Ebay grain mills.

[Jiffy176]

Anyone tried one of those cheap ish ebay 2 roller grain Mills?
Any views.
Thanks

 

[MashBag]

In the uk you can buy crushed grain..... Why buy another job?

 

[Jiffy176]

Cos I wanna mill my own maybe?

 

[Clarence]

In the uk you can buy crushed grain..... Why buy another job?

That's true, but it's cheaper to buy by the sack and, if you don't brew all that often, whole grain keeps better than milled.

Anyone tried one of those cheap ish ebay 2 roller grain Mills?
Any views.
Thanks
Could you provide a link @Jiffy176

 

[MickDundee]

In the uk you can buy crushed grain..... Why buy another job?

• Uncrushed grain bought in bulk lasts longer than crushed grain bought in bulk
• You can dial in your crush to maximise your efficiency
• By crushing your own grain you know you’ll always get the same crush so get better consistency/repeatability

 

[Jiffy176]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/27567797...02_KMy5Swm&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
And the ones further down the listing as similar items.

 

[Slid]

I once ordered uncrushed base malt from my preferred supplier (Worcester Hop Shop, BTW) sort of by accident / mouse slip etc.
I decided to get a malt mill and decided on the Bulldog Mill, just to "go with the flow" and get more into the process. There is a theory that milling one's own increases BHE, but that is not really the whole truth. As an A-I-O user (GF, second machine) I would say that the best efficiencies come from:

• Doughing in very slowly and carefully for minimum 20 mins, stirring after each grain addition.
• Stirring carefully half way through the mash for awhile, without kicking the grain bed around too much.
• Sparging slowly, again 20 mins or so.

Over and above that, I have a BIAB grain bag and a Peco boiler from doing partial mash brews, with half AG and a kit - this produces pretty good beer!
I use the bag by transferring the boiled wort back into the Peco boiler, via the said grain bag. This filters out much of the crud that makes the transfer to the FV so wierd - one minute it flows, next it slows, then slows, again..
So, I jug the wort post boil into the Peco Boiler, via the BIAB bag, push the wort through the bag using protective gloves (Kitchen Marigold gloves not thick enough) to get the crud down to a minimum volume.
Then transfer the wort by jug back into a cleaned up GF unit for cooling and transfer.

Today got well over 80% BHE on a run of the mill 5kg grain bill.

The crushed grain from Crisp gives, IME, just as good efficiencies as home milled, though I do brew twice a month.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Anyone tried one of those cheap ish ebay 2 roller grain Mills?
Any views.
Thanks

Yes -

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/choosing-a-new-grain-mill.101487/
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...-mill-for-biab-10l-brews.100436/#post-1173727

 

[dcbrookes]

In the uk you can buy crushed grain..... Why buy another job?

I think it is obvious from the fact that so many brewers invest in their own mills that pre-crushed grain is an unreliable variable in the mashing process and one which they feel it is worth while eliminating. There is also the fact that crushed grain in a 25Kg sack can settle during transport, meaning that consistency even within a sack cannot be taken for granted.

 

[Galena]

If crushed grain was unreliable, why do so many commercial brewers buy it that way?
I can see the longevity reason but not reliability.

 

[LeeH]

If crushed grain was unreliable, why do so many commercial brewers buy it that way?
I can see the longevity reason but not reliability.

Because it’s not crushed at a home brew shop but by an iso accredited company?

 

[MashBag]

I too have debunked both of the "gotta get a mill" myths.

Mash efficency is not significantly affected. Good proceeses (as above) do more. As does good liquor. To be honest, the difference between efficiency of 79 or 80% is about 20g.

When I get my sacks in, I weight them into cheap plastic buckets - the ones bird feed fat balls come in. This distributes the husk and flour evenly, stopping settlement and efficency issues as you work through a sack. Also very convenient on brew day 4kg preweighed - lovely.

I used to buy one sack of crushed grain every 14 months. Never an issue.

Question for bedtime Why do you think you can crush better than the professionals with no experience & a 50p Chinese mill?

Not against anyone getting a mill, but do it with you eyes open.

 

[MickDundee]

If crushed grain was unreliable, why do so many commercial brewers buy it that way?
I can see the longevity reason but not reliability.

Because they use whole 25kg sacks of base malt at a time, rather than splitting it across 5 or 6 brews?

 

[dcbrookes]

Because they use whole 25kg sacks of base malt at a time, rather than splitting it across 5 or 6 brews?

Exactly, and they can probably analyse each batch in a way that we cannot. As for efficiency, I recently received a sack of crushed by mistake, and my efficiency dropped by about 8% compared with home crushed (on a GF mill) - that is not negligible.

 

[MickDundee]

Exactly, and they can probably analyse each batch in a way that we cannot. As for efficiency, I recently received a sack of crushed by mistake, and my efficiency dropped by about 8% compared with home crushed (on a GF mill) - that is not negligible.

The GF mill is the best bit of equipment I’ve ever bought, it’s a great piece of kit. I had the Bulldog mill previously and hated it!

 

[Sadfield]

I recently received a sack of crushed by mistake, and my efficiency dropped by about 8% compared with home crushed (on a GF mill) - that is not negligible.

If you want to crush your own grain, brilliant, more power to you.

However, using the above for illustrative purposes. To recoup the outlay on a £70 amazon mill, at that efficency saving and today's malt prices (£30-35), would take about 25-30 sacks of malt. That's a lot of malt through a mill that may not have a long lifespan. I'd be wary of efficiency being a compelling reason to mill your own.

And that's before a discussions about availality, it's appears easier to shop around for crushed. Or, whether high efficency is the enemy of flavour.

 

[Agentgonzo]

If crushed grain was unreliable, why do so many commercial brewers buy it that way?
I can see the longevity reason but not reliability.

Probably many reasons. Milling grain takes a while to do in commercial quantities. It takes up space in the brewery and you'll need additional hoppers/buckets to collect the crushed grain. All of this takes time, space and money that commercial breweries may choose to do without when setting up.

 

[The Baron]

I am with Sadfield on this as regards cost of the actual crushing and the time and the dust it makes so needs to be done outside if possible.
If you are doing it for your self as part of what you want to do within the hobby then all power to you and the extra control over the process. I personally do not chase efficiency too mush and with my pre-crushed grain (storage time is not a issue with me as a bag will be gone within 8/9 months and never noticed any drop in Eff)it gets approx 75% efficiency up or down a point or too.
So to summarise every brewer is not the same and do what ever you find pleases you within the hobby no wrongs no rights

 

[MashBag]

Sadfield your are spot on, return on your money, just doesn't work. Let's not get into flavor or consistancy.

But if you want a mill go for it.

And in all fairness the GF mill is a cracking bit of kit unlike some of the Chinese varieties. If you are going to have a go I would spend the extra.

 

[Caramel Ox]

I also feel like I’d like to mill and will wait to get the grainfather. My issue regarding storage time of crushed grain is that as a new brewer it isn’t clear how many malts should be stocked and how many can be subbed. I think it’s possible that I only really need eg 6 malts which would improve the economics and open pack time.