Grain Mill Questions

[skepace]

Morning!

Anyone had any success with grain mills? I would rather save time and mill at home than wait in line at the store.

Thanks!

 

[LovesIPA]

Love my grain mill.

I bought a monster mill 2.0 and built a cabinet out of thick plywood from home depot. I sized it to fit either a homer bucket or a 30L fermenter bucket inside. I run it using a power drill. It works great and I don't have to hope that a LHBS has their mill set up correctly. I bought a bunch of grain from a LHBS and never got better than 50% efficiency. I'm sure it was their crush.

 

[skepace]

Love my grain mill. I bought a monster mill 2.0 and built a cabinet out of thick plywood from home depot. I sized it to fit either a homer bucket or a 30L fermenter bucket inside. I run it using a power drill. It works great and I don't have to hope that a LHBS has their mill set up correctly. I bought a bunch of grain from a LHBS and never got better than 50% efficiency. I'm sure it was their crush.

That's what I am running in to. Got any pics?

Thanks!

 

[LovesIPA]

Sure if you don't mind looking at my messy garage in the background.

As you can see, quick n dirty is my middle name. The cabinet cost about $60 in materials.

 

[skepace]

Sure if you don't mind looking at my messy garage in the background.

Ha!! Not at all.

 

[jwalker1140]

My Barley Crusher has been one of my better purchases. I used to buy crushed grain from different sources and my efficiency used to vary and suck. Not any more!

 

[skepace]

Sure if you don't mind looking at my messy garage in the background. As you can see, quick n dirty is my middle name. The cabinet cost about $60 in materials.

Looks great!

 

[BudzAndSudz]

Whatever you do, get a good mill. I saved money and bought a cereal killer and now I'm looking at needing a whole new mill less than a year later because my $90 piece of Chinese garbage can't give me an even crush no matter what.

 

[LovesIPA]

Whatever you do, get a good mill. I saved money and bought a cereal killer and now I'm looking at needing a whole new mill less than a year later because my $90 piece of Chinese garbage can't give me an even crush no matter what.

Which is exactly why I went with the monster mill.

 

[Bigscience]

I have no complaints about my 3 roller monster. HF drill does a good job too. I kind of wish I had a cabinet setup but this requires less space.

 

[BudzAndSudz]

3-roller monster mill. Drool. How's that baby treat you? Most likely my next purchase since my junk sucks.

 

[skepace]

I have no complaints about my 3 roller monster. HF drill does a good job too. I kind of wish I had a cabinet setup but this requires less space.

Wow! Not sure I can commit that much since I am building my all grain system.

But it looks cool.

 

[BudzAndSudz]

If you're building an all-grain system then a good mill is possibly the best invesment you can make in the entire project.

 

[LovesIPA]

If you're building an all-grain system then a good mill is possibly the best invesment you can make in the entire project.

^^^^

Definitely.

 

[skepace]

What's the difference in the 2 roll versus 3 roll systems ?

 

[wilserbrewer]

Very happy with my cheap Corona type mill here...I have used it for several years without issue.

 

[QuercusMax]

I've also been getting great results with my $20 corona mill from Discount Tommy mounted in a $3 Home Depot bucket.

 

[skepace]

How's the barley crusher mill?

 

[tonyc318]

I love my barley crusher. Super glad I spent the money. On factory setting my efficiency went up 5-6%.

 

[Oginme]

I bought a cheap corona mill. After modification, I am getting a very consistent 86.5% efficiency, so I cannot complain. Total bill came to about $35 including the threading tool to modify it.

 

[LovesIPA]

How's the barley crusher mill?

Not as good as the monster mill. I talked to a LHBS owner a few months back and he had a barley crusher. When he wore it out, they refused to honor their warranty on the grounds that he was using it for commercial purposes. He replaced it with a monster mill and it's lasted twice as long already.

 

[jwalker1140]

How's the barley crusher mill?

Personally, I'm very happy with mine. It's easy to adjust, it gives me a much better crush than I was getting from my two LHBSs and it comes with a lifetime warranty (at least for personal use, apparently). I could have spent more, but I doubt I would taste the difference in my beers.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I could have spent more, but I doubt I would taste the difference in my beers.

Pretty much sums up how I feel about Corona mill.

 

[dogbar]

I read a lot of these threads when I was looking for a mill. In the end, I went with the barley crusher with the small hopper and have never looked back.

For what I do, brewing every three weeks, it feels like it's going to take a long, long time to wear this out.

My LHBS has good pricing on 50# sacks, so I've already made that money back. And if the urge to brew strikes at the last minute, I can just go downstairs and mill some grains.

 

[QuercusMax]

Pretty much sums up how I feel about Corona mill.

If it's good enough for Charlie Papazian, it's good enough for me. I get 86% efficiency doing BIAB.

 

[thatjonguy]

I gor a good deal on a Barley Crusher and I love it so far.

Although a plywood base will replace the particle board when I get around to it.

 

[USAFSooner]

I've bought grain crushed from online places and crushed my own with a friends mill. I noticed I get much better efficiency when I crush myself.

 

[kh54s10]

I also use a Corona style mill. It was a Christmas present so I have $0 invested. My efficiency varies but I don't think it is due to the crush. And the beer is GREAT!

 

[Bigscience]

If you're building an all-grain system then a good mill is possibly the best invesment you can make in the entire project.

Yes and no. A mill without a mash tun won't do you much good. What a mill has allowed me to do is to buy in bulk and then grind when I need it. I can pretty much brew whatever I want whenever I want. To keep my stock fresh, I've started making kits for friends at a slight markup but still less than the LHBS.

If you are going from extract to AG, first get a large kettle so you can stop over at BIAB land. Then add a mash tun then HLT. This also assumes you already have a chiller. I'd even say get a keg setup before a mill. Just my thoughts.

Regarding my mill, I don't think I'd do anything different on it. I have the SS rollers but not the larger ones. I read that those are only needed if you are a LHBS or semi pro and grinding all the time. I do like the extended hopper option. I could have built one but don't really have the spare time.

 

[rustym]

I love my Barley Crusher. I just did my third batch with it today.