What Type of Mill Should I Get?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by sjverla, Feb 27, 2014.

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  1. sjverla

    sjverla Initiate (0) Dec 1, 2008 Massachusetts

    I'm escalating things. And as much fun as a kegging system would be, at this point, I think a grain mill is the more practical option. That way I can have sacks of base malt on hand (my wife will be thrilled...). I've got a corded drill. I have no idea the RPMs - it's old-ish, but it seems to pack a pretty good punch.

    I'm leaning towards a Monster Mill since @koopa recommended one in a thread a few months ago, claiming it has far outdone his Barley Crusher (and that dude seems to know what he's doing), but I wanted to get other opinions and see if there's something I could be missing. Whatever I go with, it will probably just be the entry-level model for the brand since that's likely all I can afford right now.

    TIA!
     
  2. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    "as much fun as a kegging system would be, at this point, I think a grain mill is the more practical option."

    I'm here to tell you what you don't want to hear...that a kegging system is much more practical (I have both).
     
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  3. sjverla

    sjverla Initiate (0) Dec 1, 2008 Massachusetts

    I'd love to agree with you, but that's really not the case in my situation. It has to do with the quality/proximity of LHBS's. There's one right down the street from me that sucks, is barely open and charges too much. There's a better one with more reasonable prices (though questionable advice), but it's over 30 miles away.

    I've been ordering almost everything online from Farmhouse, but paying for shipping on grain adds up fast, and I don't like having already crushed grain lying around for too long. I typically brew once a month, but I'm going to try to increase that to 2x/month. So either my shipping costs go up, or I drive an hour round trip to get grain that will be crushed and losing freshness for a while, or I drive there more frequently and spend way too much on gas/tolls.

    That all being said, if you see any holes in my thinking, have at them. I hate bottling and would love to keg, but from an economical point of view, I think a mill is the way to go. And I do love the idea of having grain on hand, so when the itch strikes, I can brew whenever I want.
     
  4. telejunkie

    telejunkie Savant (1,107) Sep 14, 2007 Vermont

    I would concur that grain mill is nice, allows you to buy bulk and keep grains fresher a lot longer...I have a 2-roller monster mill, built a base & grain chute for it and has overall worked well for me. That said I have the older model and had a problem when a thumbscrew broke off on me when changing gap spacing. Had a hell of a time with the screw extractor trying to get that out...but that has been fixed on the new models.
     
  5. koopa

    koopa Initiate (0) Apr 20, 2008 New Jersey

    Thanks for the kind words sjverla. I will testify yet again that the Monster Mill is a BEAST, especially in comparison to the Barley Crusher. Performance and quality surpass it 10x over. Plus the Barley Crushers have a design flaw that results in them all eventually wearing out. The rollers are so small and the metal so soft, that once the knurling starts to wear out the grain stops feeding through the gap. I understand you are looking for opinions from others, so I hope other people reply. But I will say again that spending any money on a Barley Crusher is a waste. It would be better to wait until you can afford a Monster Mill 2.0 imho. As for the kegging vs. mill debate, both are awesome but I understand where you are coming from. Kegging is so much more convenient but it's definitely a luxury. Once you already have bottling equipment, bottling only costs you more time rather than money. So if you only have the budget for one or the other right now (and already have the bottling equipment) it makes sense to go for the mill first.
     
  6. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,043) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I use a JSP MaltMill (the model with gap adjustments at both ends). Works well for me, but it's the only one I have owned, so nothing really to compare to.
     
  7. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    Surely, you get to make the call...but I can tell you grain isn't that much cheaper locally unless you buy in quantity and can get a sweet deal on it. My LHBS ( 130 miles R/T) will grind it "for free" so having my own mill is not that big of an advantage.

    You might try a large malt distributor, going in with others, and/or finding a close on-line retailer that won't gouge you on the shipping (Morebeer-East Coast?) I use Farmhouse for light items like hops, but there must be a reason I'm not ordering my grain from them :grimacing:

    As far as kegging...well, there's been enough threads on it's benefits already
    cheers
     
  8. bgjohnston

    bgjohnston Initiate (0) Jan 14, 2009 Connecticut

    I have a Monster Mill 2-roller model and have been happy with it, although I have only had it for about a year and a half (and have only run a couple hundred pounds of grain through it). Just did a batch a week ago, though, and it still seems as good as new.
     
