Pre-milled grain is ordered just prior to brewing.
Grains are vacuum sealed, and once opened all is used in mash.
Would taste justify additional cost and labor milling my own ?
Thanks
Milling you’re own grain assures more freshness and the ability to select the crush size,. You don’t know when pre-crushed grain was rushed by the seller or its mill gap. Even so, it probably will stay fairly fresh for a few months, according to some folks here on the forum. I haven’t see pre-crushed grain in so long that I just can’t say.
I think it’s more of a personal style question than taste.
If you’re happy with the grist you get from your supplier, you use the grain fresh and you like the results there’s not enough difference in flavor to buy a mill. A mill gives you flexibility and spontaneity.
I admit there is cost saving in buying bulk grain but you have to buy a lot of grain to pay for the mill. Add to the cost of mill all the upgrades you will inevitably do, like a drill because hand milling is a pain, a better milling table design, a motor and drive system since the drill keeps burning out, dust collection, a larger hopper and the list can go on and on (in my house at least).
My reasons for buying a mill were more around control and my own view of the “cool” factor.
When you get a mill, you start buying base malt in bulk. Do you have space to store 55lb bags of grain? I have the space so it works well.
I love being able to decide to brew today and have grain on hand. It is also useful to adjust the crush to achieve better efficiency and/or adjust to different size kernels.
I also get some satisfaction from people who see the mill and react with some version of “Wow, you brew all grain?” 8^)
Having a mill is a great addition to your brewery but I’ve given up trying to justify (to myself or SWMBO) that the cost will be paid back in some way.
For example I’m starting to consider buying one of the all-in-one electric brewing units because I’m tired of always needing propane and brewing in 10 degree weather. The cost of the unit will never be recouped but it might be a fun part of my hobby.
IMHO - of course.
Paul
Being able to control your crush more than justifies the cost of buying a mill.
I agree 100%.
My brewhouse efficiency improved at least 13 points once i started milling my own. It took me a few brews to get my mill dialed in to suit my system and process. But now its a wonderful thing!
Back in the good old days (predownsizing) when I brewed all-grain my efficiency went up 15% milling myself compared to my LHBS doing the milling.
I agree with the efficiency increase too. I don’t want to discourage the OP from buying a mill, I just don’t think one is required if you’re getting results you like.
Paul
Thank you all !
What is the correlation between efficiency and ABV ?
Example, 8.5 pounds grain ABV 4.5%.
Redone with a 10% increase in efficiency would increase ABV to ?.
Thanks
The higher efficiency means the less grain used to achieve the same end result (ABV). So, money is saved.
I think there may be a balance point between milling less grain for more efficiency and getting a detrimental effect of not having enough grain in the mash. I don’t know how to explain it but I think I went too far at one point where I was getting pretty high mash efficiency at the detriment of the beer.
For me, the balance point is somewhere around ~70% BH efficiency (~85-ish % mash efficiency) +/- a few points (calculated by BeerSmith).
Anyone else notice this?
Another thing: I brewed with precrushed grains for awhile after I started brewing all-grain. As long as you keep it in a cool, dry, dark space and keep it sealed up, it seems to last quite a long time. But I do agree with the above… buying in bulk (and not paying for crushed grain) is nice and milling right before the mash ensures A) you get the crush you want and 2) you know the malt was freshly-milled.
Absolutely, I have noticed that.
Thanks all, food for thought.
I currently like the progress being made with my low ABV brews.
Grain to water ratio is already low, purchasing a mill is shelved at this time.
To me it’s just not a necessity at this point in time. My local store does a good job of milling and they are conveniently located as well.
I recently did get 3 lb. of Maris Otter from Adventures in Homebrewing. Used it for an Old Peculiar clone recipe. But they did not mill it well at all (it was barely cracked as if they were in a rush) so I had to resort to further milling with a rolling pin and a Ziploc bag. LOL. It came out just fine and when I notified AIH of their messup they refunded me the money for the grain. So that was a top notch thing to do.
Great that you were able to deal with the problem after you received the grain and that AIH was willing to refund but this is a great example of why relying on shops to mill grain for you is often less than ideal. With the amount of grain milled in those shops the mills slide out of adjustment and they don’t pay attention often enough to the settings to keep up with it. When you buy premilled from homebrew shops you are at the mercy of their mill setting at that moment which may not be good or the best fit for your mash system.