

You seriously need to go for the Corona Mill in the bucket like many have suggested. So easy to do and fairly cheap. $20-$30 on Amazon http://amzn.to/2hVwXM3

This looks like a great way to mount a Corona Mill.

Is the bottom board holding the mill's clamp bolted/screwed into the bucket?

I assume the mill stays in place when you dump out the grain you have milled?

 

[TorMag]

This looks like a great way to mount a Corona Mill.

Is the bottom board holding the mill's clamp bolted/screwed into the bucket?

I assume the mill stays in place when you dump out the grain you have milled?

It is screwed in. Yes, the mill stays in place when you dump out the grain. I have a second bucket that I pour the grain into after grinding. A socket fits perfectly on the handle post and I use a power drill. Goes through 15+ lbs of grain in less than 2 minutes. The first time I used it, without the drill took about 45 minutes to crush the grain.

 

[Morrey]

I thought so too when it was suggested to me, but I tried it on my last batch and saw a jump from 1.035 to 1.040. I figured it was worth a shot to a desperate man.

I drained and squeezed my bag as normal. I took 4 refractomter readings before dunking my bag and averaged them, and 4 after and after averaged them. I double checked the calibration of my refractometer, and the waited for the temperature to equalize with the air with each sample. I stirred my wort vigorously between samples to ensure no stratification.

Maybe it was just coincidence, but I'm fairly certain that it was a real effect, though I agree that I don't understand the precise mechanism of what happened.

I suppose my method is called dunk sparging? I have an Arbor Fab BIAB basket. I lift the basket out of the wort with a pulley until the basket clears the wort. I use my spoon to disturb the grain bed, then dunk and lift several times while working the grains with my spoon. I figured I may be simply wasting my time but I never have done a sparge with heated water as I full volume mash.

 

[Morrey]

It is screwed in. Yes, the mill stays in place when you dump out the grain. I have a second bucket that I pour the grain into after grinding. A socket fits perfectly on the handle post and I use a power drill. Goes through 15+ lbs of grain in less than 2 minutes. The first time I used it, without the drill took about 45 minutes to crush the grain.

OMG talk about a workout from hand grinding. I use a drill powered 3 roller mill for standard malts and grains, but have a Corona Mill for grinding dried, shelled corn for some (other) products I make..lol. Talk about a workout!!

So you say I can take off the hand crank and use a socket powered by my drill? I am going to do this project right away....so do you know of any pictures (besides yours) that I can use to follow the plans?