Method
Some of the variables in all-grain brewing are certainly more important than
others, and the crush is definately one of these. Although the
term crush itself implies a rather unexacting process, nothing
could be further from the truth. The grains must be crushed in such a way that
the kernel is ground into very fine grains, without actually grinding it to
flour, while at the same time the grain husk should be left as in-tact as
possible. Indeed, a seemingly impossible task. The finer the crush, the easier
the starches will gelatinize, making them more readily available
for conversion into sugars, thus producing more extract per pound of malted
barley. However, if there is too much flour in the mash, the run-off will clog
during the sparge. This is where the large grain husks become crucial, as they
form a filter bed throughout the sparging vessel (lauter tun)
and help keep the run-off from becoming stuck. They also help
clarify the wort. If the husks are ground up too much, they won't provide a
sufficient filter, and won't be able to properly perform their duties.
Not only is it important how the grain is crushed, but also where it
is crushed. The grain should be crushed as far away from the brewpot as possible
-- preferably in a separate room behind a closed door. If this is not possible,
then it should be done a day in advance of the brewing session,
to give the dust produced by the process time to settle out of the room. If
these simple guidelines aren't followed, the grain-dust can get into the brewpot
and make for a cloudy beer full of unconverted starches.
Mills
A: Corona Mill
B: Phil Mill
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There are a number of different types of grain mills used by homebrewers to
crush their grain, some of which do a better job than others. The two main types
of mill one sees are the Corona-style mill, and the roller mill. The former
looks very similar to an old-fashioned meat grinder, and works in a similar
fashion. A hand crank is turned, which turns an internal auger that forces the
grain between two cylindrical plates -- one fixed, and the other which rotates
with the auger. The grain is crushed between the plates. A roller mill also uses
a handcrank, but it is connected to one or more metal rollers, which draw the
grain in from the hopper above and crush it between the rollers. Without a
question, the roller-style mill produces a superior crush to a Corona-style. Of
course, this is largely because it is designed specifically for crushing grain
for use in brewing, while the Corona-style mill is designed for making flour.
But for a lot of homebrewers, the cheaper price of the Corona-style, and the fact that you
only lose about 10% in your extraction efficiency when using it as opposed to a
roller mill, combine to make it worth their while. Great beer can be made
whichever mill you decide to use, you just won't get as high an extraction rate
with a Corona-style as you will with a roller, and may therefore have to add an
extra half-pound of grain to the mash.
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| If you happen to be in the market for a grain mill, the most common
roller mills available to the homebrewer are currently :
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Also
note that there is the Phil Mill 2 on the market, as and details of this as well
as the regular Phil Mill can be found on the
manufacturer's
website.
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There are some product reviews available for
your perusal. If you have the money, you will definitely want to get a roller mill. We've used all of the following mills fairly extensively : Phil Mill 1, Malt Mill, Valley Mill, Barley Crusher, and find them all to be extremely good products. We have a slight preference for the Barley Crusher since it is all metal construction and extremely adjustable. It also requires less cranking per pound than the other mills. The Phil Mill 1 requires by far the most cranking, but in exchange it is the cheapest, and arguably produces the best crush. You see, professional mills use large diameter rollers which means the V between the rollers is very narrow, which allows the grain to get gently pulled in and crushed. The small diameter rollers of homebrewr mills, on the other hand, make for a very wide V between the rollers. The Phil Mill 1 on the other hand uses 1 roller and a C-shaped plate, which supposedly best simulates a professional mill. Dan Listermann the manufacturer claims that the Phil Mill 1 produces a better crush than his Phil Mill 2, which is a two-roller mill.
Have a look
here for a few more comments about mills.
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