First note to Trout: Go straight to end of post!
2trout wrote:OK I'm going for it? Who's going to stop me!
Me!
Just joking trout but do consider the following...
On the Mechanical Side
1. Todd's mentioned the corona mill worked well for him and I would trust his advice. My only experience of a hand driven mill though was at a mate's place where we had to use his one to crush 11 kilos (24 lbs). We were both drunk before we even started the brew, it took so long. Seriously. (Good day but
).
2. If you want a bigger mill, then you want to do it properly. Don't get some mill with small rollers. My mill has two big rollers and does a beautiful 'squash'. Such a mill will cost you and that cost is just the start.
3. A bigger mill can be a
major DIY project to motorise and also much more expensive, especially if you consider time, than the mill itself. I had to think on saving space with my mill and came up with a design that is pretty cool (I'll post pics later on the weekend here). But, I was also extremely lucky that, at the time, I was able to buy a very heavy slow 'mixer' drill very cheaply. The ratios etc worked out perfectly.
4. And then you have to make a hopper.
5. And then you have to have scales.
Setting up a big mill can take a lot of time and money.
On the Practical Side
1. A mill is not going to save you that many trips to the store. I have about three base malts here and a lot of specialty malts but there is always something I don't have when I go to brew. (Usually missing some hops or yeast as well and I do stock up
)
2. A mill and grain is going to take up space. You also need to consider buying a lot of plastic 'tupperware'? of varying sizes to store your specialty grains in.
3. Label your grains with the date you purchase them. You won't believe how quickly you build up a selection of grains that you have no idea why you bought in the first place
.
4. False economy: We often use cost savings on grain purchases to justify the our purchase of a mill and this can be true but often it is not. For example, our recipe needs 350 grams of chocolate malt so we buy a 500 gram pack. The remaining 150 grams either does not get used or is not enough to do a second brew so we have to drive to the shop or have some mailed again.
What's your Local/Mail Order Home Brew Shop like?
Pre-ordering stuff via email or online and then picking it up or having it delivered can be a real asset. For a start, it forces you to think through your brews in advance. On the grain side, many shops will only charge you for the actual weight of grains used in the recipe so you are not paying for grain that you are not using.
Furthermore, some shops will crush and vacuum pack the recipe for you. This will last for ages.
If you have access to a good home brewing shop, I'd really think twice before going the mill route.
My Situation
I'm quite proud of my mill set-up but my purchase of it, maybe 5 years ago, has not turned out to be a time or money saver. When I brew now, I usually brew the equivalent of 4 batches in one go. I have to pre-plan them and, of course, I have to go the shop or order grain online. I can use my local shop's mill for free so I'm not really gaining anything by having my mill at home. If you really wanted to save money, you could actually buy a bag of grain yourself, even if only brewing once a month, and just take the grain you want to crush to the shop each time you brew but who wants a bag of grain hanging around for 5 months and who really wants to go that far?
What I'm saying is the you don't need grain mill to be a real brewer
,
PP
Second note to Trout: I just know you are going to get a mill regardless of what is written above so really looking forward to seeing pics of your new grain mill after Christmas. Good on you
.
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