I’m looking into a barley crusher so I can buy bulk amounts of base malt, no lines at LHBS as well as set my own crush for efficiency purposes. My equiment is the cheap and easy 10 gallon cooler and pot which does the trick for 5 gallon batches. I brew mostly medium to high ABV beers so bills are typically 10 - 20 lbs. Went to the LHBS this weekend and bought ingredients for two different batches. I realized after I got home that the crush was not very good which affected my efficiency.
I’ve done a little research online and noticed there’s quite a range of products and prices. I wanted to get feedback on 2 vs 3 roller mills and well as brands and sellers. I don’t mind spending a little bit more for equipment if the value is there.
I have the “Barley Crusher” as mentioned above. It’s okay. Yes, it crushes grains. But it also gets jammed occasionally, isn’t gear driven (the second roller just free spins) and sometimes just seems to skip through the grains. This is probably due to the free spinning second roller and the fact that mine (and other club members’ BC) doesn’t seem to want to stay at the gap setting I put it at. Five or so batches and it needs to be put back into place.
I use the barley crusher and contrary to AmandaK have had no issues going on 2years.
I did tighten the gap a couple mm’s and get a great crush. I went with the bigger hopper so I can fit 15lbs and I use a variable speed drill to drive it-this isn’t recommended but I find it works well:)
I should mention that I’ve been using mine for around 2 years as well, but I got it from another homebrewer who had used it for over 5 years before I got it.
I have the same Barley Crusher. I recently noticed a dip in my efficiency on my past couple of batches. I had attributed it from switching from a hand crank to a drill, but now I’m wondering if it is simply because of the mill gap loosening up. I’ll have to check it out tonight.
I used to have a Corona mill but broke down and bought a 3 roller monster mill about 4 brews after switching to AG. I’ve had my MM for over 3 years now and it still works like the day I bought it, minus gap check maintenance.
barley crusher is ‘ok’ for the average homebrewer brewing a few 5gal batches per year.
I put about 2500# of grain through mine before donating it to a new homebrewer, though I started inventing new curse words because of it probably at about the time i’d done 1500# and I was just too cheap to de-commision it.
I have been exponentially more pleased with my MonsterMill.
Jeff - not sure of the model number but it’s a SS 2 roller with the 2" diameter rollers. I was going to get the three but Frank told me that was probably overkill unless I was a Nano.
I have the Barley Crusher also and have had mostly good luck with it. I haven’t had any issues with wondering gap but it does jam now and then. Pushing a small wooded dowel through the grain and giving the free roller a nudge gets it going. I motorized it 4 years ago and really like the ease of use now.
It is due for a cleaning though because as the bushings wear dust can get in and gum things up. I haven’t kept track of exactly how much grain has gone through it but it’s at least 1000lbs.
My only complaint is that I should have gotten the larger hopper. I have the standard small hopper and it only holds 7 - 8 lbs at a time. The problem is I was cheap not that there anything wrong with the hopper.
Whenever this conversation comes up it is worth mentioning that everyone, generally, likes the mill they have. For a brewer who makes less than 100gal per year, like me, the BC works great. If you plan to brew up to the 200gal limit you may want to consider a MM for the more industrial build.
I’ve always set me drill in highest speed, and locked it so I didn’t have to stand there. But after reading your post, I tried the last batch of my Amber while milling the grain at about half speed.
No difference in OG. I brew this same beer once or twice a week, and I nail 1.060 exactly every time. And this time as well. All water volumes and mash temperature were the same.
AFAIK, the main concern with high speed versus low speed milling was not any change in efficiency, rather the higher speeds had a greater propensity to tear and shred the husks, leading to a risk of tannin extraction.
I’m not certain - I’ve never had a tannin problem, and running my drill wide open versus as slow as possible only saves a minute or two, so i’ve not minded running low and slow.
