Coffee grinder for crushing barley?

[StevieDS]

I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this so is there any reason why you couldn't use a coffee bean grinder to crush malted barley? I know a coffee grinder would probably give you too fine a grade for normal AG brewing but I'll be using it for brew in a bag so i don't think it'll be a problem. It seems like a much cheaper option.

 

[RobWalker]

they used to do it in the older days of home brewin'.

like you say, it's not accurate, but it does work. why not just buy crushed malt?

 

[StevieDS]

I do use pre-crushed barley but i read somewhere that its better to do it yourself just before using it because it starts to lose flavour after milling. Is there any truth to that?

 

[Loetz]

It doesn't lose flavor for a little while. You're better off buying pre-crushed than having a bunch of ground up husks and flour.

 

[jimp2003]

What type of grinder do you have? Is it one of those electric ones that have the spinning blade? If so I would be wary of using it as you will shred the husks which will have two effects:

1. Reduce the husk's ability to act as a filter in the mash
2. May lead to the extraction of more tannins from the husk during the mash causing an astringent taste in the beer.

 

[StevieDS]

Well I havn't got a grinder yet, was just pondering the idea but probably isn't worth it after reading the advice here. Cheers guys :thumb:

 

[hairybiker]

I used a LARGE coffee grinder for several years, I got it from a shop that was shutting down, it had grinding wheels rather than the spinning blade. Switched to crushed malt last year, mainly due to the fact I kept the grinder in the shed with all the other junk and it was a pita to get to it, carry out 5Kg of malt grind it, put everything back in shed etc. I lost a few points of extract but since I go through a bag every 3 months there is no real loss from the malt.

BTW stil in the shed if you want to make me an offer