opinions on my crush....

[Smashing]

Just gave my new Barley crusher a run. How do you think my first run came out?

 

[runningweird]

looks nice, careful not to get it too fine or you're going to end up with a gooey stuck sparge.

 

[ChuckO]

Looks fine to me, but the real test will be from checking the efficiency of the brew. Is it better or worse than your experience from other brews?

 

[michaeltrego]

It may just be the picture, but it looks like you have several intact, uncrushed grains in there. If that is the case, I would adjust it finer.

 

[Smashing]

Here's another pic I took.

Definitely finer than the stuff I got from Midwest. I reground what I bought from them.
As far as efficency, I'm not sure. I hit my post boil number dead on. I may have miss read my pre-boil though. I read it as .030, way off the projected .051 per Beersmith. It seems funny I can be so far off on my pre-boil but nail my OG. The beer looked, smelled and tasted great so it should come out nice.

 

[phoenixs4r]

Here's another pic I took.

Definitely finer than the stuff I got from Midwest. I reground what I bought from them.
As far as efficency, I'm not sure. I hit my post boil number dead on. I may have miss read my pre-boil though. I read it as .030, way off the projected .051 per Beersmith. It seems funny I can be so far off on my pre-boil but nail my OG. The beer looked, smelled and tasted great so it should come out nice.

Are you coiling your pre-boil sample? I didn't for my first couple of all grain batches and was wondering why things didn't add up, even using temperature calcuators. Folks here say they aren't accurate at all about 90F

 

[Smashing]

I cooled my sample to room temp - thermo check had it at 75 degrees - I used an online calc to adjust it to 59 degrees. Now that I'm thinking about it I can't remember where in the mash I took the sample or from where. Where/when does one normally take the sample?
Would it be possible to hit my OG (after boil) if my mash numbers were that far off?

 

[bigbeergeek]

Finer! FINER!!!

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

I cooled my sample to room temp - thermo check had it at 75 degrees - I used an online calc to adjust it to 59 degrees. Now that I'm thinking about it I can't remember where in the mash I took the sample or from where. Where/when does one normally take the sample?
Would it be possible to hit my OG (after boil) if my mash numbers were that far off?

I usually don't take my pre-boil gravity until I am completely sparged and when the wort is just starting to boil. If I take it before the boil is started I stir well to make sure there is no stratification of sugar concentration... not sure if its really a concern but I do it the same every time to be consistent.

 

[GuldTuborg]

I have a crush on your crush.:fro:

It looks about right. I wouldn't go any coarser than that, and a bit finer would be OK too, so long as you don't have any trouble lautering. So long as you're keeping your husks intact (which you are now), grind as fine as you like.

 

[wyzazz]

Here's my crush, I know it's a crappy pic. I do BIAB so I don't need to worry about a stuck sparge.

 

[rico567]

Here's another pic I took.

Definitely finer than the stuff I got from Midwest. I reground what I bought from them.
As far as efficency, I'm not sure. I hit my post boil number dead on. I may have miss read my pre-boil though. I read it as .030, way off the projected .051 per Beersmith. It seems funny I can be so far off on my pre-boil but nail my OG. The beer looked, smelled and tasted great so it should come out nice.

If I'm nailing my OG, I don't worry about anything else. If I owned a brewery, I'd be concerned about efficiency on every batch, but I'm not in homebrewing to be chasing an efficiency number.....

 

[bigbeergeek]

I should post a picture of my crush. No doubt it would freak out a few squares...

My grain is pulverized, husks nearly indiscernible, and my fly sparge always goes smoothly and efficiently (89%).

I say finer

 

[Smashing]

Thanks for the thoughts. The above crush is the factory set .039 and I had no problem with my sparge. Finer it will be for the next batch! Scary to think that my crush was much finer that what I got from Midwest.

 

[Conan]

That's about what I get- just to rehash what everyone else has said. I personally don't go finer because my mill (converted pasta roller) tends to jump out of it's setting if it's under too much strain. Go finer till you hit flour, and enjoy your new numbers! I've found, in my setup (batch sparge in cooler) that all the flour goo sets on top of the grainbed anyway- I think the concerns for stuck sparges are a myth, but that just me and mine methods. Who knows, maybe I'm the King of the Sparges! Haha. Kyle

 

[azscoob]

My barley crusher is set to kill, I condition my grain and bout turn it to powder, the husks are intact too. I get 87-89% eff with not even a hint of a stuck sparge.

I think it is set to .024 or so, I need to double check that when I get back from Chicago.

 

[Smashing]

Just an update. I kegged this today and my FG was 1.008. I'm going with a mis-measurement of my mash numbers.

 

[tolkheleknar]

I hope you named it "The Crushinator"!

 

[jamboparty]

I hope you named it "The Crushinator"!

What a terrifically EVIL name!

Sorry, sometimes my son's cartoons jump into my head when they're least expected.

 

[erikhild59]

Doofenschmirtz!