Which Grain Mill? MM, CS, BC

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

mistercameron

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2011
Messages
388
Reaction score
17
Location
SD
I gave the Cereal Killer a try, but ended up not being satisfied with some manufacturing defects, and given other similar stories, decided to simply return it rather than get a replacement. I'm bummed - I really wanted this one to work.

Anyway. I'm looking at similarly priced mills - Monster Mill M2, Crank&Stein 2A, and the Barley Crusher. I already have most of the materials to build my own base and hopper, so that's not really a concern.

Are there really any differences between these mills? Does any one stand out above the rest?

Thanks!
 
I own a crankandstein and I love it. Mine is the adjustable 2D mill although I never set the gap.

I motorized mine with a variable speed drill. I discovered that I get the most consistent crush when I run the drill at lower speed - I suspect the other models you referenced are about the same.

Crankandstein , Advancing the Craft
 
I had to send back my Cereal Killer as well, but I'm digging my new Monster Mill 2. Really smooth clean rollers, easy to adjust and built to last. I went ahead and got the hopper with it which is also very heavy and durable. I'm really happy with it.

If you are making a hopper and base I don't think you can go wrong with either the MM2 or the CS.
 
Love my barley crusher, no complaints. Needed no adjustment out of the box, works great with the drill.
 
The new mill @ Rebel Brewing looks awesome. I have the MM-3 and I wish they had the hopper when I bought mine. I would buy it again. After using mine, I would probably buy the MM-2. All mills work fine, it just depends on what you like. As long as it is adjustable IMO.
 
The 3rd wheel on my mm3 has always given me problems. If i were to do it over i'd go with one of following geared models:

MashMaster MiniMill Stainless Steel Grain Mill MashMaster Specialised Brewing Equipment
MaltMill, grain mill

On a brew day we'll easily grind a couple of bags of grain and don't have time for a jam.

Thanks for the info. I placed an order to get a minimill from Mashmaster.

A bit more expensive for a two rollers.

But I need to have geared rollers, since the motor that I'm planning to use only runs at 57 rpm.
 
My barley crusher will no longer work with my drill. Most likely it's due to my drill but the end is so coned from the drill slipping that I can now only use it with the hand crank attached. No fun when crushing 35 pounds of grain.

I am looking into buying Crankandstein's 3D.
 
Thanks everyone for chiming in.

I ended up going with a Monster Mill MM2. Since I have the skills and materials to make my own base/hopper, it came out the same as the BC. I also decided against the BC after my LHBS owner told me he's been waiting for his warranty repair for 2+ months and the BC guy isn't responding to a single email request for an update. Doesn't sound like that warranty works out so well after all.

That same LHBS has an MM2-2 in stock for a competitive price, but still more than I wanted to spend. On top of that, he and another LHBS just replaced their BCs with MM3s. I know it's a bit circumstantial, but that's really what made the difference in my mind. That, and I didn't get a good vibe from the C&S website when he was obviously calling a specific person names. It's jerky unprofessional - not something I wanted to support. I'm sure a lot of people don't care about that, but it matters to me.

So, for me, all signs pointed to MM.
 
I simply love my MM2-2.0 mill. I got it with the hardened steel rollers and I could probably run a person through it without issue. :eek: I opted to order mine (direct from Monster) with the base, hopper and hopper extension. All extremely well designed and constructed. I did have an issue with one of the frame ends, but Fred (the man from Monster) was very quick to respond to my request for assistance and sent out the replacement part without issue. I requested hex screws/bolts to replace the thumb screws (to hold the gap adjustment) and those are working above board.

I originally had a Barley Crusher mill, but the 7# hopper was too F'ing small for my batches (had to refill it more than a couple of times per batch). Plus the small diameter, and shorter, rollers make it look like a toy compared with the Monster mill. Even my brew-buddy's C&S mill looks small next to the monster.

I would get this mill again in a heartbeat. Especially with the top notch support from Monster. BTW, I emailed Fred on a Sunday, and he replied within a couple of hours. I was expecting to hear back a few business days later. They're also quick to ship out orders, since they have a good amount of parts in inventory. IMO, they're doing a lot of things right. The customer service pretty much set me as a customer for life with them.
 
I ordered a MM-2.0

For me, it was the 2" rollers (versus 1.5) and the ability to adjust them for things like corn.
 
After much research I ended up with a Monster Mill MM2SS and couldn't be happier. I opted for the stainless steel rollers just as a precaution against rust since I store mine in the garage and only brew 6 or 8 times a year. I hook it up to my drill motor and go through 20+ lbs of malt in a couple of minutes. Super easy to adjust the gap too (for wheat and/or rye beers). I would purchase the same thing again if I had it to do over.
 
