The mill you have is the same one I use. What I do is set them as close as possible so grain can't go through. Than I drop in about 5 grains. Than I slowly open it until all the grains fall through. After that I turn it in about 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn and set the grains back in and start sample cracking and turning it in closer until I get the consistency I personally like.
That is a good approach. A lot of people say to go for a certain gap size and you’re set, but the truth is that malt is different between batches and brands. The best method is always the one that makes good beer for you.
Cheers to awesome beer that’s why we home brew our own on our channel . We just subscribed to your channel after your video found us . We love growing hops making mead and wines and others . Stay thirsty and brew good beer.
So weird that nobody talk much about grain crush, but as you probably mentioned, this is the most important part of the brew =) Great video. Btw, I found your channel very helpful! Subscribed =)
Hello. Thanks for the video. Can you please specify how many millimeters you adjusted the rollers to? On my mill it says on the side, on the adjustment wheels: 0.5 or 0.3 mm. Thank you in advance.
Hey, no worries at all. I believe the factory setting was .039”, but I adjusted mine closer to .042”. This resulted in a slight loss of brewhouse efficiency in favor of more consistent lauters. My brewing system is notorious for having tricky lauters though, I would definitely recommend experimenting/keeping detailed brew logs and see what works best for your particular setup.
The first thing to consider before crushing malt is knowing if the malt being crushed is capable of producing ale and lager. There are two types of malt on the market, high modified, high protein, malt, and under modified, low protein, malt, one is better for making whiskey, and one makes ale and lager. High modified, high protein, malt is used in grain distillation with the single temperature infusion method, which produces moonshiners beer. Under modified, low protein, malt is used for producing ale and lager. Under modified, malt is richer in enzyme content than high modified, malt, and low protein, malt contains more starch/sugar. To know the difference between the malts, a malt spec sheet comes with every bag of malt, they are online from every malthouse. Level of malt modification (Kolbach), protein content, and a few other chemical acronyms and numbers are listed, which a brewer uses for determining the quality of malt, before purchasing malt. A recipe that doesn't list the malthouse is invalid because a malt spec sheet cannot be obtained. There is hard, heat resistant, complex starch in malt, called amylopectin, it makes up the tips of malt, and it is the richest starch. The starch contains the ingredients that provides body and mouthfeel in ale, which are limit dextrin and pectin. The problem with the home brew method is that the temperatures aren't high enough to burst the heat resistant starch, where it would enter into the mash liquid, before Alpha denatures, and the starch is thrown away with the spent mash, paid for. To take advantage of amylopectin, the triple decoction and Hochkurz brewing methods are used, where mash is boiled a few times. When mash boils, amylopectin rapidly bursts and enters into the mash liquid. The boiling mash is added back into the main mash resting at a low temperature to preserve enzymes, mash temperature increases, and Alpha liquefies the starch causing dextrinization and gelatinization to occur. The finest ales and lagers are produced from dextrinous extract. In home made beer, starch carry over, Beta Glucan, and protein sludge provides body and mouthfeel. In the single temperature infusion method, temperatures are too, high, and low temperature activated enzymes that produce ale and lager rapidly denature, Beta in particular. Beta is responsible for conversion which occurs around 140 to 145F. During conversion, Beta turns simple sugar, glucose, into fermentable, complex types of sugar, maltose and maltotriose. Maltose and maltotriose are the sugars that produce ale and lager, glucose makes the alcohol. When conversion occurs, secondary fermentation takes place due to maltose. Maltotriose is responsible for natural carbonation. Priming sugar and CO2 injection aren't needed to carbonate ale. STAY PARCHED. STAY TERRIBLY PARCHED.
Looks like I have homework to do. Hahaha I really appreciate you taking the time to share such detailed info. I will absolutely be sure to reference this before I even consider mashing in again.
I believe the ideal crush for me ended up being between .040-.042”. Slightly wider than the default .039” of The Barley Crusher malt mill that I use. This is specific for my system though. I had issues with slow lauters due to too fine of a grain crush, so I sacrificed a bit of efficiency in favor of smoother/more consistent brews. Basically the intent of this video was to encourage people to ‘fuck around and find out’ in a positive way.
if you crush too fine...it's a pump on pump off thing and a bit of stirring. You will win the OG/FG thing if you put in the work. Do you want efficiency or a lazy brew day?
I personally aim for consistency. If I can maximum extract while maintaining a ~1% brewhouse efficiency between batches then I call that a success. Sure you can dilute with water at/after knockout but I like to keep my hop utilization and batch size as exact as possible. Stirring and changing processes drastically increases likelihood of missing your targets. Everybody has a different philosophy though.
Good stuff, thanks for making this. I’ve also kept the ‘too fine’ setting as recommended by Monster Mill M3 (not their fault, they don’t know my system etc). Having some astringency problems so will give your setup a shot! I can tell just by looking that mine are set a lot more tight than yours but can you give the gap a measure with that feeler gauge?
