I know this topic has been covered over and over here and elsewhere, but I still want to know… I brew 1-2 batches per month at 10-18# per batch, and occasionally 25# batches. Where is my money best spent: JSP malt mill, Barley Crusher, Cereal Killer, Monster Mill 2/3. By moving to all grain and buying in bulk, my per pound grain savings almost pay for any of these options. I just really dont want to pay for more than I need. I wont necessarily be moving up to much larger batches until I get something to help me(pump, or other automation), so where is my money best spent? I have read up on all of these options, just not sure what the best fit for me is. As stated, I am currently brewing 1-2 batches per month using 12-15# per batch and may brew the occasional 9G batches to split (but then I am sure my brewing frequency would fall.) As I said above, my bulk savings will pay for any of these options, I just dont want to buy bigger than I need(not looking to leap into profitable production volumes on this scale). In recent purchases, I have easily saved about $145 in bulk grain buying, with no end in sight for bulk purchases. I can add a drill easily to any mill purchase I make, but am not necessarily making that leap right away. What are your mill thoughts and why? Barley Crusher is on sale at 20% off, but is that a better choice for me than the cereal killer at less than half the cost? I just dont know. It is time for me to buy a mill, as I have been buying base malt in bulk, help me decide which mill i the mill for me. I am a relative newbie, with temp control, just looking for the next step in consistency without a lot of automation. I think I am looking for your thoughts on hand cranking these weights, versus drill powered milling of the same type poundages. All thoughts welcome, anything I dont spend on a mill will likely go into other equipment or ingredients, so help me figure out where to put my $$$$$!
I just bought a 2 roll monster mill and love it. Only thing that was irritating was mounting the mill on the base. If it isn’t lined up perfectly, it will bind up. Other than that I am very happy. Spent about $150.
And drill power for sure. Get a drill with a good amount of torque and variable speed. I’ll motorize some day, but that is way down the line when I have nothing else to spend money on.
Thanx Steve, gonna try to figure this out in the next week to 3 weeks. Looks like proper mounting is a nuisance no matter which way you go, what are everyone’s thoughts on the cheap one in the bunch, the cereal killer? At least as far as 10-30 pounds per month going through the mill?
The only one I have experience with is the Barley Crusher. It works great for me - no complaints whatsoever.
Another barley crusher here. I powered mine with a cheap 3/4" drill from home depot. The kind with a screw in speed control. For under $100 that mill is plenty good.
Jim, Eric & Steve, how long have you had your mills? How easy are they to adjust and do you adjust them for different grains, such as wheat and rye? And finally, where were they made?
Had mine about a year I think. Its as easy to adjust as most. I adjusted it when I bought it then found it was to fine so I opened it up quite a bit. I did that by eyeballing the output rather than by gage. As Denny says “we’re not brewing gaps.” I want hulls intact and kernels cracked in about 4-6 pieces with as little powder as possible. Whatever gap that is is what I’ve got. Its made in America by Advertures in Homebrewing- or at least that’s what I hear. Mine was $90 with free shipping IIRC. I then built a bench and hard mounted it with the drill and a toggle switch. If you scroll back through the equipment threads the whole thing with pictures should be there.
Only had mine for a few weeks. I settled on a version 1 mm2 because it doesn’t require tools to adjust. The lock bolts are wingnuts.
In my humble opinion, the fixed-gap Schmidling MaltMill is the best bang for the buck on the market. No other mill company has the long track record that Schmidling enjoys. I have owned a couple of fixed-gap MaltMills. The first fixed-gap Schmidlng Malt Mill that I owned has crushed almost 5 tons of malt at this point. I crushed just shy of 2 tons of malt with the mill before selling it, and the guy who purchased it from me has crushed close to 3 tons of malt with it.
I currently own a fixed-gap MaltMill that I hand crank and a motorized 3-roller Monster Mill (only Hercules could hand crank a 3-roller Monster Mill). What Steve in TX mentioned about the Monster Mills is true. They will bind if not aligned carefully. There’s more play in the Monster design than there is in the Schmidling design. Once setup, Monster Mills work well, but they are not nearly as plug-and-play as the Schmidling mills. A Schmidling mill can be unpackaged and put to use in under half of an hour.
The gap on my current fixed-gap MaltMill measures 0.040". It produces a beautiful crush. My 3-roller Monster Mill also works well when set to 0.040".
I have an adjustable Schmidling mill, which has worked flawlessly for a long time, maybe 20 years.
Thanks everyone so far.
I am looking at Millar Mill. http://www.millarsmills.com/
I’ve had my Barley Crusher for 2 years. I hand cranked it for the first few batches until I replaced my drill that got “borrowed”. After my first barleywine I said eff this and bought a new drill…
I set the gap once and haven’t needed to adjust anything yet. It’s set to 0.88mm, which I think is about 35 mil. I use a guitar pick to set the gap and check it periodically.
I’ve heard too many stories about difficulties with 3-roller mills. I think I wisely chose a 2-roller 2" Monster mill. I’m guessing that as long as you stay with a 2-roller design, it will be relatively trouble-free and produce acceptable crushes.
Here is to ‘pre-conditioning’ your grain with a bit of water misted on before crushing. It definitely makes a BIG difference in keeping husks more intact while allowing you to set the mill gap a little bit tighter. I’ve been experiencing efficiencies of up to 90% while keeping the grain permeable enough for RIMS operation. It only takes a little bit of water and a few minutes to make a real difference.
Not to hijack the original discussion, but Martin, can you expand on how you condition your malt? Do you just spritz it while stirring? Does the moisture have any adverse effect on the mill over time?
Oh boy! Yes it certainly can have a big effect on the mill if you pre-condition incorrectly! Getting the grain too wet will cause the flour to cake onto the rollers and you will utter expletives!!!
I’ve found that using a visual criterion to the wetting process is relatively safe and effective. OK, you probably can notice that your grain will produce a dust when you move the grain around in your bucket or bin. That dust will also coat your hand as you move the grain. What I do is mist the grain mass lightly and mix the mass with my hand. I stop the misting as soon as there is little dust getting into the air and onto my hands. The grain will still seem ‘dry’, but it will have moistened the husks just that little bit to help prevent them from shattering as they pass through the nib. I do suggest letting the grain sit for about 15 minutes to help distribute the moisture further around the kernels.
I have not noted any rusting of the rollers due to the pre-conditioning. The rollers are still pretty dusty after milling and I don’t think they would rust as long as your mill storage environment isnt’ humid.
Close to the same here…maybe 15 years with a Schmidling adjustable. It’s still going strong after all that, but if I ever have to buy a new mill I’ll get the same thing again.
Yeah Martin, I didn’t feel like dealing with a 3-roll. Had a bit of buyers remorse at first, but now I know i made the right choice.
In my 2 years of homebrewing I have had 3 mills: A Cereal Killer, a Captain Crush and the Schmidling. I gave away the first, sent the 2nd back for a refund and even though I have only put 3 brews through the Schmidling, it is clear that it is the best of the three.
Maybe I’m a moron, but I couldn’t get the first two to work worth a hoot.