Grain mills, anyone recommend one?

[Hogarth]

I got the basic Crankenstein and it works very well. One of the rollers turns a little stiffly -- the alignment's a bit out -- but it works fine with a drill on it.

[dave-o]

*EDIT*

Misunderstood.

[simple one]

I'm in the market for a mill too... There seems to be two types. Ones around 200-300 smackers, and then some budget ones. I'm only looking to crush a max of 7kg at a time so.......

Is this any good?

http://www.thethriftyshopper.co.uk/brew ... -mill.aspx

Yes its thrifty, the email worked!

[Aleman]

It's not really designed for milling malt but more for making flour . . . Adjusted to it's coarsest setting than you may get away with it . . . but it is an expensive mistake if not.

My Barleycrusher was not all that more expensive than the one you have linked to

[simple one]

Cheers aleman.

[idbrew]

I use something like the above brewferm model (a Mexican "Corona" mill) and am pretty pleased with it.

It's adjustable so you should be able to dial in the crush pretty well - some people worry about shredding the husks and having lautering/tannin extraction problems but I haven't had either problem yet. Mine is motorized so I can't speak for how easy it is to use the hand crank (not bad from what I've heard).

[simple one]

It's not really designed for milling malt but more for making flour . . . Adjusted to it's coarsest setting than you may get away with it . . . but it is an expensive mistake if not.

My Barleycrusher was not all that more expensive than the one you have linked to

Ordered it! Now lets see who I have to bribe... er... I mean pay to get it over the pond.

[Philipek]

I have been all-grain brewing for over a year now and have crushed all my grain using a modified pasta roller. The rollers have been scarred up by an electric drill, and I sellotaped a box to the top as a hopper. It takes a while to crank through 4 kilos of grain, but its adjustable and I always get a great crush, and in terms of budget it's very good. It only cost me 24 dollars.

[chiller]

We have the same discussions on our list here in Australia. I wrote this piece in 2005 as I was up to my 3rd mill [not worn out ]


--------------------------
We all want the highest efficiency from our systems -- right?

And the grain mill is the answer right?

Well ----- possibly.


I have just trecked back from America with a new grain mill and this is now my third mill in 4 years [all different].

I have had a Philmill, a Barley Crusher and now a JSP adjustable [and geared] Maltmill.

So which is "better"? There is no better in my opinion as they all do the same thing. Crush grain to make beer. All mills with my system [batch sparge] will provide a consistent 75% + efficiency. The important thing though is repeatable results.

Speed:
The Philmill 1 is quite slow -- but on a drill it performs very well.
The Barley crusher is quick and if used on a drill is very quick.
The Maltmill is super quick but struggles if the hopper is full without the drill running. When used with the drill running and the grain added to the moving rollers it is frieghtening fast 5 kgs in about 1 minute.

** I have since put a 1100 watt drill on the JSP mill and it will basically crush your house.

Crush:
All very similar - none better than the other really.

Build:
All very professionally made - The Barley Crusher is the prettiest by far.

Reliability:
The Philmill has been in the capable hands of the DrunkArab for awhile now and still performs very well.

The Barley Crusher has a new home and will last a lifetime as well.

The JSP Maltmill is new and --- well it is new so ask me in 12 months It looks as if it will last many lifetimes as well.

Recommendation?:

All mills on the market will give you an excellent crush, some faster than others, but that is not an issue as we are not commercial brewers where time is real money. All of the mills mentioned make great beer.

I choose to routinely double crush my grain with all of the mentioned mills. It made only a slight efficiency improvement but made me feel better about the crush. It is quite theraputic crushing grain

I chose to get a JSP Maltmill because it is less known here in Australia so that I could give some first hand feedback -- After three mills I seriously don't care what the mill is as many other factors impact on the final beer.

If three unidentified grain crushes were provided to you from commercially available mills, I doubt anyone would know the difference [or care].

If you are thinking of a mill purchase don't be too concerned -- they all work well.

------------

It is now 2010 -- which mill do I still own?

The JSP Maltmill. I consistently get over 83% but the main thing is "consistently". Mine was the barebones with gear drive and adjustable roller gap.

Oh and it was VERY heavy as hand luggage back from America to Australia.
Steve

[boingy]

That's a great post, chiller, but I have to ask how come you bought three mills in four years if the first one was ok?

[sargie]

most if not all the grains from my lhbs come pre crushed.

[mentaldental]

The JSP Maltmill is new and --- well it is new so ask me in 12 months It looks as if it will last many lifetimes as well.
Steve

I have had an adjustable JSP Maltmill for well over 10 years and it has never given any trouble. I use it with a drill and it works like a dream.

I see they have made some alterations and improvements since mine was purchased. The only niggle I have is the hopper which is a bit small, a problem JSP have addressed. There again it hasn't annoyed me enough to sort it out.

/Michael

[chiller]

That's a great post, chiller, but I have to ask how come you bought three mills in four years if the first one was ok?

Some of my friends in Adelaide asked the same question, but all mills found "good" homes and we are all happy brewers

Steve

[paulski]

hi got my barley crusher last year think i payed about £140 all in cos they got me with the tax,but its a great mill and good size hopper

[Taf]

I'm going to the US next week, so planning on buying a barley crusher, and bringing it back in my suitcase. Does anyone know approximately what wheight they are? There are a choice of two hoppers, a 7 and 15 pound one. Can anyone tell me if the hoppers come as flat pack, so that it would fit in my suit case, so that I could assemble it once I get home? If they are flat pack and not too heavy, I would definitely go with the the larger hopper.

Thanks,
Billy.