What To Look For in a Grain Mill?

[hiphoppotamuss]

Now that I’m up to brewing 8-10 batches a year, I think it’s finally time to bite the bullet and get my own grain mill. I do mainly BIAB 5 gallon batches.

Should I splurge for the 3 roller or will a 2 roller suffice? Which brands are high quality and which should I steer away from? Anything else I should seek out or avoid?

Thanks!!!

 

[Andrew7447]

MaltMuncher Grain Mill 3 Roller works great for me, I had the 2 mill it was fine for years but whatever i did to it. It wont hold a proper gap anymore. I think the 3 mill is probably worth the little extra cash for milling really fine for BIAB. My efficiency is around 82ish%. You could just run it threw the 2mill twice though if money matters more than time.​

 

[hottpeper13]

I second 3 roller!

 

[hottpeper13]

If you're in it for the long haul get them gear driven.

 

[Agent]

No need to really overthink it. I'm going on 12 years with my Corona mill, and it's seen 400+lbs/ year for the last five years.

 

[Dog House Brew]

If I were to buy another 3 Roller, it would be gear driven. I think there are several reasonable models out there now.

 

[AlexKay]

I have a Monster Mill Pro 2-roller. By no means a cheap option, but I picked it for ease of gap adjustment and ability to mill corn. Very happy so far.

 

[day_trippr]

If I was in the market for a new mill it would definitely be geared...and probably a two roller, as they have always worked for me...

Cheers!

 

[Konadog]

You might look into the Mighty Mill 3 Roller Grain Mill from MoreBeer. It's a geared 3 roller mill, best of both worlds and less expensive as a Monster Mill.

 

[day_trippr]

That mill has an undriven roller. I won't have that on my next mill - assuming I outlive my CK

Cheers!

 

[Closet Fermenter]

No need to really overthink it. I'm going on 12 years with my Corona mill, and it's seen 400+lbs/ year for the last five years.

Yep! I have only ever used a Corona. Couldn’t say how much grain I have put through it, but in the hundreds of pounds. Heck, I’ve probably ground 100 lbs of whole corn for my chickens!
I did recently pick up a motorized two-roller mill in a Craigslist bulk buy. I will eventually give it a try. I may even ditch the hand drill and go back to hand cranking the Corona. It just feels more like “making beer” when I hand mill the grain. But what do I know; I like heating my water on a wood stove.

 

[Dland]

Corona's are sturdy and do the job, used one back in the '90s and still have it. Though I found it hard to get optimal crush without grinding up the hulls more than wanted. Then got a two roller, (BC) on which rollers wore out after 50 or so 20# crushes.

Am very happy with three roller Kegland, over 100 batches so far. Fairly inexpensive and easier to adjust and better feed than two roller. Using a variable speed drill that is powerful enough to go slow works well enough for me, though I'm sure the gear drive ones are nice if one wants to spend more.

I'd advise to avoid Barley Crusher, rollers not hardened enough hold up, then it stops feeding.

 

[passedpawn]

You might look into the Mighty Mill 3 Roller Grain Mill from MoreBeer. It's a geared 3 roller mill, best of both worlds and less expensive as a Monster Mill.

This mill has worked GREAT for me for the last 2 years. I would buy it again.

 

[Yesfan]

You might look into the Mighty Mill 3 Roller Grain Mill from MoreBeer. It's a geared 3 roller mill, best of both worlds and less expensive as a Monster Mill.

I wished I had saw that when I was looking for a mill. I have the Malt Muncher 3 roller instead. I'm very happy with it none the less.

 

[wepeeler]

MaltMuncher Grain Mill 3 Roller works great for me, I had the 2 mill it was fine for years but whatever i did to it. It wont hold a proper gap anymore. I think the 3 mill is probably worth the little extra cash for milling really fine for BIAB. My efficiency is around 82ish%. You could just run it threw the 2mill twice though if money matters more than time.​

I've been eyeballing that for 3 months now. Is it a lot faster than the 2 roll? I don't NEED another mill, but my current one is patched up a bit...

 

[passedpawn]

I wished I had saw that when I was looking for a mill. I have the Malt Muncher 3 roller instead. I'm very happy with it none the less.

