grain mills

junkyard dawg · Post by **junkyard dawg** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 6:37 pm

What do you grain mashers use to crack your grain. I've been using a combination of a blender and kitchen aid sausage grinder to do the job, but I'm not satisfied... sort of like using a screwdriver for a chisel thing....close, but not quite right. Anyone ever tried these brewers grain mills?

http://www.stpats.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

look under the items for brewers, automatic mill.

for the record, no affiliation with the seller, I know I mention them a lot, but so far I'm a satisfied customer, aware of others horror stories tho...

It seems like this is a common design for brewers. Anyone used one?

Uncle Remus · Post by **Uncle Remus** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 6:41 am

I use an old coffee bean grinder (electric) I can usually grind 15 lbs of grain or so while my mash water is heating up. It helps to throw the grain in the oven for a few minutes, it makes it easier to grind. Corn I buy already rolled, but barley and malt I grind myself.

Post by **Uncle Jesse** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 12:34 pm

I bought an attachment for my wife's Hobart mixer which works pretty well, but my old hand-crank unit from http://www.morebeer.com still does most of my leg work. haven't tried their latest version which can be found here: http://www.morebeer.com/product.html?product_id=18599

strangebrew · Post by **strangebrew** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 3:42 pm

I use the "Barley Crusher" and couldn't be more pleased! I have had it for a couple of years now and still have no complaints. I chose it over others for 3 reasons. 1) Nice sized hopper standard 2)adjustable roller gap also standard 3) an unbeatable price for all of the standard features. Rock solid crusher for a good price. Can you tell i'm a happy customer?

If any of you guys do some type of mash with a decent amount of barley in it, then it really is a worthy investment. I bought one cause the guy who was crushing my grain at the home brew shop did such a poor job of it. Once I got mine and figured out how tight to go with the gap without getting a stuck sparge I watched my effiency go WAY up. FYI effiency just means how much fermentables you are getting out of your grain.

junkyard dawg · Post by **junkyard dawg** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 4:53 pm

Thanks

I'm looking for a link for that name... You have one?

For those interested I found this:

http://www.aaoobfoods.com/graingrinders.htm#top" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

jim81147 · Post by **jim81147** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:06 pm

You can get a Corona Mill form Northern Tool for about $13 right now . It is item number 168670. You have to order it over the phone though as it is not on the website now . It is considered a seasonal item.

junkyard dawg · Post by **junkyard dawg** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 9:17 am

thanks swag, They have some NICE mills, the affordable one is pretty much the same as the austomatic from stpats. I like the grain hopper better in the barley crusher tho...

So strangebrew, how does that perform with different grains? I'd like to crush corn wheat and rye also.

strangebrew · Post by **strangebrew** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 7:07 pm

Dawg - I have never cracked corn with it so I really can't say how it would do. I have however used rye, wheat & 2-row barley - worked on all of them like a charm. The wheat I used last time seemed to bit a bit smaller so I just tightened up the gap a bit and away I went. I will say the harder the grain i.e. wheat (this also depends on how big you have the gap set) is a little tougher to crank than plain ol' 2 row. Not that it made a difference to my mill mind you, only my arm.

I would imagine that it would work with corn just as well though cause it's really built sturdy. Worst case scenario you would have to run the corn through at a wider gap setting initally so it would be easier to crank and then just tighten up the gap and run it a second time to get it down to the crush size you want.
That or you could just hook up a drill motor to the mill and not have worry about how tough to crack the grain is.

junkyard dawg · Post by **junkyard dawg** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 1:55 am

now yer talkin... I got a shelf full of electric motors and pulleys and belts... If I can only get more than a few hours away from work...

I went off and ordered one of the automatic mills from the locals. It is the same thing in just about all respects except for the hopper...I hope.

Post by **Tater** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 5:37 am

I bought a hand grain grinder.Cut crank off at shaft I added an geared elect motor. Its slow but works good . On corn I do Have to run it through grinder twice to get down to meal.