The column pressure is the problem that must be contended with. For example a one inch by one inch column puts more and more downward pressure on the grain at the bottom of the column which can increase the chance of a stuck mash and can increase the chance of channeling. Since you already have your brew rig which has a column pressure you must experiment to find a grind that is less likely to stick. Of course adding rice hulls can help when throughly mixed into the mash! Many of these all in one brew pots have this same issue.
Absolutely. Thats one of the ‘features’ of brew systems like the Brewzilla and Grainfather. Rice hulls are pretty much a given for my brews these days. I don’t doubt that it’s possible to get things dialed in enough to not need them but I think it would come at the cost of efficiency. It’s not like rice hulls are terribly expensive anyway. Cheaper than malt at least! At the end of the day it’s all about figuring out what works with your system and how far you want to go down the rabbit hole. It’s all a part of the fun. Cheers!
Hi Ty. Thanks for the video. Question: What is the best grain crush to produce more alcohol in the beer? I have the same system you have and I never reach the original gravity of more than 1.065 even with my recipe reaching 1.090.
Hey Wilson! So there could be a few different causes to your low extract problem. The first thing I would look into is your overalll mash/Lauter setup. If your efficiency is normal for standard gravity beers (1.050-ish), but you have low OE on higher gravity beers with larger grain bills then you’re probably losing efficiency due to your mash/Lauter vessel. This is normal and expected and there are a few ways to remedy this. You can either: Substitute some of your base malt for malt extract of a similar variety (ie 2-Row for DME). A good strategy is to aim for approx 1.060-1.070 from grain and make up the remainder with malt extracts. This would be my first choice. You could also consider doing a reiterated or double mash. Basically mash half of your grains (maybe leave the dark malts/adjuncts for the second mash so you don’t get any astringent or off-flavors). Just make sure you skip the mash-off step for the first mash as that will kill off your enzymes. Hope this helps and isn’t too much of a ramble. Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try to answer when I can!
@@tybrewing9807 I substituted part of my grain bill for 2-Row DME and I reached 1.081 OG. Thank you for your suggestion. I guess my mash vessel is not so good for larger grain bills. I am using a BrewZilla 35L.
The mill you have is the same one I use. What I do is set them as close as possible so grain can't go through. Than I drop in about 5 grains. Than I slowly open it until all the grains fall through. After that I turn it in about 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn and set the grains back in and start sample cracking and turning it in closer until I get the consistency I personally like.
That is a good approach. A lot of people say to go for a certain gap size and you’re set, but the truth is that malt is different between batches and brands. The best method is always the one that makes good beer for you.
Cheers to awesome beer that’s why we home brew our own on our channel . We just subscribed to your channel after your video found us . We love growing hops making mead and wines and others . Stay thirsty and brew good beer.
Thanks for stopping by and for subscribing! Cheers!
So weird that nobody talk much about grain crush, but as you probably mentioned, this is the most important part of the brew =) Great video.
Btw, I found your channel very helpful! Subscribed =)
Thank you very much!
Hello. Thanks for the video. Can you please specify how many millimeters you adjusted the rollers to? On my mill it says on the side, on the adjustment wheels: 0.5 or 0.3 mm. Thank you in advance.
Hey, no worries at all. I believe the factory setting was .039”, but I adjusted mine closer to .042”. This resulted in a slight loss of brewhouse efficiency in favor of more consistent lauters.
My brewing system is notorious for having tricky lauters though, I would definitely recommend experimenting/keeping detailed brew logs and see what works best for your particular setup.
The first thing to consider before crushing malt is knowing if the malt being crushed is capable of producing ale and lager. There are two types of malt on the market, high modified, high protein, malt, and under modified, low protein, malt, one is better for making whiskey, and one makes ale and lager. High modified, high protein, malt is used in grain distillation with the single temperature infusion method, which produces moonshiners beer. Under modified, low protein, malt is used for producing ale and lager. Under modified, malt is richer in enzyme content than high modified, malt, and low protein, malt contains more
starch/sugar. To know the difference between the malts, a malt spec sheet comes with every bag of malt, they are online from every malthouse. Level of malt modification (Kolbach), protein content, and a few other chemical acronyms and numbers are listed, which a brewer uses for determining the quality of malt, before purchasing malt. A recipe that doesn't list the malthouse is invalid because a malt spec sheet cannot be obtained.
There is hard, heat resistant, complex starch in malt, called amylopectin, it makes up the tips of malt, and it is the richest starch. The starch contains the ingredients that provides body and mouthfeel in ale, which are limit dextrin and pectin. The problem with the home brew method is that the temperatures aren't high enough to burst the heat resistant starch, where it would enter into the mash liquid, before Alpha denatures, and the starch is thrown away with the spent mash, paid for. To take advantage of amylopectin, the triple decoction and Hochkurz brewing methods are used, where mash is boiled a few times. When mash boils, amylopectin rapidly bursts and enters into the mash liquid. The boiling mash is added back into the main mash resting at a low temperature to preserve enzymes, mash temperature increases, and Alpha liquefies the starch causing dextrinization and gelatinization to occur. The finest ales and lagers are produced from dextrinous extract. In home made beer, starch carry over, Beta Glucan, and protein sludge provides body and mouthfeel.
