I recently, finally, managed to get back into brewing after a 25 year hiatus. I want to upgrade from my old corona mill and am seeking input from you all on what to buy. I am less concerned about cost than quality, I’ll gladly spend more if I receive a commensurate increase in product quality. Are 3 roller mills worth the extra cost over 2 roller mills? Is a 2 roller Monster Mill worth nearly double the price of a Barley Crusher branded 2 roller mill? Have any of you experience with the Kegco 3 roller mill or the Captain Crush 3 roller? Sorry if this seems a bit pedestrian for you more advanced guys.
I have used a 2 roller JSP adjustable for over 15 years and thousands of lb. of grain. I get a great crush and can’t imagine why I’d want a 3 roller mill.
I have an MM2 v1 and love it. Many friends have the MM3 and love it equally. I don’t like how difficult it is to measure the gap on the MM3, but I guess that isn’t a big deal after it’s set.
The captain crush is way to expensive considering it has a plastic hopper.
I have a JSP non-adjustable, and I love it. I get a perfect crush and 80% efficiency every time. Mill cost $110 plus $25 for shipping, and the thing is built like a tank.
I have a MM3. My thought was buy once, cry once. Yes a 2-roller may have met my needs perfectly as well, but at the time I was paranoid about tannins. I don’t think you’d go bad either way.
With the MM3 you have to take it off the base to measure gap. I don’t change my grind settings, so it doesn’t bother me.
Don’t touch anything Kegco, even with a 10’ pole. Especially if it’s inexplicably cheaper than the competition…
I’ve had a Barley Crusher for about 7 years, works great.
If you get a Barley Crusher get the 15 pound hopper.
It has (or at least used to, may still have) a life-time warranty.
Had to send it back a year ago to have the rollers refurbished.
Works better now than when it was new.
I’ve also heard good things about the Monster mills and the JSP mills.
I suspect you’ll find that most people love the mills they have and use.
+1 to the JSP. I’ve had two other mills a Cereal Killer and a Captain Crush. I actually sent two Captain Crushes back. Neither one worked worth a hoot. It could have been just an odd coincidence that I got two semi-functional ones in a row, but I was done trying. The first one developed a screeching noise (after only 4-5 batches) that was so bad dogs in the neighborhood howled. The second one would just spin the driven roller but never pull grain - no matter how I adjusted it.
The JSP works flawlessly.
I have a cereal killer 2 roller and have had no issues with it. It is the first mill I have owned and I like that it is adjustable. My LHBS has a MM3 and I always got good crush from that as well, but had no control over gap settings. Having an adjustable mill allowed me to get what I wanted, and I really have not adjusted in the last almost 2 years. I seriously looked at the JSP after hearing so much good about it on here, but found a deal on the cereal killer for $99 shipped: tough to pass up as a first time mill buyer. Only wish would be for a bigger hopper, but whenever I get around to it, I can work something up for it. The 7 pound hopper is working great for the 3.5 gallon batches I have made so far this year down from years past when I always made 5-6 gallon batches
+3 for the JSP. Great mill.
Something to be said for being around a while, huh?
Thanks, all interesting and useful contributions. I’ve spent more than a day on the infernalweb searching for mills but was unaware of the Cereal Killer & JSP until now, at the moment I’m leaning towards the adjustable JSP. As a former Tin Knocker, fabbing a larger hopper should be gravy. Any of the JSP owners opt for the gear drive or hardened rollers? I’m hoping this is the last mill I have to buy, and am an admitted tool junkie, so spending extra for truly useful stuff isn’t a problem.
I guess that makes me +4 for the JSP. Nothing but good luck with it.
No gear drive or hardened rollers here. No need for either IMO.
Same here. Just the base model. I like it.
+5 Non adjustable JSP
I am really happy with my Millar’s Mill. Hardened rollers, the same length as the MM, and a lot cheaper.
I went with both the gear drive and hardened rollers on my adjustable maltmill because I’m a sucker for the upsell. I have no idea if they were worth it or not, but I’m over a decade in with countless bags of grain and I still consider my JSP mill as my best homebrew investment to date. I will say that my gear drive was on backorder when I first got my mill and I had a couple of experiences where only the driven roller spun, but that was probably operator error. In any case, I was glad when the gears arrived because I never had to think about that situation again.
+1 on the $99 Cereal Killer. I’ve only done six 6 gal. brews with it, but so far so good. Adjusted for fine crush. I power it with a Milwaukee 1/2" cordless drill. Plenty of power.
Same here, took a couple pounds of pale malt to get it dialed in , and clear sailin from then on.
I motorized mine using an old cordless drill, and now I love it even more
After 9 years of use, I’m in the same boat with my Barley Crusher. I was considering replacing it with a Monster Mill, but I’ll probably just replace the rollers.
If I can get another 9 years of out of it for $50, great.