grain questions

[RobDrechsler]

what's the best way to store grain...

I don't have a grain mill.. rolling pin? on what? how do you tell if it's cracked enough?

[ssage21]

I store my grain in a 5 gallon sealed bucket from Home Depot.

As far as crushing the grain I just take it to my local home brew store and use their mill, but I always need something for the next batch, even if it’s ½ pound of crystal malt.

I guess if it's too far to go a rolling pin would work. I think BYO had an article about that this year.

[Bill Lawrence]

Get yourself a Barley Crusher, those things are great and really not that expensive. I like the convience of being able to crush my grain just before I use it plus it's very easy to adjust the gap spacing depending on what you are trying to do. I usually do 5 gallon batches so I just run mine with an electric drill and it just takes a couple of minutes.It comes with a hand crank but I am way too lazy to be bothered with that, the drill works great.

[NanoBrew]

As Sage mentioned a sealed 5 gallon bucket works fine for keeping the bugs and the moisture out.

I have never heard of anyone using a rolling pin. Seems like it would be difficult to get a consistent crush from batch to batch. I had an old electric flour mill lying around that I am using. It actually has stones for the grinding surfaces, one side is stationary and the other is driven by the motor. Once I figured out how to change the gap so that I could crack it instead of pulverize it it worked pretty good. Been using it for a couple of years now. I never change the gap so I get a very consistent mash efficiency every time I brew.

[Dave Warner]

Has anyone tried to convert a pasta machine into a grain mill? The rollers are stainless and adjustable to six settings but are only about 6" long. Worth a try do you think, or would it take too long to crush? It's not cost effective, but I have one laying around that is rarely used for its intended purpose.

Here's an example:
http://www.akitchen.com/store/vil150sm.html

[Brewboy]

Dave, I really don't know if it would work or not. Just give it a try with a hand full of grain and see. You want the grain crushed and the husk intact. If it does that it should work.

[ejonsson]

I don't think the pasta machine would work as well as a regular grain mill. A pasta machine, like the example you provided, has smooth rollers for rolling the pasta. All the grain mills I've seen have a rough surface on the rollers, so they would seem to get a better crush on the grain.

[RobDrechsler]

skip the rolling pin, not even close

[bendavanza]

No go for the rolling pin, unless you are just trying to crack 1/4 lb of specialty grains. The cheapest mill you will find that works reliably is a corona style mill. they can be adjusted and make a decent crush. I bought a barley crusher and do not regret it at all, the crush is way better that what I was getting at hbhq, I get better efficiency and I can adjust for grains like rye or wheat. People have converted pasta roller machines into grain mills but the rollers are so small and you would need to find a way to knurl at least one of the rollers or the grain will not feed.

[bendavanza]

Oh and if you want a really nice fluffy crush try malt conditioning:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index. ... nditioning

[MixnMatchBrew]

The converted pasta roller does work. If you want to experiment you can get them fairly cheap by using a coupon from one of the hobby stores.

The trick is to use a drill bit and roughen the rollers very aggressively. I have one made if you want it. You would have to pick it up.