Coffee mill for grain

[snowman_fs]

I had to try my conical burr grinder to see if it was feasible for use on malts. I assume its too fine even on the coarsest setting for coffee. I used a capresso Infiniti conical burr.

Figured I'd post for others to see and comment.

Notice the small pile of un-ground grains for scale.

Anyone have a similar pic from a proper mill?

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[dyqik]

Grains need to be crushed, not ground like coffee. No coffee grinder has the same structure or mode of operation as a grain crusher (even the flat disk burr ones that look a little like a corona mill work in a different way, with cutting edges on the disk). It's not that it's too fine, it's that it's cutting the husks of the grain up.

That said, it might just about be ok for a small amount of steeping grains in extract brewing. In partial mash or AG, the ground grain will just clog your lauter tun, and the cut up husks will put you at greater risk of extracting tannins.

 

[snowman_fs]

I used a set of kitchen sieves to try and quantify the output; overall I'm encouraged.

First was a stainless colander with round perforated holes slightly larger than my false bottom. Next was a flour sifter with a mesh of about 1/16" and finally a fine mesh stainless strainer, maybe 1/32". Not the ASBC sizes but all I had.

By mass here are the results:
Coarse = 19.4%
Med coarse = 25.8%
Med fine = 38.7%
Fine = 16.1%

I'll see about borrowing a mill from a friend and try the same test to compare the ratios.

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[feinbera]

Take this with a grain of salt, as I'm still a little baby all-grain brewer who runs his grist through the LHBS mill at default settings, but it looks like you're shredding the heck outta your husks, with a serious amount of husk material clearly visible in the "medium fine" pile, and some darker bits which could well be husk even in the "fine" pile. I'd be a little worried about tannin extraction with that much fine-ground husk in my mash tun.

While the action of the burr grinder is gonna at least be closer to right than one of the little two-spinny-arms jobs, you can have a reliable adjustable roller mill for about the same price. If your coffee's worth spending an extra few bucks to get the right tool for the job, isn't your beer?

(also, as a fellow burr grinder owner who spends at least 30 seconds just grinding enough coffee for SWMBO and I to have a cup in the morning, I can't even imagine how long it would take to run 10-20 lbs of grain through. Even at minimum wage, you'll make up the price of a proper grain mill in time after just a batch or two!)

 

[RM-MN]

You could get by just fine if you do a Brew in a Bag mash. That milling looks a lot like mine and I have no problem with it.

 

[JohnSand]

+1. I use a blender on chop, cheap, quick, easy to store. BIAB makes the grind less critical, because the bag does the straining instead of the grain bed. Tannins are not a problem caused by fine crushing.

 

[DU99]

i used a conical burr when i did partial's worked treat,BIAB grind need's to be finer,and few people i know doing BIAB use a conical burr.

 

[TexasWine]

+1. I use a blender on chop

Hmmmm..... this has me thinking. Wonder if I could use my Blentec?

Will it Blend? - iPhone 6 Plus: http://youtu.be/lBUJcD6Ws6s

I've got a Barley Crusher, but if I'm feeling lazy next brew day I might try it out.

And yeah, I think you'll be fine with that crush, IF you BIAB.

 

[JohnSand]

It will work. The one I use is a 30+ year old Waring. I don't fill it up too much at once. I originally got the idea from a blog or another forum. That user said he pulsed it.