Just bought a grain mill...is this crush ok?

[arnobg]

First time operating a grain mill and I bought the Cereal Killer on sale Black Friday. Used some feeler gauges and set it at .032 per some discussions on this forum for BIAB.

Is this a good enough crush or is it too fine?

There's only a few husks intact at all, otherwise they're obliterated.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Looks good to me, I don't think .032 is that tight, some even go finer I think?

 

[TexasWine]

0.025 for me. 0.010 is the lowest I've heard of another BIABer using.

 

[oujens]

For reference, I use a 10 gallon cooler mash tun and have my cereal killer set at .033 which seems to work great. I went .030 before but I didn't feel like the grain bed was filtering good enough. You could probably go tighter for BIAB, or brew and see what you think.

 

[arnobg]

Appreciate the advice. As long as every grain/husk is broken is there any gain in efficiency by going smaller? I am trying to avoid extra sediment in the fermenter if it is not needed. Is anything getting extracted from the "flour powder" that comes from finer crushes?

What is odd about this mill is there is a setting down to .025 but it doesn't seem it can even physically get to that gap setting, but maybe I haven't quite figured this mill out yet.

My other question is, this is just plain old 2-row. Do I want to use a different setting on other grains or is this a one size fits all? Would hate to get it set up perfect then have to change it for other grains.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Typically a finer crush may be more efficient, or at least will convert quicker. I wouldn't trouble yourself over an amount of flour, it is starch and will convert to sugar. While a finer crush may lead to a bit more trub in the fermenter, waste is waste, perhaps just shifted from the mash to the fermenter.

Wheat and rye can benefit from a tighter crush, but if you run on the finer side it may not be worth the effort of adjusting the mill IMO.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

To piggy-back on Wilser's comment, I use a very old-school mill. Single knurled roller and a plate. 70% of my crush looks like yours with the remaining 30% flour.

Lazy practices have me at 74-78% efficiency. I CAN hit 80% consistently with a slightly tighter grind but the physical effort (hand crank mill) is just not worth it. That tighter grind ends up closer to 50% flour and 50% what you have.

Only other downside to that tighter grind...even more brake material in the boil kettle.

Pick you battles...your crush looks grest for a 45 minute mash (and probably a 30 minute).

 

[arnobg]

Thanks for the tips, I'll probably leave it as is or go slightly tighter so I don't have to adjust it when doing wheat or rye.

 

[IslandLizard]

That crush at 0.032" looks good, but wheat and rye will need 0.022" to crush just as properly. Same 0.022" for flaked goods, although many will not think they need to be crushed, I do.

 

[brew-bandit]

Just bought a mill and found this experiment timely.

http://brulosophy.com/2015/11/23/mind-the-gap-course-vs-fine-crush-exbeeriment-results/

 

[Gavin C]

I've got a cereal killer and brew with a bag.

I set my mill to the finest possible setting. My suggestion would be to do that.

I don't double crush.

Single pass gets the job done.

 

[arnobg]

I've got a cereal killer and brew with a bag.

I set my mill to the finest possible setting. My suggestion would be to do that.

I don't double crush.

Single pass gets the job done.

0.025? What kind of efficiency do you get?

 

[Gavin C]

0.025? What kind of efficiency do you get?

It says 0.02 on the mill. I've never measured it though.

A credit card does not fit through.

For a ~10lb grain bill and no sparge full volume mashes I formulate recipes at 80% Brewhouse efficiency.

5.5 gallon batches

 

[doug293cz]

I set my gap at 0.016" for BIAB.

Brew on

 

[Bellybuster]

I'll be that guy.... Not even close on that crush, cut your gap

 

[arnobg]

Dropped it down to .028 and Milled my grains for my brew today.

Got around 80% efficiency, very pleased with this mill and what I'm getting!

 

[m00ps]

try spraying your malt iwth water and stirring around a bit before crushing it to condition it. It will let you go finer without worrying about a quarter pound of flour at the bottom

 

[arnobg]

try spraying your malt iwth water and stirring around a bit before crushing it to condition it. It will let you go finer without worrying about a quarter pound of flour at the bottom

Thanks for the tip, I was actually just reading about that last night debating to give it a go or not. I didn't do it but I'll try it out next time!

Is there a good amount per lb. of grain or just eye it?

 

[m00ps]

i just do 3-4 sprays, stir it around and try to bring the stuff on the bottom to the top, spray again and repeat. I keep going until theres some grains stuck to the bottom and sides of the bucket Im mixing them in. Once I went a bit overboard, but it was only like a handful of the very last kernels that were a pain to crush