  9. sjverla

    sjverla Initiate (0) Dec 1, 2008 Massachusetts

    Thanks for the replies so far. Just one other thing I thought I'd add, though it's less of a consideration for me (but certainly on my mind). I just thought I'd throw it out there for the benefit of any Western Mass brewers who may not be aware. Valley Malt has a barley CSA. It's $200/share and that includes 100 lbs base malt (2-row or pilsner) and 30 lbs specialty over the course of a year. It runs from June to June and with the purchase of a mill, it's certainly something I'd think about doing.
     
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  10. PortLargo

    PortLargo Pooh-Bah (1,737) Oct 19, 2012 Florida
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Some holes that shot down my grain mill: I don't live near anything, everything is online order. So I figured buying in bulk for a discount and do my own milling. Then realized I will still need a multitude of speciality grains. It's really not practical to keep on hand bulk purchases of all the special grains I routinely use. But the shipping on a pound of Munich and 10 oz of C80 (or whatever) is still about half what I was paying for everything included in an all grain order. Oh yeah, I found the bulk purchase price only about 10% less than small orders, do other suppliers beat this?

    My milling friends seem to make a lot of 2-row pale malt (only) recipes . . . I tend to use a little peated malt, flaked wheat, aromatic, or some-such in more of my recipes. If you're going to ship two pounds it cost little more to ship 14 pounds. After I push the enter button it just shows up in 2-3 days and no sales tax softens the blow.

    So if you routinely use special grains it's a trip to the store that sucks, or a long drive to the sketchy advice store, or paying online and eating the shipping. I average about 7 bucks shipping per 5 gallon brew . . . for me that's the cost of brewing.

    OTH, kegging seems like a bottomless pit . . .
     
  11. FATC1TY

    FATC1TY Pooh-Bah (2,502) Feb 12, 2012 Georgia
    Pooh-Bah

    Monster mill M3.. I don't own it, but my LHBS does, and they just flat out fucking rock.

    That said, I think kegging is a better pay off, but I have a LHBS that is around 20 miles away, and I normally get together 3-4 recipes at a time to brew within the next month, or month and a half. The grain is in plastic bags and sealed up well enough. It's not going to go bad. I turn over more, and brew more, so kegging is so much better than bottling. 2 or more batches a month, kegging please! If I had to bottle every batch, I'd find a new hobby.
     
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  12. utahbeerdude

    utahbeerdude Maven (1,374) May 2, 2006 Utah

    I have a 2-roller Monster Mill. It works great with an old corded B&D drill. I have it set to 0.035" and I get great efficiency with my mashes. I recommend getting the grain bin/chute. I am handy at building things, but I could never have made anything as elegant as the one offered by Monster Mill. OTOH, I did make a base out of some old particle board. That was fairly straightforward.

    I may never make up the cost of the mill, but I do save on grain by buying in bulk. Yesterday I picked up a 55 lb bag of Rahr 2-row at my LHBS for $40.00, for example.
     
  13. inchrisin

    inchrisin Pooh-Bah (2,013) Sep 25, 2008 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah

    Kegging is a never ending process for me. Every time I'm at the damn homebrew store, I buy another keg. Be ready for the pipeline to grow stupidly big!

    Am I the only one to vouch for the Barley Crusher? I haven't looked at the prices in 2.5 years. I haven't had to. I'm happy with my BC. It works fine and adjusts tight when I need it to.
     
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  14. beeraroundtown

    beeraroundtown Initiate (0) Oct 11, 2008 Oregon

    I've had a barley crusher for a few year, 100+ batches through it and it works great. I haven't used any other, so can't speak for those, but probably any mill will be fine and definitely worth it.
     
  15. DubbelMan

    DubbelMan Initiate (0) Mar 17, 2009 New York

    I have had a BC for years and only once in a while have feed issues. Simply reversing the drill fixes it. No problem. I have been satisfied with it overall.

    Cheers!
     
  16. JohnSnowNW

    JohnSnowNW Initiate (0) Feb 6, 2013 Minnesota

    I use a Barley Crusher, and it seems to do the trick for me.
     
  17. WelshBrewer

    WelshBrewer Initiate (0) Mar 17, 2013 Oregon

    I brew on a 1bbl system and use the Cereal Killer (2) roll with a 7lb hopper and a 1/2" variable speed drill.
    Happy hunting
     
  18. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,043) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    @Naugled : Where's that pic of your mill?
     
  19. ericj551

    ericj551 Pooh-Bah (1,638) Apr 29, 2004 Canada (AB)
    Pooh-Bah

    I also have a barley crusher, and I'm happy with it. That being said, If I was buying right now I would probably go with something different. I've had no problems, but my LBHS owner went through one really quick. Obviously he goes through much more grain than I do, so I'm not too worried. If I get 5 years out of it I'll be happy.
     
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