Bought uncrushed malt by mistake

[JebKerman]

What's the best way to make it become crushed without actually having a malt mill?

Cheers

 

[Clint]

Take it to your local hb shop and ask them to do it.

 

[Cwrw666]

I did the same thing myself and bit the bullet and bought a thirty quid grinder.
It's paid for itself since then as it's boosted my efficiency enormously. I'm using about 20% less pale malt than the recipes dictate to get the same OG. Whereas I used to get 5 brews from 25Kg of crushed I now get 6 to 7 brews.

 

[JebKerman]

Take it to your local hb shop and ask them to do it.

Nearest HBS is in Edinburgh, which isn't exactly handy

Wondering if a small pulse in a food processor would do it?

 

[Clint]

Borrow one?

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
It might be cheaper to ditch the grain and buy crushed.
However, investing in some type of grain mill would vastly improve your beer-making. One advantage would be the ability to condition grain before milling.

 

[Saisonator]

I would just ditch it and buy more grain.
A grain mill is just more time, hustle and another bit of kit to find a home for. Plus for vast majority of people it offers negligible improvements in quality and efficiency.

 

[Clint]

Please explain conditioning. ...

 

[Sadfield]

How much do you have?

I've done this, luckily it was only Carafa Special III. Pulsing in a blender works to some degree. However, if it's base malt, the random effect of pulsing in a blender could lead to efficiency and lautering problems, rendering it not really worth doing.

A get out though, is you do something interesting and toast it in the oven to make your own Colour malt. Depending on how much you toast it will give you anything from Biscuit, Amber through to Dark Munich, Aromatics or Brown Malt. Or a range of. With these typically used in smaller quantities and not having the same enzymatic quality as base malt, the poor crush will be more forgiving. You could even Smoke it on the BBQ to make Rauchmalt.

http://howtobrew.com/book/section-4/experiment/toasting-your-own-malt

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

 

[GerritT]

What's the best way to make it become crushed without actually having a malt mill?

Cheers

The mill is not expensive, as shown here. My malt supplier doesn't sell crushed malt so it was either this, or extract... Totally worth it: it takes a bit of tweaking to get good crush-results (all grains crushed, yet not powder, my efficiency is around 78%), but cleaning is not a hassle (just brush off the parts outside in the garden or balcony) and it stores in the box with which it came.

 

[Bigcol49]

Please explain conditioning. ...

Hi @Clint
Grain conditioning involves damping the grain before milling.
By spraying with 2% water (weight of water compared to weight of grain), mixing to ensure all the grain is evenly damp and leaving for half-an-hour before milling you can have a finer crush on the mill without destroying the outer husk. The husks form a better grain bed filter (you don't need to add rice hulls) and the finer crush should push up efficiency.

 

[JebKerman]

How much do you have?

I've done this, luckily it was only Carafa Special III. Pulsing in a blender works to some degree. However, if it's base malt, the random effect of pulsing in a blender could lead to efficiency and lautering problems, rendering it not really worth doing.

A get out though, is you do something interesting and toast it in the oven to make your own Colour malt. Depending on how much you toast it will give you anything from Biscuit, Amber through to Dark Munich, Aromatics or Brown Malt. Or a range of. With these typically used in smaller quantities and not having the same enzymatic quality as base malt, the poor crush will be more forgiving. You could even Smoke it on the BBQ to make Rauchmalt.

http://howtobrew.com/book/section-4/experiment/toasting-your-own-malt

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

I've got 2kg of wheat malt... I think I'm going to put it in a heavy pan and beat it with the end of a rolling pin until I've split most of the grain.

 

[GerritT]

I've got 2kg of wheat malt... I think I'm going to put it in a heavy pan and beat it with the end of a rolling pin until I've split most of the grain.

Two kilos. You sure you don't want to invest in a small mill? Because I know myself and my temper would be bad after the first 15 minutes

 

[Saisonator]

Hi @Clint
Grain conditioning involves damping the grain before milling.
By spraying with 2% water (weight of water compared to weight of grain), mixing to ensure all the grain is evenly damp and leaving for half-an-hour before milling you can have a finer crush on the mill without destroying the outer husk. The husks form a better grain bed filter (you don't need to add rice hulls) and the finer crush should push up efficiency.

To be honest that would be nice to work with.

 

[Oneflewover]

Hi @Clint
Grain conditioning involves damping the grain before milling.
By spraying with 2% water (weight of water compared to weight of grain), mixing to ensure all the grain is evenly damp and leaving for half-an-hour before milling you can have a finer crush on the mill without destroying the outer husk. The husks form a better grain bed filter (you don't need to add rice hulls) and the finer crush should push up efficiency.

I keep meaning to try this. Next brewday.. ....

 

[Bigcol49]

To be honest that would be nice to work with.

I keep meaning to try this. Next brewday.. ....

Hi!
I use a cheap hand spray (food safe, of course) and an underbed storage box, the latter because it allows plenty of surface area to spray the grain.
I put the spray bottle on the scales and add the required weight of water. Another way to do it is to start with a full spray bottle, weigh it and keep on weighing it through the spraying process until the required weight of water has been sprayed.

 

[Saisonator]

It must make the husks more supple so they are less likely to crumble and fragment during crushing.
It would be especially beneficial with a wheat beer.

 

[Clint]

Thanks bigcol!

 

[Poochops]

Crushed a kilo of MO once with a mortar and pestle once, two handfuls at a time. Took 20 minutes and worked a treat if you have one or could borrow one

 

[BarnBrian]

Hi @Clint
Grain conditioning involves damping the grain before milling.
By spraying with 2% water (weight of water compared to weight of grain), mixing to ensure all the grain is evenly damp and leaving for half-an-hour before milling you can have a finer crush on the mill without destroying the outer husk. The husks form a better grain bed filter (you don't need to add rice hulls) and the finer crush should push up efficiency.

Hi Col. What gap do you set your rollers at? Are you using a 2 or 3 roller mill?