Pasta maker or rolling pin?

[WarBac]

Just got LHBS in my town and they don't have their mill yet. So I'm doing my first all grain Saturday and have to crush my grains. I have an old school hand cranked pasta maker that I can set to different thicknesses between 2 rollers. Sound like a good idea or should I use a rolling pin?

 

[pelipen]

The pasta rollers are too small and too smooth. They won't grab the kernels. There is a thread on here somewhere about people thrashing the heck out of the rollers with files to roughen them up.

 

[WarBac]

Damn.

 

[weirdboy]

Dude if you are planning on milling enough grain to do an AG batch with a rolling pin, you better start working on those grains now...you might have enough time to get them all done by then if you work straight through.

 

[Nugent]

I use a mortar and pestle for grinding small amounts of specialty grain, as in 1/2 pound small.

 

[barrooze]

Maybe wrap some rough sandpaper around the rollers? That may get the rollers to pull the grain through easier. Either way, be prepared for a sub-par efficiency. Also, make sure you don't over crush the grain, you don't want a stuck sparge the first time doing all-grain. Good luck!

 

[midfielder5]

10+ pounds of grain with a rolling pin will not be fun.
When are they getting their mill?
Can you buy or borrow someone's corona grain mill?

 

[Airplanedoc]

double or triple bag the grains place in driveway, back up, stop, drive forward, stop, repeat

 

[WarBac]

Ok. F it. I tried the pasta maker mill thingy tonight and it's not going to do the trick. I'm going by a very small microbrewery (3 guys) Saturday am and have them grind it. In return I'll purchase a few alt beers and IPAs. The LHBS gets the mill in a few weeks so I'll wait for it. Just trying to support local business thanks for the advice.

 

[Revvy]

Plenty of folks have had success with using a cheap pasta maker as a grain mill.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/using-pasta-maker-mill-grain-75784/

 

[wilserbrewer]

If I were you, I would consider using a blender...say 1/2 cup at a time. Never done it...just have read people have had success.