I would buy the MM3 again in a second, although I would get the upgraded shaft to give a sturdier shaft for motorization. Bit different price range though from what you are shopping.

The 2" roller models come with 1/2" shafts. It was just another item on the list of reasons I went with the MM2-2.0 model.
 
It appears that the Monster Mill is the only one that is actually made in the U.S.A. Is this true?

The MM looks and sounds bombproof. What about warranty issues? Any flaws or recommendations on upgrades?

Paul

Brew Pedaler Brewery

Crankandstein is also made in the USA - in Atlanta.
 
I've seen what C&S offers... IMO, the Monster Mill is a bigger, beefier, more 'balls to the wall' mill. :D :rockin: I'm sure support from C&S would be in line with what I've seen from Monster, or at least I would hope so.

If I had a choice of mills from either company, with no dollar amounts posted (or not paid by me), I'd still go with the Monster Mill... I might even up it to the MM3-2.0 model. :D :drunk:
 
I bought a $25 corona style mill that has gotten me 80% efficiency on my past three brews. No complaints here. It is an easy build to mount the corona mill on a five gallon bucket and replace the hand crank with a shank for drill attachment.
 
I bought a $25 corona style mill that has gotten me 80% efficiency on my past three brews. No complaints here. It is an easy build to mount the corona mill on a five gallon bucket and replace the hand crank with a shank for drill attachment.

That's fine if you're grain bills will fit in one 5 gallon bucket (or one bucket in general)... For mine, the crushed grain MIGHT fit into one ale pail, on the lower ABV, 6.5-7 gallons into primary. For anything above my lower ABV range, I use a pair of ~24qt buckets to hold the crushed grain (so that neither is filled too far). With the Monster Mill (or any with a base) it's easy to move it to the second bucket.

Besides, I don't need to make a shield for the Monster Mill in order to prevent grain from flying all over the place as I mill. :eek:
 
I just ordered the Cereal Killer....What were the problems experienced?

Wishing I had seen this thread a little earlier today....
 
I have the MM-3 with the 1.5 rollers and I too wish I'd gotten the 1/2" shaft. My mill works, I put 1/3hp motor on it and I mill 50lb bags in minutes. I think it will out live me. I run it slow 100rpms, the crush is great. It was hard to ajust the gap at first.
 
I have the mm3 2.0 and currently doing 1bbl grain crushes on it.. Very nice I might say ! Working great with the add on motor attachment and also running slow rpm.. I would Recommend it. Also Agree that once you have fine tuned the gap everything will flow like a period
 
It appears that the Monster Mill is the only one that is actually made in the U.S.A. Is this true?

The MM looks and sounds bombproof. What about warranty issues? Any flaws or recommendations on upgrades?

Paul

Brew Pedaler Brewery

NO JSP mills are also made in US plus a 10 in roller rips thru 20-30 lb grains quickly a lot of micros use this or their larger model have the dual adjustable love it
 
I have the mm3 2.0 and currently doing 1bbl grain crushes on it.. Very nice I might say ! Working great with the add on motor attachment and also running slow rpm.. I would Recommend it. Also Agree that once you have fine tuned the gap everything will flow like a period

I use the MM2, and the guidance on getting the gap honed in is 100% accurate. In the beginning, I was getting 60%, now I'm getting >80% efficiency, often hitting 85%...
 
I bought the c&s 2s which is the most basic mill he offers. I do not have anything to compare this to but it does everything i need. I mill 20 pounds at a time and it is plenty fast for me. I start my water heating and then i measure my grain and mill. It takes a few minutes and i have been using the factory setting with acceptable results.

I made my own hopper. The mill hopper assembly fits upside down in a five gallon bucket for storage. I don't see me advancing larger than ten gallons any time soon so this mill will meet my needs for a while.

I have not had to contact the mfg for any reason sinse purchase. Delivery was three weeks and he was very up front with that when i ordered.
 
What gap works with the MM2?

Using factory gap on my MM2-2.0, four batches in. Efficiency looks good so far. Don't see a huge need to fiddle with it. All single batch sparge.

Batch 1 - 75.5% mash eff on pre-boil 1.044 (didn't sparge enough)
Batch 2 - 91.4% mash eff on pre-boil 1.038 (very heavy on maize in grain bill)
Batch 3 - 82.0% mash eff on pre-boil 1.039 (starting to get the feel for it)
Batch 4 - 72.3% mash eff on pre-boil 1.059 (feeling comfortable now)

I think Batch 3 and Batch 4 are what I'm going to see here on out. I expect efficiency to continue to drop half a percent for each .001 gravity, so I'd expect 62% mash efficiency at 1.080 pre-boil.
 
Back
Top