Cheap grain mill

[mccarthy]

does anyone know where you can get a cheap grain mill? I've seen enough on different websites but don't particularly want to order one, I'd much rather just pick one up some where but i pretty much only see the kitchen-aid attachment and since i don't have one of those it's of little use.

[slothrob]

The only cheap mill I know of is the Carona mill and similar corn mills. They require some modification to work well for brewing, but a lot of people have used them over the years. I've heard that they're often cheap (~$25) at Big Lots, but they never have them when I've gone. The brewshops usually sell them for $45-65. Beer and Wine Hobby in Woburn sells them for $60, which I think is overpriced for what they are.

I bought a Barley Crusher online for about $120, which is about as cheap as the dedicated mills come. I think the single roller Phil Mill is about $110.

[mccarthy]

thanks man

[Legman]

What kind of modification do you have to do to make it work good? And why doesn't it work well enough for brewing?

[slothrob]

What kind of modification do you have to do to make it work good? And why doesn't it work well enough for brewing?

I'm hesitant to say that it doesn't work well for brewing because many use them. However, it's designed to grind rather finely for brewing, so the common modification is to add washers to the adjustment screw to set a gap that works well for brewing.

It's a cheap fix, just takes a little time and ingenuity. My Barley Crusher worked right from the box at 75% efficiency. I did pay for that luxury, though.

The other problem it can have is that, because it's a grinder instead of a crusher, it tends to tear the husks. Setting the gap well seems to reduce this to an acceptable level.