When Your LHBS Makes You Want A Mill

[jeeppilot]

I was pumped to try my first BIAB today and everything went well except this.

Not really sure what happened, but I’d say my LHBS blew it with the crush this time. I’ve always been a little unsure of the guy, but he’s the only one in town. I’ve always had him crush my grain, and never had it this coarse. Preboil gravity was 1.026 instead of 1.040. So hopefully I have some DME laying around to pump this up. Not sure a “session” desert beer makes much sense! [emoji35]Time for my own mill.

 

[ancientmariner52]

That doesn't look crushed. Slightly disappointed, maybe. [emoji21]
When I switched to AG, my first purchase was a Victoria mill. There's plenty of info in the DIY area on how to make cheap-a$$ corn mills do the job. I might upgrade to a roller mill someday, but for now I'm content.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Time for my own mill.

Or, at the very least, time to check the crush before leaving the store.

 

[The_Bishop]

Cereal Killer Mill. Cheap, functional, and you're in control of your crush. Also, uncrushed grain stores better so if you can't brew right away it's no big deal.

 

[beernutz]

I was pumped to try my first BIAB today and everything went well except this.

View attachment 553192

Not really sure what happened, but I’d say my LHBS blew it with the crush this time. I’ve always been a little unsure of the guy, but he’s the only one in town. I’ve always had him crush my grain, and never had it this coarse. Preboil gravity was 1.026 instead of 1.040. So hopefully I have some DME laying around to pump this up. Not sure a “session” desert beer makes much sense! [emoji35]Time for my own mill.

I thought there were two LHBS in Memphis now. Isn't there a new one in addition to Mid-South Malts which I believe is still around and was open when I lived and homebrewed in Memphis in the early 90s.

 

[arnobg]

I thought there were two LHBS in Memphis now. Isn't there a new one in addition to Mid-South Malts which I believe is still around and was open when I lived and homebrewed in Memphis in the early 90s.

There is Bernoulli Brew Works which is great however they closed in the summer because they were being charged too much for rent. Was supposed to be temporary but they haven't found a new place yet that works to move in to.

 

[jeeppilot]

There is Bernoulli Brew Works which is great however they closed in the summer because they were being charged too much for rent. Was supposed to be temporary but they haven't found a new place yet that works to move in to.

Sadly it appears it’s not temporary. I saw two of the Bernoulli’s guys a few weeks ago. Two of the four partners didn’t hang around after they closed. There is no new place in the works. They are done.

There is still that place down by Overton Square but the hours are erratic and I’ve not heard a single good thing. So, really there is only Mid South Malts. I’m trying to give him the benefit of doubt and just realize he either forgot to mill as I requested, or his mill got inadvertently adjusted during his recent move.

 

[V-Fib]

Perks to buying your own mill:

Constancy

Buying bulk grains

Cool factor (obviously the best reason)

 

[Kee]

If you are doing BIAB you can just use a Corona mill and crush it finer. They are cheap and won't let you down.

 

[BrewInspector]

You could ask for them to run it through a second time before purchase.

Here at my local stores we have the choice of milling our own in the store and giving it a second pass if we want or having them do out for you. In fact they rather expect we will mill it ourselves in the store. A slight upcharge is included if you have them mill it for you. One of the stores I visited would mill them at no charge but that was just so the guy had something to do and liked to provide that level of personal service

 

[Smellyglove]

Ask him to run a handfull of grains first, before your grist. Inspect, and ask him to adjust. That crush is way under par, not acceptable at all. Not everyone at a LHBS knows how a grist is supposed to look, if that's the case they often work there because the shop needed someone to tend it. There's two parameters to a mill in a homebrew scale, if one is way off you can get really screwed during brewday.

I work at a LHBS and (this might sound ridicilous) but I take great pride in my milling, and I get sort of strangely excited when I see that the crush is perfect. I feel like milling grains is somewhat like an art. It's just the two parameters for a homebrew-setup when the roller diameter is set.

 

[ong]

For BIAB, I basically mill tight enough that there is significant flour in the grist. You really can get a good BIAB crush with a cheap Corona (I finally switched to a roller mill because my hacked-together system was a pain to use, but it worked fine for brewing).

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, mills are known to slip, with or without provocation.
While my mill sees a teeny fraction of use compared to the mills at my lhbs I still check the gap each session just to make sure it hasn't changed...

Cheers!

 

[kh54s10]

If you are doing BIAB you can just use a Corona mill and crush it finer. They are cheap and won't let you down.

You don't have to do just BIAB for a corona to be worthwhile. I have been using one for 6 1/2 years. I do 3 vessel brewing. As well as on occasional BIAB.

 

[jeeppilot]

I should have known enough to check it before I walked out. But I’ve bought from this guy many, many times before and never had this issue. I think he just forgot to mill it after I asked him to. Both our bad. But I sure won’t forget to check again!

Oh and if I buy a mill then I’ll just have to brew more often. Aww shucks! [emoji106]

Any advantages to Corona vs Cereal Killer?

