Specialty grain crush?

[camonick]

I moved to full volume no sparge BIAB in January from doing pre-packaged extract kits mostly from MoreBeer. All of my beers since have been recipes I’ve designed or others I’ve modified. I just received an AG kit from MoreBeer for a beer I’d made before using their extract kit that I loved. For those unfamiliar with their kits, you either get a big pouch of LME or the equivalent amount of 2-row (I specified no crush). There are also pre-measured packets of the necessary specialty grains included which are a very coarse crush.
I have my own mill and have been doing a very fine crush for ALL my grain. I understand the importance of a fine crush for my base malt, but how important is the crush for the specialty grain? It’ll be no problem to run the specialty grains through my mill, but is it necessary? Will I still get the same color and flavor if I don’t? I’m sure they are crushed the way they are for the 3-vessel guys.
Sláinte
Nick

 

[kh54s10]

I suggest you crush all the grains the same amount. If BIAB crush it all pretty fine. If sparging it take some experimentation. Grind as fine as you can without totally shredding the husks and still have it drain fairly well.

 

[nick sekerak]

i have been setting my gap to 0.02 inch and it works good

 

[CascadesBrewer]

My vote is that it does not matter. The real advantage is with base grains to get more access for conversion. With Crystal, Chocolate, etc. you are mostly getting flavors and colors. Since the specialty grains in the More Beer kits come pre-crushed, you could just use them as is or run them through your mill with your other grains. I got a More Beer kit earlier in the year and I don't think I messed with crushing the pre-crushed specialty grains.

 

[RM-MN]

When I brew I want to get all the color and flavor I can from my grains and I want the best conversion of the base malts so they all get milled as fine as I can. The bigger the particles the harder it will be to extract the color and flavor and the longer and more difficult it will be to get full conversion. I'd mill them all.

 

[kh54s10]

LHBS crushes are usually pretty coarse so that fly spargers don't get a stuck sparge. BIAB is less efficient and a finer crush helps. So, IMO, it is important to get a good crush for BIAB. Additionally you are not just looking for color and flavor from the specialty grains, they are also adding to the fermentables. If you don't crush well you might not reach the intended OG.

 

[camonick]

Thanks for the input. It won't take but a few extra minutes to run them through my mill again so I'll probably just dump them in with my 2-row.