Which Grain Mill Should I Buy?

[jcav]

Ok, so I am getting ready to buy a grain mill. The three best I have seen offered are the JSP MaltMill, The Barley Crusher, and the Monster Mill. They all come highly recommended. Is one really better than the other, or is it like Coke or Pepsi, and and just a matter of personal preference. As of now I am leaning towards the Barley Crusher. Any feed back is most appreciated so I don't make a bad purchase.

John

 

[noremorse1]

I can personally recommend The Barley Crusher.

 

[jcav]

I can personally recommend The Barley Crusher.

Thanks noremorse1, it looks like it will do the job and I like the way it securely mounts to a bucket.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Seven]

I have a barley crusher and it works well. It's easy to set the gap distance between the rollers but you'll need some feeler gauges to get the proper spacing. I haven't quite figured out how to run it with a drill yet (the metal rod only has one flat side to it so it makes me question the integrity of the mating between the drill and the metal rod) but it's probably just me.

 

[slykwilli]

I just bought a Barley Crusher 2 weeks ago and it worked great on it's first brew! For the money, warranty, and ease of use I just couldn't pass it up. No matter which you choose of what you listed you can't go wrong, but 145$ with complete with everything you need to set it on a bucket securely, it gets my vote.

 

[Pappers_]

I have been pleased with the Malt Mill, which I've been using for about three years.

 

[Psych]

Another vote for Barley Crusher here. I used to get between 55% and 75% on all my batches using a home made pasta-roller mill, since moving to the Barley Crusher I've consistently gotten 82% (across three batches now).

It's a nice solid feel, fits so nicely in my taller 6gallon bucket, and even by hand it's pretty fast. Worth the $140 I spent on it, especially for no extra setup costs.

 

[wyoder]

We've got a barley crusher, works great. The handle can be removed and a 3/8" electric/battery drill attached for pain free crushing.

Just be sure that you're holding the base firmly or the torque will flip the mill over, YAY!!! But who knows, with accidents like this you learn that small amounts of cat hair/food isn't a problem in your beer.

 

[rico567]

I use a "Victoria" type Corona mill I got on eBay for $23 delivered. It gives a great crush, I always hit my numbers when brewing a batch.

 

[modenacart]

I am very happy with my barley crusher.

 

[Beerens]

Barley Crusher!!!

 

[brewskerdoo]

For the price, Barley Crusher is far and away the best value. If i recall correctly, with the competitors models, the base and hopper were not includes in the base price.
BC comes ready to go out of the box.

 

[Dgonza9]

I'm happy with my Monster Mill. It has three rollers, which supposedly leads to less shredded husks and therefore a better crush. I motorized mine, though, and a three roller mill requires more torque than the Barley Crusher.

From the sound of it, you are looking for something you can use right out of the box. The Barley Crusher fits this bill nicely. Although the MM can be ordered with the hopper and a mounting board for use over a bucket.

Here's my Motorized Monster Mill.

 

[JoeyChopps]

I love my corona ...just sayin

 

[LVBen]

I use a "Victoria" type Corona mill I got on eBay for $23 delivered. It gives a great crush, I always hit my numbers when brewing a batch.

Can you use a drill on a corona mill or do you have to hand crank it?

 

[Beerens]

I used a drill on my corona but it made a terrible mess...

 

[JoeyChopps]

I got mine in a bucket ( ala my ugly corona station ) and we hand crank it and I love mine

 

[crazyseany]

is the larger hopper worth looking at if buying the barley crusher? I guess if you are doing a batch it's not like you are crushing a 55lb bag...

or do you run it all through at one time or??

 

[slykwilli]

I bought it with the larger bin... seems to save a bit of time for me. For 10g batch I fill the bin and run it empty, then fill it again. With a smaller bin you'd have to fill it more times, but it would work just fine.

 

[jcav]

Wow thanks everyone for all the replies. I ended up pulling the trigger on a Barley Crusher. I got the small hopper for now, that large one looks huge (gotta think storage to you know). I found it for a great price at Austin Homebrew here is the link.

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_33_82_91&products_id=12242

$124.99 and free shipping, can't beat that!!! Thanks again everyone for giving me some sound advice. I heard the larger 1/2 inch drills work better than the 3/8 inch drills. I will try the crank handle and then my drills to see what works better. I also hear the factory spacing settings are ideal right out of the box. Works for me one less thing to fool with as I dial in my Brutus Clone...............She is almost finished!

Good Brewing To All Of You!

John

 

[jcav]

I'm happy with my Monster Mill. It has three rollers, which supposedly leads to less shredded husks and therefore a better crush. I motorized mine, though, and a three roller mill requires more torque than the Barley Crusher.

From the sound of it, you are looking for something you can use right out of the box. The Barley Crusher fits this bill nicely. Although the MM can be ordered with the hopper and a mounting board for use over a bucket.

Here's my Motorized Monster Mill.

Sweet set up you got there Dgonza9, motorized and everything!

 

[iaefebs]

Wow the barley crusher guy's and the corona guy's were out in full force on this post. I bet the next time this question is asked.. tomorrow? next week? The monster mill guy's will speak up... or will it be the the JSP's ? Crankandstein's ? I know the corona guy's are always here with the $23 mill