 

[allanmorgan]

There are plenty of people getting out, so watch for a grain mill to become available. My barley crusher mill cost me $30 from someone getting out of brewing. Beats $150.

 

[madscientist451]

I've got a Barley crusher malt mill:

https://www.homebrewing.org/Barley-Crusher-Grain-Mill-7LB-Hopper_p_872.html

Works good for me, I run the grain through twice, and use a BIAB in a cooler. The cereal killer is on sale, w/free shipping:

https://www.homebrewing.org/Cereal-Killer-Grain-Mill_p_2310.html

Either way, its well worth the money.

Get your base malt by the sack and buy specialty malts by the pound or in 10 lb lots. You'll pay for the mill eventually by buying grain in bulk.

 

[waldoar15]

I never regretted buying a mill. I can understand people not wanting to that are new to AG brewing, but it's a sound investment going forward from there.

 

[sgwink]

I should have known enough to check it before I walked out. But I’ve bought from this guy many, many times before and never had this issue. I think he just forgot to mill it after I asked him to. Both our bad. But I sure won’t forget to check again!

Oh and if I buy a mill then I’ll just have to brew more often. Aww shucks! [emoji106]

Any advantages to Corona vs Cereal Killer?

Corona is much cheaper, check Ebay over any sites. I got mine for 15 plus free shipping. I attached it to a bucket and attached a drill to it. I had a friend that had an empty pretzel container that I put in the corona hopper (upside down with the bottom cut out) and I can hold 10 lbs of grain at a time. I then put the lid on and with the empty space around the mill and the lid I put a plastic grocery bag to prevent any dust flying out. Now i get 75+ efficiency with 1 crush in 2 minutes (12 lbs of grain). I could go tighter if I wanted to but I'm not sure if it would wear my plates out. I'm 3 sacks of grain in and I can't see any wear to the plates at all.

 

[ancientmariner52]

There are literally millions of Corona and Corona-clone mills in daily use all over the world, grinding out daily meals for families. Ugly, crude, stone-axe basic. A proven design, I think.

Roller mills are nice, too.

 

[MaxStout]

A Corona will serve you well if you're on a budget. Just needs a little time and elbow-grease. Roller mills cost more, but there are good models for around $100 or so. You can crank those by hand or use an electric drill.

Until then, next time you buy grain, tell the LHBS guy that you buy grain there on the premise that it is usable to you--i.e., properly crushed. Ask him to check the mill's gap. Maybe it got bumped out of adjustment and he's unaware of the problem. If the gap is huge, milling twice won't help, those whole grains will just fall through again.

Another thought: is there a homebrew club near you? Maybe you can get in on a group buy for sacks of malt.

 

[jeeppilot]

There are literally millions of Corona and Corona-clone mills in daily use all over the world, grinding out daily meals for families. Ugly, crude, stone-axe basic. A proven design, I think.

Roller mills are nice, too.

Something like this?

https://m.northerntool.com/products...essing > Grain Mills&utm_source=Google_PLA

So if Corona is a brand name, is there much difference between name brand and off brand?

 

[ancientmariner52]

Never seen that brand, but yes, like that, right down to the inexplicable "150" cast into the body. No idea what it refers to.

My mill is a Victoria brand, but they all seem pretty much the same. That is the lowest price I've seen.

 

[Transamguy77]

I have a Corona mill and have used it for years now have put probably a few thousand lbs of grain through it and it never misses a beat.

 

[MaryB]

I bought a Barley Crusher when I went all grain. Living way to far from anything resembling a real brew store it is cheaper in the long run. Plus buying bulk grain is way cheaper than smaller bags of crushed.

 

[RM-MN]

A Corona will serve you well if you're on a budget. Just needs a little time and elbow-grease. Roller mills cost more, but there are good models for around $100 or so. You can crank those by hand or use an electric drill.

Until then, next time you buy grain, tell the LHBS guy that you buy grain there on the premise that it is usable to you--i.e., properly crushed. Ask him to check the mill's gap. Maybe it got bumped out of adjustment and he's unaware of the problem. If the gap is huge, milling twice won't help, those whole grains will just fall through again.

Another thought: is there a homebrew club near you? Maybe you can get in on a group buy for sacks of malt.

With a little adaptation you can use a drill on a Corona mill too. It really speeds things up when you do but you may need to do something to control where the milled grain goes as it may want to go all over. I slip a gallon Ziplock bag over the end of the mill to catch the grain and hold it on with a pair of clothespins. One hopper full of grain puts enough into the bag and that bag is easy to manage when adding the grain to the water.

 

[Kee]

With a little adaptation you can use a drill on a Corona mill too. It really speeds things up when you do but you may need to do something to control where the milled grain goes as it may want to go all over. I slip a gallon Ziplock bag over the end of the mill to catch the grain and hold it on with a pair of clothespins. One hopper full of grain puts enough into the bag and that bag is easy to manage when adding the grain to the water.

People get innovative with Corona mills:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/my-ugly-junk-corona-mill-station.90849/

 

[SFC Rudy]

Been using a corona mill for 15 years with no problems.