I already own a Country Living Grain Mill for making flour and want to start crushing my own grain for my homebrew. Will this style of mill work for homebrew or should I buy a mill specially for homebrew?
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A grain mill that is appropriate for crushing barley for a mash is typically referred to as a grist mill. The mill needs to be set 'open' enough that the husk of the barley seed will crack open, but will not be torn apart. This is due to the need to use the husks as the filtration media during the sparge. A typical grist mill can be opened to a gap of at least 0.070". See this mill at Northern Brewer for a typical example. |
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Are you able to adjust the mill, so that it can mill more coarsely than you would want for flour? If so, I think you should be all set. When brewing all grain, you want a pretty coarse grind; you essentially just want to crack the kernels open, rather than pulverize them. This leaves the husks in tact, and they serve as a filter bed during the sparge process. If you grind too finely, you can end up with a stuck sparge, where the wort doesn't flow through the grain. Imagine if you filled a colander with flour, and then tried to pour water through it. Likely, very little water, if any, would make it through. That is the situation you are trying to avoid. |
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