Mashmaster (Millmaster) fluted grain Mill Resource Thread

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ninkwood

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I wanted to create a thread for those of us who own the Australian made Mashmaster Grain Mill with fluted rollers. I bought this mill as my first grain mill as I had done a ton of research and in particular really like the review by @Zepth that he posted on this forum in this thread.

I have no complaints on the mill, but frankly don't have anything to compare it with. I'm finding it difficult to dial in my gap settings and I wanted to create this forum to share my experiences and open it up to others who own this specific mill.

In zepth's review, he doesn't specifically mention a gap setting other than stating that "a credit card fit through the gap but not the embossed part". Based on his crush, I estimate that he was milling around 0.050".

I myself have had good results milling barley at around 0.040"-0.045", however I'm really struggling with wheat and stuck mashes/sparges.

I usually brew on a 3vHERMs but I also have a 35L brewzilla that I use for certain batches. My last batch of Hefeweizen stuck in the Brewzilla at Mill settings of 0.040" (pilsner) and 0.026" (wheat malt) with a good 10% of rice hulls. I'm going to try this recipe again and have opened the mill right up to 0.049" (pilsner) and 0.041" (wheat malt). I was honestly shocked that at that wide a gap, every single wheat berry that I picked up was atleast cracked (see photo). I'll be sure to report back with both my mash efficiency and lautering efficiency.
17358648522951289801546431826754.jpg
 
Update:

I still managed to get a stuck mash with the grain milled as per above and 8 oz (5%) rice hulls! I used a brew bag inside the malt pipe, and to my understanding, the fine wheat particles/flour clogged the bag which ultimately lead to the pump running dry briefly before I shut it off. I had to slow the recirculation down enough that i couldn't step mash effectively or pull the bag up and out to allow the liquid to pass through higher up on the bag. Ultimately, this was very frustrating but thanks to my recipe using decoctions for increasing the steps, I was able to make it work and the subsequent beer is actually tasting ok and smelling fantastic a couple days in. I also managed to hit 80% mash efficiency, which is what I normally hit when doing a double decoction so that was encouraging. I am left wondering if this mill just pulverizes wheat malt no matter what the gap setting. I may try slowing the speed down on my drill from ~150 RPM to see what that does.

My struggles with wheat malt continue...

I'll be trying this Hefeweizen again without much change other than I'll be brewing it on my 3vHERMs. I'm hopeful the wider bottom will help with lautering. I'll still be using a brew bag for extra protection! I'll try to remember to continue to update this thread, incase anyone else finds it useful one day.
 
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Is the percentage of wheat (malt) in your batch higher than 60-70%?

I know that at high % of wheat (50% and up), and even more so with rye, I need to stir the mash more often and more thoroughly, especially before lautering.
I incorporate a combined protein/beta glucanase rest at 121F for 15-20'. It really helps reduce the gumminess, and eases lautering, but could still be quite slow. Raising the temps and/or more stirring at that point is the only "cure" that works. That's using a dedicated mash tun (converted cooler or kettle), no bag or fine mesh screen.

With your bag, is it possible the mesh gets plugged up with those proteins and glucans?
 
Is the percentage of wheat (malt) in your batch higher than 60-70%?

I know that at high % of wheat (50% and up), and even more so with rye, I need to stir the mash more often and more thoroughly, especially before lautering.
I incorporate a combined protein/beta glucanase rest at 121F for 15-20'. It really helps reduce the gumminess, and eases lautering, but could still be quite slow. Raising the temps and/or more stirring at that point is the only "cure" that works. That's using a dedicated mash tun (converted cooler or kettle), no bag or fine mesh screen.

With your bag, is it possible the mesh gets plugged up with those proteins and glucans?
Yep, I was running at 65% Weyermann wheat and 35% Weyermann Pils. I think what you're describing has been my issue precisely and it's good to learn that a protein rest can help. My reason for using the Brewzilla for this recipe was that I could simply step mash using the onboard RIMS and that would allow me to fine tune the recipe on a smaller ~3 gallon batch size. But I learned quick that this wasn't going to be as simple as I intended!

I skipped the protein rest here in my main mash because I figured it wasn't necessary due to the decoctions. But I will try one next go around as it's easy enough (relatively speaking) to add a portion of the first decoction in, rest for a time, then add the remaining amount in after.

I've only brewed 5 beers with ~40%+ wheat, so I think a big part of this is just lowering my expectations for the next while and getting some experience with it. I appreciate the feedback!
 
I skipped the protein rest here in my main mash because I figured it wasn't necessary due to the decoctions.
The beta-glucans are the gum/glue making the mash less permeable, and thus hard to lauter.
Most decoctions mashes start out with or include a 20' protein rest around 114-116F, or a combined protein/beta-glucanase rest at a slightly higher temp of 121F. Good stirring also helps loosen it up.
 
The beta-glucans are the gum/glue making the mash less permeable, and thus hard to lauter.
Most decoctions mashes start out with or include a 20' protein rest around 114-116F, or a combined protein/beta-glucanase rest at a slightly higher temp of 121F. Good stirring also helps loosen it up.
On this particular brew, I'm doing an acid rest around 110°-113° for 15-20'. I can definitely include a protien rest after that without much difficulty. I've had better luck with wheat on my 10 gallon mashtun but even on that system I had one batch where the gum/gunk made it out of the bag but fully sealed the mashtun under the false bottom and I wasn't able to get a drop out the bottom. Hopefully this is a big part of the answer, thanks again for your feedback!
 
What I like to do is mash in at 97*-104* at a 1:1 ratio then add boiling liquor after 20-30 min to get to 143*-148*, rest 10 min then pull first decoction. My Wit is 50% + wheat,half of that flaked, and my rye lager is 36% rye(some flaked). I BIAB and don't need any rice hulls to drain with this SOP.
Here's the real secret. The malt has to gelatinize first then liquefy. You should wait to recirc until after the first decoction is blended back in.
 
What I like to do is mash in at 97*-104* at a 1:1 ratio then add boiling liquor after 20-30 min to get to 143*-148*, rest 10 min then pull first decoction. My Wit is 50% + wheat,half of that flaked, and my rye lager is 36% rye(some flaked). I BIAB and don't need any rice hulls to drain with this SOP.
Here's the real secret. The malt has to gelatinize first then liquefy. You should wait to recirc until after the first decoction is blended back in.
This is great, thanks!

It's actually similar to how I brewed this last Hef. I essentially split the mash into two - the main mash and the 1st decoction. I started the decoction first with a 20 min rest at ~110F then increased to around 145F. At this time I started the main mash with the same 110F/20 min rest. Once this was going I boiled the decoction, added it to the main mash and carried on from there by pulling a second mash.

However, I definitely wasn't patient. I started recirculating on the Brewzilla basically right away. I'll hold off on the recirculation next time until after the 1st decoction (and I think I'll also pause briefly in the protein rest range as well). Recirculation isn't really necessary with decoction steps anyways.
 

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