31 replies to this topic

[Big Nake]

Well, I had no real issues with my mill until I started conditioning and that's when I would hit the drill and the rollers would just spin without forcing the grain through. Slightly opening the gap fixed that and my beers have been good so I don't know that I would change anything. I guess I could skip the conditioning altogether and see how the mill behaves but I resist change in general.

[denny]

so worst case it does nothing

 

the proponents of doing it, if I remember correctly, were saying you could tighten up your mill b/c the husks wouldn't shred as easily.

 

my mill has been at it's tightest gap for 16 years and hasn't changed.  As I understand, the purpose behind not shredding husks is that it promotes easier lautering.  But by using the braid I don't have any issues with lautering already.  Seems like keeping husks intact is a remedy for a poor lauter system and I'd rather address that at the source.

Edited by denny, 18 September 2017 - 10:56 AM.

[BrewerGeorge]

I don't even care if it improves efficiency of anything like that.  If I can get a successful crush while still keeping dust to a minimum, I'm all in.

[Big Nake]

I don't even care if it improves efficiency of anything like that.  If I can get a successful crush while still keeping dust to a minimum, I'm all in.

I think you can do that with conditioning the malt. That part of it should be relatively straightforward. At the ballpark they spray water on the infield to keep the dust down... you're doing the same thing here. There are variables though... your grain, how much water, your mill, etc.

[positiveContact]

I don't even care if it improves efficiency of anything like that.  If I can get a successful crush while still keeping dust to a minimum, I'm all in.

 

how about a fan to blow the dust out the window?  keep a shop vac running near by?

[pkrone]

Some of this may come down to the mill too. I have the 2-roller Barley Crusher and one roller is active while the other is passive. Some brewers who have the 3-roller Crankenstein or similar have mentioned that you cannot make the mill miss or stall... it just crushes. Period. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with my mill but it does work.

 

How old is your barley crusher?    I've got a 2-roller Crankenstein that's about 14 years old now and I have to be a little more meticulous about getting it started than I use to.   Weird.    It still could be from the relative "softness" of the conditioned grain.  Or maybe the rollers have just worn down a bit.  

[pkrone]

my mill has been at it's tightest gap for 16 years and hasn't changed.  As I understand, the purpose behind not shredding husks is that it promotes easier lautering.  But by using the braid I don't have any issues with lautering already.  Seems like keeping husks intact is a remedy for a poor lauter system and I'd rather address that at the source.

 

By "poor" you mean different from yours, right?      My system is very crush-dependent, but I think it's far from a poor system.

[Big Nake]

How old is your barley crusher?    I've got a 2-roller Crankenstein that's about 14 years old now and I have to be a little more meticulous about getting it started than I use to.   Weird.    It still could be from the relative "softness" of the conditioned grain.  Or maybe the rollers have just worn down a bit.

It's only 5 years old or so. I have a bud who runs a metal fabrication shop (he actually makes the 8mm spouts for Perlick and Ventmatic faucets) and he told me that the "knurls" will lose their mojo at some point and the mill will not be quite as sharp as it once was. Not sure if it's the age of the mill or just the traffic on it. I brew a lot of beer and use my mill almost every weekend. It may just be "sunsetting"...

[denny]

By "poor" you mean different from yours, right?      My system is very crush-dependent, but I think it's far from a poor system.

 

No, by "poor" I mean a lauter design that has problems when you crush any way you like.

Edited by denny, 24 September 2017 - 10:10 AM.

[pkrone]

Interesting.   I don't know of any systems that would that would allow effective lautering with crushes ranging from very coarse to pulverized flour.   Can you elaborate on such a design?

[denny]

Interesting.   I don't know of any systems that would that would allow effective lautering with crushes ranging from very coarse to pulverized flour.   Can you elaborate on such a design?

 

SS hose braid 

 

Admittedly, my answer was rushed.  I haven't tried 100% flour.  But I crush with as tight a gap as my mill will allow, get a lot of flour and have never had a stuck runoff.

Edited by denny, 25 September 2017 - 02:47 PM.

[pkrone]

Gotcha.  

 

I guess we're really comparing apples to oranges anyway.      It's not really my lauter system that's crush-dependent.   It's the whole system that's crush-dependent since it's a RIMS.   Too fine and it'll get stuck halfway through the mash,  too coarse and my efficiency is unacceptably low.    I like the conditioning because it leaves more of the husk intact which works great for me and I don't have to keep an emergency stash of rice hulls on hand- unless I'm doing a weissbier.