this is more of a rhetorical question,i know the answer now,but till yesterday i didnt,while playing with the newest version of beersmith i looked at my brew house efficiency=58% did some digging around and turned out that more normal range is 70-80!! i never paid attention to it before,always get my grains crushed at the store,that is run by my good buddy,now however i thing is time to shell out on new equipment.cheers!
is it time to get barley crusher?
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I have used a cheap Corona style mill for 6 years. I get 70% or a little better consistently. Just responded to a thread where the OP called the Barley Crusher - JUNK. When I go to a roller mill it will probably be a Monster Mill 2.0
To get consistency you really need to have control over the crush. Your own mill is the way.
To get consistency you really need to have control over the crush. Your own mill is the way.
Amen brother.seems like 3 roller is the way to go,i thought though sins the barley crusher is made in USA will be good piece of equipment!
Astringency is primarily about temperature and pH..... not shredded husk material.
I would not recommend a Barley Crusher. I had one. It worked fine for quite a while - but then it wore out and would not grab grain any more (seems to be about universal experience of those who have them.)
Monster Mill 2 Roller is what I have now and it a great mill.
I would not recommend a Barley Crusher. I had one. It worked fine for quite a while - but then it wore out and would not grab grain any more (seems to be about universal experience of those who have them.)
Monster Mill 2 Roller is what I have now and it a great mill.
Dcpcooks
Well-Known Member
The difference between a mm or crankandstein 3 roller and a barley crusher is pretty dramatic. I picked up 8-10% in brewhouse efficiency when I switched.
Crankandstein 3 roller yields a great crush with intact hulls. I get really nice recirculation as well.
Monster mill and crankandstein are comparable units.
Crankandstein 3 roller yields a great crush with intact hulls. I get really nice recirculation as well.
Monster mill and crankandstein are comparable units.
Murphys_Law
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I have a Cereal Killer and have been happy. From what I understand, it is similar to the BC but the BC has soft metal rollers which will wear out and produce a poor crush after awhile and the CK uses harder steal so they don't have that issue.
Not sure of the price difference between the CK and some of the other mills already noted.
Not sure of the price difference between the CK and some of the other mills already noted.
I too use the Cereal Killer and have been pretty efficient in my brews. 70% ish. I prefer to crush my own grains for all the reasoning already mentioned. More consistent, and you have the ability to adjust the crush if needed.
Any mill can give you a good or a bad crush. When I had my Barley Crusher - I got 83% mash efficiency. I get 83% with my Monster Mill. The difference is that the rollers on the barley crusher wear down and it takes much more maintenance and work to keep the BC doing its thing. The MM (and other brands too) have better rollers and aren't as finicky as the BC is.
If you brew a fair amount and can by your base malt in 50 lb sacks, you can definitely make up the cost of a mill pretty easily in both efficiency of a better crush and buying bulk grain at much cheaper prices.
If you brew a fair amount and can by your base malt in 50 lb sacks, you can definitely make up the cost of a mill pretty easily in both efficiency of a better crush and buying bulk grain at much cheaper prices.
sgreene820
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Not going to try to talk you out of an equipment purchase, but... You might want to try double crushing your grain. That's what I did before my Grainfather purchase. Even better, if you ask nicely, maybe your LHBS store will check the gap on their grinder and adjust.
Murphys_Law
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Get an early Christmas present! No reason to drag this out and have a bad crush until Dec!
did just that today,got 5kg maris otter brewing tomorrow ordinary bitter,i will post the results,still you dont think will be nice to just have crusher and not be on mercy of the shop?
For what it's worth, i ran hundreds and hundreds of pounds through my Barley Crusher without issue and virtually no maintenance beyond brushing it out with a brush after use. Eventually it started seizing as is commonly reported, and now needs to be fully taken apart and cleaned regularly to keep the passive roller moving so it'll feed. I still use it for pilot batches weekly and maybe every 30-40 lbs it needs to be entirely disassembled and cleaned. If I could use my big commercial three roller for the pilot I would, but not feasible for small grain bills.
Point being is that more expensive mills will require less maintenance for sure, but you can get good mileage out of the BC as well.
Point being is that more expensive mills will require less maintenance for sure, but you can get good mileage out of the BC as well.
Murphys_Law
Well-Known Member
One of the best purchases I've made is my cereal killer. I love having a consistent crush.
If your LHBS is owned/operated by someone serious about brewing you shouldn't have to ask them to check the gap on their mill. It should be a standard part of their business practice
People with different practices require different gaps. A coarser crush for fly sparging and very fine BIAB crush are not better or worse than each other.
Plus I expect most LHBS mills are set extremely coarse for speed for crushing specialty grains for extract batches where grain crush isn't a significant factor.
With that in mind, asking for a particular crush isn't a ridiculous request.
Agreed my man,but also ,and this is just pure speculation,but maybe not that crazy idea,if a guy has to add 1kg of grains every time he brews,and multiply that by hundreds of customers every week,you get the picture picture! I'm not saying this is what the are doing on purpose,but in the end of the day it is business .
If you have significant numbers of intact kernels after double crushing, the mill is seriously out of adjustment. I'd get my grain from somewhere else, if you don't get your own mill.
Brew on
65C
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If you have significant numbers of intact kernels after double crushing, the mill is seriously out of adjustment. I'd get my grain from somewhere else, if you don't get your own mill.
Brew on
if I remember correctly (not read back) the same problem happened when using commercial crushed - my first thought is check the strike temps are correct
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