[Saccharomyces]

Well, I was shooting for 5.75 gallons of wort with an S.G. of 1.068 at the end of boil today.  I wound up with 5.75 gallons of 1.072 wort.  It is one of my Maibockish recipes, so four points in the plus is not a problem. Although, I am glad that I bumped the IBUs up a little bit.  I have been working on an optimal roller gap for my 2-roller Monster Mill.  It is a very different beast than my old Schmidling Malt Mill.  The Schmidling Malt Mill has a finer knurl on the rollers, so it is not an apples to apples comparison gap wise. I started out with 40 thousandths, which was the permanent gap of my old trusty Malt Mill.  The resulting crush was coarser due to the deeper knurl on the Monster Mill.  I then went to 39 thousandths.  The crush looked a little better, but my extraction rate did not go up.  I finally decided to set the gap to a tight 37 thousandths.  The crush looked similar to the Malt Mill, but there was significantly more husk damage with the Monster Mill.  My extract rate now pretty much matches my old fixed-gap Malt Mill (I averaged 29.5 PPG on the Malt Mill, I achieved 29.6 PPG with this batch), but the extra husk damage had me worried.  The grist ended up lautering without any problems. I wish someone would make a 2-roller mill with the finer Schmidling knurl.  Jack could be difficult at times, but his mill, as plain as it was, was on the money.

[denny]

Well, I was shooting for 5.75 gallons of wort with an S.G. of 1.068 at the end of boil today.  I wound up with 5.75 gallons of 1.072 wort.  It is one of my Maibockish recipes, so four points in the plus is not a problem. Although, I am glad that I bumped the IBUs up a little bit.  I have been working on an optimal roller gap for my 2-roller Monster Mill.  It is a very different beast than my old Schmidling Malt Mill.  The Schmidling Malt Mill has a finer knurl on the rollers, so it is not an apples to apples comparison gap wise. I started out with 40 thousandths, which was the permanent gap of my old trusty Malt Mill.  The resulting crush was coarser due to the deeper knurl on the Monster Mill.  I then went to 39 thousandths.  The crush looked a little better, but my extraction rate did not go up.  I finally decided to set the gap to a tight 37 thousandths.  The crush looked similar to the Malt Mill, but there was significantly more husk damage with the Monster Mill.  My extract rate now pretty much matches my old fixed-gap Malt Mill (I averaged 29.5 PPG on the Malt Mill, I achieved 29.6 PPG with this batch), but the extra husk damage had me worried.  The grist ended up lautering without any problems. I wish someone would make a 2-roller mill with the finer Schmidling knurl.  Jack could be difficult at times, but his mill, as plain as it was, was on the money.

Mine is going strong after 20+ years and tons of grain, but I live in fear of the day something happens to it.

[Saccharomyces]

Mine is going strong after 20+ years and tons of grain, but I live in fear of the day something happens to it.

I ran over a ton of grain through my Schmidling Malt Mill before I decided to sell it in 2018.  I held on to my Malt Mill through my entire first hiatus, but did not think I was returning to the hobby due to changes in my life.  My rollers had no visible wear and because I always hand-cranked it, the bearings were in great shape.  I purchased a crank with my 2-roller Monster Mill, but I need to make a base like that found on the Malt Mill to be able to use it effectively.  Even using it with a drill, I do not understand why the designer of the Monster Mill base omitted the rubber bumpers that are found on the Malt Mill.  They hold the mill base in place on a bucket while crushing.

[mabrungard]

I find that I get a great crush with my 2” two roller Monster at about 36 thousanths, conditioning the grain, and a slow roller speed. The husks are very intact and the kernels are fairly finely crushed.

[ynotbrusum]

1.040 with my Schmidling Malt Mill works great for me, but I filter my mash by using a bag in the mash tun or malt pipe.  I could go finer, but I like the results and predictability at this setting.  I rarely have to recalibrate the mill - it pretty much holds a rock solid setting.  I hope it stays that way for another decade or more!  The man from Marengo made a great product.

[narcout]

If I was in the market for a new mill, I would buy one of these:

https://www.ssbrewtech.com/pages/ss-grain-mill

But I'm happy with my Barley Crusher, which is still going strong after 13 or 14 years now (though I did replace the rollers a few years back). 

[denny]

Keep in mind that any mill setting depends on your own system.

[roger]

If I was in the market for a new mill, I would buy one of these:

https://www.ssbrewtech.com/pages/ss-grain-mill

But I'm happy with my Barley Crusher, which is still going strong after 13 or 14 years now (though I did replace the rollers a few years back).

I was looking at that one. After watching this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYvGFWG71nw, I ended up buying a 2-roller Monster Mill. I try not to endorse or criticize any product, but am happy with my purchase, for my brewery. I operate the mill at 180 rpm, and no-sparge brew.