How to best grind grain at home?

Question

How to best grind grain at home?

Zac B

2016年2月15日 16:09

I buy most of my grain un-ground in bulk, because I don’t have a car my local HBS is way across town.

Before brewing, I’ve been grinding grain using a food processor (with blades) until each kernel is, on average, in three or four pieces. This probably isn’t optimal, though, and I have some general questions about how to do it better.

How should I be grinding my grain?

Is there an affordable way to grind it “the right way” at home (that doesn’t involve spending hours with a rolling pin)?

Is there a particular grit I should be shooting for if I use the food processor?

How do other people who don’t buy pre-ground manage the grinding?

Cheers!

Topic grinding all-grain grain homebrew

Category Mac

David PGB · Accepted Answer · 2012年4月7日 00:43

If you are stuck without a mill, try using a rolling pin, instead of a food processor. The rolling pin should at least crack the grain open. You might try crushing grain on top of a thin towel. The towel will stop the grain from rolling around while you try to crush it. It will take you a very long time to crush a "full mash" worth of grain using the rolling pin method.

mdma · Accepted Answer · 2012年4月3日 17:48

A grain mill is definitely recommended over using a food processor - you want to actually crush the grain rather than chop it up.

Crushing the grain breaks up the endosperm to provide a greater surface area, improving efficiency, but without producing excessive amounts of flour. A grain mill, particularly the 3 roller type, doesn't tear up the husks, but keeps them relatively whole. The husks help with filtering the mash and lautering, and in theory, not crushing the husks keeps their surface area lower, reducing likelihood of extracting tannins.

Motorizing the mill can be as simple as attaching a fairly powerful drill in the region of 1 hp , 700 W, or can be more involved, such as connecting a motor and a couple of sheaves.

There are lots of references on the net for motorizing the mill. This one at BYO inspired me to build mine.

Motorize your grain mill, BYO

FishesCycle · Accepted Answer · 2012年4月3日 02:26

If you're grinding a small amount of grain for a partial mash or speciality grain additions to an extract brew, you could use a Corona mill. They don't provide a particularly good crush, and your efficiency will suffer, but if the bulk your fermentables comes from extract, it won't matter too much. And it'll be miles better than a food processor.

You can often find these mills and second-hand and thrift stores for next to nothing.

A better, but more expensive, option is a roller mill like the JSP malt mill. This sort of mill will produce a much better crush, will process grain quickly and is adjustable.

If you want to learn more about milling grain, Braukaiser has a great article.

Edit: Based on the comment from @brewchez I withdraw my statements regarding crush quality from a Corona mill. My opinion was based on hearsay, his on experience, so I will defer to him.

Denny Conn · Accepted Answer · 2012年4月2日 20:43

The best way to do it is with a grain mill. By buying in bulk, you can use the savings to amortize the cost of a mill pretty quickly. If you have a friend who also brews, you can go in together on a mill to cut the cost. The ease of use and increased efficiency from a proper crush will make you glad you got the right tool for the job.

How to best grind grain at home?

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