I just looked up my order on MoreBeer and I paid $169 Feb 2022. It's now $229. Ouch.

 

[Konadog]

I paid $178.04 two years ago (Dec. 2021). I know it was on sale when I ordered. Wait for a sale if your not in a hurry.

 

[Andrew7447]

I've been eyeballing that for 3 months now. Is it a lot faster than the 2 roll? I don't NEED another mill, but my current one is patched up a bit...

.
It is pretty great, Id get one if i was you. I also didnt NEED it. But im not mad about my decision LOL

 

[Yesfan]

I just looked up my order on MoreBeer and I paid $169 Feb 2022. It's now $229. Ouch.

I think My Malt Muncher was $162 at the time. I also got it in Feb '22 from More Beer. Now it's $190.

 

[RM-MN]

I think my Corona style mill was about $20 and now I see them on Amazon for $17. The OP is planning to BIAB. Corona mills are well suited to that as it doesn't matter if the hulls are shredded or if the particles are smaller. Smaller is better as faster and more complete conversion is achieved and the bag is the filter so there is no reliance on the intact husks.

The difference between the cost of the Corona mill and the Malt Muncher will buy a lot of ingredients and it is ingredients that make beer, not the mill.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

I think my Corona style mill was about $20 and now I see them on Amazon for $17. The OP is planning to BIAB. Corona mills are well suited to that as it doesn't matter if the hulls are shredded or if the particles are smaller. Smaller is better as faster and more complete conversion is achieved

I use a Corona as well, but do a conventional mash. When I started out this way, I had a great fear of a stuck mash. However, I brewed for several years this way before it eventually happened. Then, all I did was stuck my long spoon in a couple places and the flow returned; no problems. I’m likely running a little finer than a typical crush, but I have not missed a target OG.
I use a regular false bottom in my mash tun, and have not had a problem with fines coming through, but have wondered if anyone has ever used a bag in the mash tun in the same manner as the BIAB, but just for filtering and lifting for additional drainage.

 

[Dog House Brew]

I have to say that the best mill I’ve seen is the Crankenstein geared. I’m not buying a mill, but a modern choice is geared. Not geared, ain’t buy’n your

 

[day_trippr]

Yup. This is the image of my next mill - if I ever need a "next mill"

Suhweet!

Cheers!

 

[Dog House Brew]

Yup. This is the image of my next mill - if I ever need a "next mill"

Suhweet!
View attachment 839001

Cheer

Yup. This is the image of my next mill - if I ever need a "next mill"

Suhweet!
View attachment 839001

Cheers!

100%

 

[hottpeper13]

I got a bag for my 15 gal extreme cooler mash tun so I could leave the mill set to .025 for both 5 gal BIAB and 10 gal MIAB. My efficiency went from 80% to 86% for 5%-6% abv beers and 75% for 10% abv.

 

[seatazzz]

I have the morebeer Mighty Mill 3 roller as well, and love it. I've had two others (off brand and one a friend gave me) that were two-rollers; both were lackluster. The thing I like most about the geared 3-roller is I can dump the grain in the hopper before starting the drill (most days, sometimes it's squiffy and won't do it) and it will take off.

 

[redrocker652002]

First thing I would do is check Craigslist. No need to pay full price when you can get one cheaper used.

 

[Zippy123]

First thing I would do is check Craigslist. No need to pay full price when you can get one cheaper used.

I picked up a brand new geared 2-roller mill on marketplace for $90. Gapped it to 0.024 and works great for BIAB.

 

[wepeeler]

.
It is pretty great, Id get one if i was you. I also didnt NEED it. But im not mad about my decision LOL

Does it mill considerably faster?

 

[redrocker652002]

My wife bought me mine for Xmas or my birthday. I would probably have not bought new, but she did. It is a 2 roller and it instantly made a huge difference in my efficiency. Going back, for those who remember, the guy who gave me literally all his beer equipment had a really cool 2 roller that he put a motor on and made a base for it to fit over a bucket. It was huge and I had no room, but now I wish I would have taken it just because it looked so cool. I am going to have to see how he is doing, really a hell of a nice guy. Anyway, off thread, but for me I look at the used market now as there is tons of stuff people are almost giving away simply because they don't brew any more.