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To Crush or Not to Crush


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#1 Hooperjetcar

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 06:17 AM

So I was reading the what crusher so you own, and in an effort not to threadjack that one, I have a question. I do not own a crusher. I am a bit hit and miss with my brewing, I will brew a lot for a month or so, and then go 6 months or a year without brewing. My LHBS does not charge to crush, and they do a good job. I could get price discounts by buying bulk bags of grains, but to be honest, I am just not sure that I would use a whole bag before I ended up on an extended break again. So what is the consensus, is it worth paying the per pound price for on demand inventory, or would you spring for a crusher. Just to give some numbers, I am paying about a $0.50 per pound premium over what the LHBS would sell in 55 lb sacks. For a rough average, call it 20 lbs per 10 gallon batch. So break even is at 10 batches, given a very rough estimate of 100 for a crusher. I haven't brewed 100 gallons of beer in the last 2 years combined. I may have just answered my own question. Thanks for listening. Anyone want to give me a reason I should buy a crusher?

#2 BrewerGeorge

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 06:23 AM

Sounds to me like you did answer your own question.

#3 MoreAmmoPlz

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 06:38 AM

- Bulk grain purchases- Fine tune your crushing- Flexible brewing (due to being able to crush and brew whenever)- Smells firkin great when you are crushing

#4 Kremer

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 07:06 AM

for my brewbuddy and I it was an issue of flexibility of altering batches and the hassle of weighing grain, putting it in a tub, and driving down to the LHBS to use their mill. we save a lot of time now by having our own and milling directly into the mashtun.

#5 stadelman

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 07:30 AM

I gained around 10 efficiency points when I started grinding my own. I got 82% efficiency on my last batch and I'm batch sparging. I have a Barley Crusher and I haven't change the default setting. It works great. It takes just a couple minutes to run through a typical grain bill using a cordless drill.

#6 DuncanDad

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 07:38 AM

I don't think I would bother to get a mill.I use my mill about 12X a year. I paid 230.00 for the whole setup. I bought it about 4 years ago.My LHBS does not charge to crush either. So there you have it.

#7 stellarbrew

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 07:53 AM

I had nearly the same question a little while back. Based on most of the answers I got from people, I decided to go ahead and buy a crusher. I'm glad I did, because I enjoy the process, and I like being able to mash with freshly crushed grain, and the freshness it seems to give. An added benefit is flexibility. If I buy my grains pre-crushed from my LHBS or an online supplier, then I feel locked into brewing within two weeks to keep the crushed grains from losing too much freshness. If I'm crushing my own grains, I have more flexibility in deciding when to brew. Also, I can keep enough grain onhand for multiple batches, which adds convenience.

#8 japh

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 10:35 AM

Just to give some numbers, I am paying about a $0.50 per pound premium over what the LHBS would sell in 55 lb sacks. For a rough average, call it 20 lbs per 10 gallon batch. So break even is at 10 batches, given a very rough estimate of 100 for a crusher. I haven't brewed 100 gallons of beer in the last 2 years combined. I may have just answered my own question. Thanks for listening. Anyone want to give me a reason I should buy a crusher?

Running the numbers is the only way to answer this question. For someone in your situation, looking at your brewing history, then it wouldn't be prudent. My LHBS sells basic American Pale 2-row for $1.40/lbs, or I can order a 55lbs sack for $33 (different, sack only, vendor). That's an $0.80/lbs difference, and using your same estimate at 2lbs/gallon beer, that would put my numbers closer to 85 gallons. For the amount I want to brew, that's about a year and a half on the break even point. Of course, I'm tempted to do something like this, and save even more cash....

#9 Hooperjetcar

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 11:21 AM

Running the numbers is the only way to answer this question. For someone in your situation, looking at your brewing history, then it wouldn't be prudent. My LHBS sells basic American Pale 2-row for $1.40/lbs, or I can order a 55lbs sack for $33 (different, sack only, vendor). That's an $0.80/lbs difference, and using your same estimate at 2lbs/gallon beer, that would put my numbers closer to 85 gallons. For the amount I want to brew, that's about a year and a half on the break even point. Of course, I'm tempted to do something like this, and save even more cash....

That is pretty sweet, but I just don't have the needed tools for that.

#10 ncbeerbrewer

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 02:07 PM

Based on your description I would say that I would skip buying a crusher and use the money to get more ingredients or another upgrade to your brewing set up. I see a mill for someone that buys a lot of base malts in bulk and brews often. For me having my own crusher allows me to decide to brew this weekend and not hit up the LHBS thats still 30 40 mins away as well. If you can also buy base grains in bulk then hit up your LHBS bring in your base grains and crush then thing it might work out good too. Also and maybe this is an afterthought for some but you will need some sorta electronic scale to measure everything out as well. But if are not brewing often and don't feel your are overpaying in your malt prices then I say skip the crusher and get other things with the $$$.

#11 Lagerdemain

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 02:28 PM

Not having a grain mill either means having to plan well in advance or being very close to a LHBS with hours that coincide with your brewing. Since I frequently don't decide until brew day what I'm going to be brewing, and live over 100 miles away from the nearest LHBS, it's rather a necessity that I have one. Not saying this is the case for everyone, but your brewing habits and logistics will dictate whether you need to buy this piece of equipment or not.

#12 dagomike

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 02:48 PM

A mill was one of the later upgrades for me. Like you, I wasn't really missing out. LHBS crushed for free. I put my money into the brew rig and fermentation gear. Probably the big thing that got me going on a mill was the LHBS doesn't always carry what I wanted. Plus, every time I wanted to brew it was a trip out there. Now I have an inventory in the basement of all my grains. And buying base grains by the sack, I've paid for it several times over.


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