Grain Mill

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TheBucker
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Grain Mill

Post by TheBucker » Fri Aug 14, 2020 5:51 pm

Can anyone suggest a quality grain mill that doesn’t cost and a leg?

Thanks in advance


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Re: Grain Mill

Post by McGruff » Sat Aug 15, 2020 8:09 am

They all seem to be expensive now a days. I would not buy a cheap one, you get what you pay for. A good one will last for years and years.

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Re: Grain Mill

Post by Woody » Sat Aug 15, 2020 5:11 pm


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ConanTroutman
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Re: Grain Mill

Post by ConanTroutman » Sat Aug 15, 2020 6:13 pm

A good drill is key too

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mumblecrunch
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Re: Grain Mill

Post by mumblecrunch » Sat Aug 15, 2020 6:21 pm

Woody wrote:https://www.noblegrape.ca/products/mill ... lbs-hopper

Worth it's weight in gold.
Absolutely. I have this mill and it’s a major step up from the basic budget two-roller mill. I don’t anticipate I’ll be upgrading it in the next 10-15 years (I brew once a month or so).


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Re: Grain Mill

Post by darciandjenn » Mon Aug 17, 2020 8:11 am

Woody wrote:
Sat Aug 15, 2020 5:11 pm
https://www.noblegrape.ca/products/mill ... lbs-hopper

Worth it's weight in gold.
Another vote for this mill; just ordered it recently and it's been as advertised

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Re: Grain Mill

Post by PMackie » Mon Aug 17, 2020 1:25 pm

Woody wrote:
Sat Aug 15, 2020 5:11 pm
https://www.noblegrape.ca/products/mill ... lbs-hopper

Worth it's weight in gold.
I have the MM3 and its a beast. I don't think I'll be replacing it for another 15 years.
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Re: Grain Mill

Post by ConanTroutman » Mon Aug 17, 2020 3:02 pm

I have the MM3, only gripe is it can be a bit finicky with wheat.

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Re: Grain Mill

Post by PMackie » Mon Aug 17, 2020 4:47 pm

ConanTroutman wrote:
Mon Aug 17, 2020 3:02 pm
I have the MM3, only gripe is it can be a bit finicky with wheat.
Rye as well, I have to run it through twice, but that is because its a smaller grain and I don't want to adjust it for one grain. Its adjusted for the others.
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Re: Grain Mill

Post by danlatimer » Mon Aug 24, 2020 2:14 pm

I bought this one over two years ago and it's still going without problems.

https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/The_Bar ... er-7lb.htm

I agree, get a quality drill though. The first one I got was a RYOBI corded drill, it was literally outputting smoke after milling a batch of grain haha. I took it back and paid the extra $15 for a dewalt coded drill and haven't had problems with it

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Re: Grain Mill

Post by amartin » Mon Aug 24, 2020 9:12 pm

I have a barley crusher too. For the last couple of years it’s been worn down so I have to run everything through twice, at 0.042 and then 0.030. However, I bought it probably close to ten years ago and for three or four years I was milling 40-50 pounds per month. So, it’s held up pretty well. Just the same, when it finally wears down too much I might get an MM2.


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Re: Grain Mill

Post by McGruff » Wed Aug 26, 2020 8:52 am

I am still using my 17 year old Valley Mill. It has notches to change the gap. For years I just left it on notch 3, now I mill on notch 4, but it is still working fine. They are no longer in business though.
Last edited by McGruff on Thu Nov 05, 2020 8:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Grain Mill

Post by Peyts » Wed Nov 04, 2020 9:33 am

Stay clear of the Evil Twin. Lasted about 3 grist crushes until starting giving me hassles.
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Re: Grain Mill

Post by wcturnedec » Wed Nov 04, 2020 1:26 pm

Peyts wrote:Stay clear of the Evil Twin. Lasted about 3 grist crushes until starting giving me hassles.
Really? What sort of hassles?

I had some issues initially, mainly with the gap but once I got it dialled in it’s been smooth sailing. But I mean for $170 you get what you pay for lol


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Re: Grain Mill

Post by Peyts » Fri Nov 06, 2020 8:32 am

My issues weren't with gap, as once I had that set, I was pleased.

The problem with mine was... well... oddly enough to say, that it would often not crush any grain, but rather leave it spinning on top of the rollers.

Allow me to explain.

The grain would start to crush, however for some reason the active roller would be spinning, with grain on top, but the passive roller would not engage. I would have to put my hand through the grain and stick a finger on the passive roller, with the drill / hand crank spinning the active roller, for it to once again commence. That would need to be done probably 20-30 times just to get through a 5 kilo grist. And trust me, shoving my finger into the rollers to get the passive one spinning was not pleasant.

I know it sounds like the gap may have been too wide, but trust me it was not even close to it.

I returned it this week to Noble Grape for them to check it out... they found it had the same problem, and offered to replace it or put the full price towards an upgrade.

I chose the upgrade: Monster MM2 Mill. Now that thing is a friggin beast compared to the Evil Twin.

All that said, I believe the Evil Twin is good if you are brewing once or twice a month, and not doing huge grain bills (like I have done with a Russian Imperial Stout, for example). But since I brew more often than that, use heavier grain bills, and prefer to spin with a drill than a hand crank (I used the drill on the ET, but apparently that may have caused my problem), the Evil Twin was not for me.
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Re: Grain Mill

Post by Peyts » Sat Nov 07, 2020 10:09 am

Just ran my first grain bill (for the Brewnosers Advent Calendar) through the Monster MM2.

Holy sweet Baby J! That thing is obnoxiously awesome.

Well worth the price increase from the Evil Twin. Zero doubt about it.
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Re: Grain Mill

Post by Woody » Sat Nov 07, 2020 9:41 pm

Peyts wrote:
Sat Nov 07, 2020 10:09 am
Just ran my first grain bill (for the Brewnosers Advent Calendar) through the Monster MM2.

Holy sweet Baby J! That thing is obnoxiously awesome.

Well worth the price increase from the Evil Twin. Zero doubt about it.
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Re: Grain Mill

Post by powfield » Tue Feb 09, 2021 10:38 am

I bought the Evil Twin and have not run into any problems yet. I have run 4 or 5 grain bills through so far.

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Re: Grain Mill

Post by wcturnedec » Tue Feb 09, 2021 10:46 am

powfield wrote:
Tue Feb 09, 2021 10:38 am
I bought the Evil Twin and have not run into any problems yet. I have run 4 or 5 grain bills through so far.
Same here, it hasn't been perfect by any means and took some getting use to. As I mentioned previously the gap took some fenagling and I found if I loaded up the entire hopper with grain it would struggle to feed it through the rollers. I think the instructions mentioned feeding a couple handfuls through to sort of prime the rollers then dump in the rest once some grain went through.

I've been using it for 2+ years now and its still rockin :rockin:
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