I do small 2 to 2.5 gal all grain batches.
I live in an apartment, and all i have room for is 3 “mr beer” kegs on a shelf
They are rotated to be used one at a time basically.
Ive been doing it for 2 years now, and it works for me.
I no longer use them for extract, but in my limited space its all i can use.
Basically, i wanna stop paying $5 every 2 weeks to have my grainbill crushed for me.
Seeing as my bill usually consists of only a small “5 to 9 pounds” of grain at a time
depending on recipe, would a device like that work. Im expecting about 10-15 minutes
of using the handle, which is fine as ill do it with a few homebrews in hand the night before.
But at that price seen there, theres no reason to keep paying that $5, if it will work
Advice please, thanks.
other:
i used a coffee grinder before, it worked, but left so much dust it was horrible.
Conversion was great, but it was impossible to get out of the beer lol.
also used a rolling pin, flawless… but i refuse to spend 1 hour per pound of grain
and have that huge mess again.
open to other ideas “if that device isnt going to work”. thanks!
off to bed, had a few “brews”, and its getting harder to type this, hahaeaha.
goodnight. 17. cheers.
You don’t mention in your profile where you live. If you have a Hispanic grocier in town, look there for the same style mill. The price should be about the same but there will be no shipping.
I do have a power drill to power it in the trunk of my car that never see’s use any more.
I guess this would be a good job to bring it out of retirement “IF” i ever make larger batches.
However, would that particular mill take a bigger “reservoir” to do that?
Its not in the foreseeable future, and at that price im not too concerned.
Just curiosity at this point.
For the “reservoir”, look around the kitchen for a something with a large opening. A mayo or peanut butter container comes to mind of something that should work.
Thats a great idea, didnt thank of that.
Ill probably use a 2L bottle actually, cutting it in the right place where it tapers to the cap
would help me tighten the seal.
[quote=“chuck”]Why not just have the brew store grind them for you :idea: [/quote]Apparently, his LHBS charges $5 for milling grain. Might be time to find a new HBS.
Wash and rinse your mill. Soak all parts in StarSan for 10 mins and rub down with a paper towel until the paper towel comes up clean when rubbed on the surface of the part. You should have a shiny tin plated mill.
Place 3 or four washers on each of the bolts that hold the grinding plate on to adjust. I believe they’re metric M6 washers.
Run a couple pounds of grain through it, by hand, adjusting with the washers and the wing nuts. This usually helps the grinding plate straighten out when the grain gets in between the plates.
If it still wobbles to an unsatisfactory degree, replace the cotter pin with a bolt.
I own both a barley crusher and a corona. Both work equally well, however, both need the same amount of adjustment and attention. These aren’t plug n’ play devices.
Both work equally well, however, both need the same amount of adjustment and attention. These aren’t plug n’ play devices.[/quote]
That about sums it up.
I use one when I brew at home. More often recently I brew at a friends place and he has a roller mill. I don’t see a difference in efficiencies between the two.
At $5 a batch (highway robbery), you have it payed for in 7 brews. Then you can save the $5 for a roller mill if you like. I know people like me that have been using one for ~7 years. We don’t have plans to spend the money on a roller mill.
Part of this project, homeberwing, was to make high quality beer for less than what I can buy it for in the store. The more money I spend on equipment, the longer it take to meet that goal.
I’d also say that the corona mill would work fine.
I usually brew 5-10 gallon batches. I had a corona when I first started out and have gone to a roller mill, which I love. However, grinding 12 lbs on a corona will just about make your arm fall off…grinding 6 lbs on it for a 2.5 gallon batch is very manageable.
If you’re on a budget and can afford the corona, get it. If you think you’ll be stepping up to larger batches sometime soon, then I’d make yourself a little savings jar and put a quarter in it everytime you drink a homebrew…that or have friends/family get you gift cards so that you can get a roller mill for christmas or a birthday.
Dude… my $25 corona mill brews just as good of beer as a roller mill at a fraction of the cost.
I put a bigger improvised hopper on mine, as well as mounting it to a piece of wood that can be put right over a bucket. Attach a drill to it, and it works awesome. Sure, there’s some playing around to get the right setting, but not a big enough pain that I want to spend more on a roller mill at this point. Save my money for ingredients.
I used a Corona for years and it works pretty well. I think it does tear husks a little more than a crusher but it works and the price is right. I did upgrade to a Monster mill a couple years ago, the biggest benefits were the hopper and motorizing, which I could’ve done on the Corona. I still use the Corona for small amounts of malts I might want to add separately from the main mash.
+1 to adding a couple of washers to act as spacers on the wingnuts. This helps get a more reproducible crush.
[quote=“squeekybobo”][quote=“GarretD”]IMO…don’t waste your money. I got one for xmas and it was a POS…I said screw it and just coughed up the cash for this.
Dude… my $25 corona mill brews just as good of beer as a roller mill at a fraction of the cost.
I put a bigger improvised hopper on mine, as well as mounting it to a piece of wood that can be put right over a bucket. Attach a drill to it, and it works awesome. Sure, there’s some playing around to get the right setting, but not a big enough pain that I want to spend more on a roller mill at this point. Save my money for ingredients.[/quote]
Post pictures of this great mill you have and not the pictures from a website. I got one and it was so poorly cast it was unusable hence my comment. It was missing a part and the parts did not even fit together properly.
EDIT: I just realized who I’m replying too…You dog! I still want to see the pictures. Mine was a POS.
I used a corona for 5 years before upgrading to a roller. After using both I would say the upgrade was not an absolute necessity. I just wanted a nice roller mill and my wife wanted to get me a nice birthday gift. So she got me the JSP maltmill and I love using it.
I detect no quality difference in my actual beers, but the JSP is quicker to set up and use than the corona. I also have the rollers locked into the gap I want so I don’t fiddle with it anymore.
EDIT: I just realized who I’m replying too…You dog! I still want to see the pictures. Mine was a POS.[/quote]
:lol:
I’ll take pics next time I use it. or just come over and brew or something. Of course, that means I actually have to have a set schedule to brew next time, instead of squeezing it in when i get a chance.
I used one of those huge cheese ball containers from Target to extend the hopper. Cut the bottom off, then duct taped that sumbitch to the existing hopper. I can put about 9 - 10 lbs of grain in that hopper now
