I was wondering if anyone else out there uses northern brewer? I recently moved and got an all new set up and have been using them.. never got great effiency but i thought it was do to tweaking my set up. Since then i have gotten a water report and all necessary additions and tweaking steps in my brew day but my mash efficiency has been real low the past 4 batches or so. The only thing i can figure is the grain quality but I hope someone can help with some ideas!?? Thanks
Northern Brewer Grains
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chickypad
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Yeah, I would suspect crush before grain quality, are you ordering pre-crushed? I've had no problem with whole grains from them. They sell grains from a variety of different maltsters and as far as I know they don't malt any of their own, though they have started repackaging some of them under the "maillard malts" name, for reasons I don't completely understand. They claim superior crush - whatever, I crush my own.
Grains from NB are top quality. I routinely get 70% with BIAB and great flavor - but I grind my own. I suspect your grind is off.
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I've ordered several times from NB and had great luck. I hope you are able to identify the issue brother!
I sure hope so and appreciate all the feedback i can get... I am going to go to a local homebrew shop and get some grains and see the difference.. what is the preferred measurements to mill grain because i have always got it handed to me. Until then i appreciate any comments, will post the difference in results
I agree that it is probably just about the crush and not the quality of the grains.
As far as a measurement for the mill? That's a tough one. It really depends on the size of the grain kernels, which can vary quite a bit. The best way to judge it is by the way the grain looks after coming out of the mill.
And having a lot of powder/flour at the bottom of a bag of crushed grain is pretty normal. You want to include all of that in your mash. It isn't a sign that you will get lower efficiency. And it isn't even a sign that the grain was crushed sufficiently. It is mostly a sign that the grain was a little dry when it got crushed. Some people that mill their own grains 'condition' them overnight before milling. You can do a search to find out more about that process, but the basic idea is to raise the moisture in the grains. That will allow you to crush them pretty finely without turning your grist into a pile of flour.
As to the question of NB repackaging grains as Maillard Malts, I'm guessing it is a matter of warehouse efficiency. If they can automate the process of weighing out grains in 1 lb. increments and have the packaging look nicer in the process, it makes sense to do it. I haven't ordered grain from them since they made that switch, but I'm guessing the old bags of grain were hand filled. Another consideration is that maybe the new packaging preserves the moisture content of the grains better than the old ziplock bags.
As far as a measurement for the mill? That's a tough one. It really depends on the size of the grain kernels, which can vary quite a bit. The best way to judge it is by the way the grain looks after coming out of the mill.
And having a lot of powder/flour at the bottom of a bag of crushed grain is pretty normal. You want to include all of that in your mash. It isn't a sign that you will get lower efficiency. And it isn't even a sign that the grain was crushed sufficiently. It is mostly a sign that the grain was a little dry when it got crushed. Some people that mill their own grains 'condition' them overnight before milling. You can do a search to find out more about that process, but the basic idea is to raise the moisture in the grains. That will allow you to crush them pretty finely without turning your grist into a pile of flour.
As to the question of NB repackaging grains as Maillard Malts, I'm guessing it is a matter of warehouse efficiency. If they can automate the process of weighing out grains in 1 lb. increments and have the packaging look nicer in the process, it makes sense to do it. I haven't ordered grain from them since they made that switch, but I'm guessing the old bags of grain were hand filled. Another consideration is that maybe the new packaging preserves the moisture content of the grains better than the old ziplock bags.
I did a handful of AG batches with pre-milled grain and had efficiency from 45-65%. Read a bunch of forums on efficiency. Bought a corona mill(I'm cheap) and got 85% on my last batch. As for the crush, you don't want to tear up your husks too much, but you also don't want whole grains after it is milled. If you see whole grains, it isn't milled fine enough. Just my 2cents
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