In the single temperature infusion method, temperatures are too, high, and low temperature activated enzymes that produce ale and lager rapidly denature, Beta in particular. Beta is responsible for conversion which occurs around 140 to 145F. During conversion, Beta turns simple sugar, glucose, into fermentable, complex types of sugar, maltose and maltotriose. Maltose and maltotriose are the sugars that produce ale and lager, glucose makes the alcohol. When conversion occurs, secondary fermentation takes place due to maltose. Maltotriose is responsible for natural carbonation. Priming sugar and CO2 injection aren't needed to carbonate ale.
STAY PARCHED. STAY TERRIBLY PARCHED.
Looks like I have homework to do. Hahaha
I really appreciate you taking the time to share such detailed info. I will absolutely be sure to reference this before I even consider mashing in again.
What is the mill gap did you use for the "just right" crush?
I believe the ideal crush for me ended up being between .040-.042”. Slightly wider than the default .039” of The Barley Crusher malt mill that I use. This is specific for my system though. I had issues with slow lauters due to too fine of a grain crush, so I sacrificed a bit of efficiency in favor of smoother/more consistent brews. Basically the intent of this video was to encourage people to ‘fuck around and find out’ in a positive way.
if you crush too fine...it's a pump on pump off thing and a bit of stirring. You will win the OG/FG thing if you put in the work. Do you want efficiency or a lazy brew day?
I personally aim for consistency. If I can maximum extract while maintaining a ~1% brewhouse efficiency between batches then I call that a success. Sure you can dilute with water at/after knockout but I like to keep my hop utilization and batch size as exact as possible. Stirring and changing processes drastically increases likelihood of missing your targets.
Everybody has a different philosophy though.
Good stuff, thanks for making this. I’ve also kept the ‘too fine’ setting as recommended by Monster Mill M3 (not their fault, they don’t know my system etc). Having some astringency problems so will give your setup a shot! I can tell just by looking that mine are set a lot more tight than yours but can you give the gap a measure with that feeler gauge?
Sorry it took me a while to get back on this! I just checked it and it looks like it's around .045" - .046".
The column pressure is the problem that must be contended with. For example a one inch by one inch column puts more and more downward pressure on the grain at the bottom of the column which can increase the chance of a stuck mash and can increase the chance of channeling. Since you already have your brew rig which has a column pressure you must experiment to find a grind that is less likely to stick. Of course adding rice hulls can help when throughly mixed into the mash! Many of these all in one brew pots have this same issue.
Absolutely. Thats one of the ‘features’ of brew systems like the Brewzilla and Grainfather. Rice hulls are pretty much a given for my brews these days. I don’t doubt that it’s possible to get things dialed in enough to not need them but I think it would come at the cost of efficiency. It’s not like rice hulls are terribly expensive anyway. Cheaper than malt at least!
At the end of the day it’s all about figuring out what works with your system and how far you want to go down the rabbit hole. It’s all a part of the fun. Cheers!
Se poate face decorticarea griului SPELTA cuaceasta moară ? Mulțumesc
I don’t have any experience milling Spelt but I believe you would be able to.
Hi Ty. Thanks for the video. Question: What is the best grain crush to produce more alcohol in the beer? I have the same system you have and I never reach the original gravity of more than 1.065 even with my recipe reaching 1.090.
Hey Wilson!
So there could be a few different causes to your low extract problem. The first thing I would look into is your overalll mash/Lauter setup. If your efficiency is normal for standard gravity beers (1.050-ish), but you have low OE on higher gravity beers with larger grain bills then you’re probably losing efficiency due to your mash/Lauter vessel. This is normal and expected and there are a few ways to remedy this. You can either:
Substitute some of your base malt for malt extract of a similar variety (ie 2-Row for DME). A good strategy is to aim for approx 1.060-1.070 from grain and make up the remainder with malt extracts. This would be my first choice.
You could also consider doing a reiterated or double mash. Basically mash half of your grains (maybe leave the dark malts/adjuncts for the second mash so you don’t get any astringent or off-flavors). Just make sure you skip the mash-off step for the first mash as that will kill off your enzymes.
Hope this helps and isn’t too much of a ramble. Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try to answer when I can!
@@tybrewing9807 I will try your two suggestions and check the results. Thank you so much for your help.
Absolutely! Let me know how it goes!
@@tybrewing9807 I substituted part of my grain bill for 2-Row DME and I reached 1.081 OG. Thank you for your suggestion. I guess my mash vessel is not so good for larger grain bills. I am using a BrewZilla 35L.
Glad to hear it! It’s a common problem. Even the big breweries use extracts/adjuncts to hit their targets ok occasion. As long as the beer is good!