Buying Cracked (Crushed) Specialty Grain Online

[lamensterms]

Hey guys,

 

I'm just about to order some specialty grains online, from (CleverBrewing.com.au) and just wanted to get your guys thoughts on the extent of milling the brew shop will do. My understanding is that the specialty grains need only be cracked, not crushed. So my reservation is that the brew shop will "over-mill" the grains.

 

I'll be ordering CaraRed & CaraAroma.

 

One of my mates just got some Carawheat from Clever Brewing. Does this look well milled? Too well?

 

 

 

Does anyone have experience with Clever Brewing?

 

Would you order these grains pre-cracked or crack them yourself?

 

Thanks for any help guys.

[BlackSands]

My understanding is that the specialty grains need only be cracked' date=' not crushed. So my reservation is that the brew shop will "over-mill" the grains.[/quote']

 

That WAS my understanding too, but there's info out there that actually suggests the opposite is in fact true, i.e. a fine crush actually yields a slightly better tasting beer:

 

"... perceived the fine crush beer as having a fuller mouthfeel, greater complexity, and subtle alcohol twang in the finish"

 

This does however refer to both base and specialty malts combined.

 

[Mark D Pirate]

Small quantities can just be rolled with a rolling pin to crack them

 

I did once try to crack almost 5 kg for my first all grain batch until I found a supplier that would do a custom pre milled grainbill

Suffice to say that I only did it once

[lamensterms]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

[ben 10]

Clever Brewing will know what they are doing.

I mix all my grains and use the same setting on the mill regardless of if they are base or cara type grains.

[Quokka]

If you are ordering a grain bill, go ahead and have them cracked. The advantages to getting them uncracked are much longer shelf life and you can add them halfway through the mash to reduce tannins, though I find mash temperature and pH doesn't release as many tannins as steeping.

 

And that milling looks fine to me - there is only anecdotal evidence that a grain cracked and left whole will have any benefit, except possibly for sparging but that is debatable.

[Mark D Pirate]

Hey uncle Ben , do you adjust mill if you're using rye ?

They're smaller grains and I know you led me to loving them ...yup your fault

[ben 10]

Hey uncle Ben ' date=' do you adjust mill if you're using rye ?

[/quote']

 

Nope. I am super lazy.

[Otto Von Blotto]

A coarser crush is usually recommended for all grain brewing in a traditional set up that includes a sparge step because the grains form a proper filter bed and the wort drains through much easier, whereas with a fine crush the wort tends to create channels and if it's fine enough then you end up with a stuck sparge (wort doesn't drain through it at all).

 

Even with BIAB I've found a coarser crush works better than a finer crush, despite all the claims that the crush doesn't matter for BIAB. It has resulted in a better efficiency and also quicker and easier draining of the grain bag after the mash. I mill my grains the same as Ben. I weigh them all out into the mill hopper and run them all through it on the same setting. I only ever use barley grains though, no rye or wheat.

 

For a 200-300g addition of cara grains in a steep only it probably doesn't really matter at all whether they are only cracked or ground more finely. The ones in those photos look fine to me too.

[ChristinaS1]

I think the timing of the crush is more important than the size. I prefer to buy my specialty grains whole and crush them myself, for maximum freshness....I usually only use 200-400gm; for such a small amount, maybe it wouldn't matter if they were stale? I prefer to err on the side of freshness.

 

If I do a partial mash, I'll crush them at the store, because of the larger volume. They may be a day old before I use them.

 

Cheers,

 

Christina.

[Otto Von Blotto]

I think it's always the best option to keep the ingredients as fresh as possible. That's why I have a grain mill, so I can buy all my grains uncracked and have them keep fresh for longer. It's also more convenient than having to work out recipes weeks before brewing them or whatever.

 

Getting grains cracked by the brew shop and then using them a day or two later won't be a problem though, they don't go off that quickly if they are packaged properly.

[BlackSands]

I think it's always the best option to keep the ingredients as fresh as possible.

Which is one reason why I buy local' date=' i.e. Gladfield rather than imported grains. [img']cool[/img]

[Hoppy81]

Hey Guys/Gals,

 

I'm just diving into using specialty grains and was wondering how long will vacuum sealed cracked grains last?

[Quokka]

If actually vacuum sealed, or the bag filled with CO2 or nitrogen (or argon for that matter,) they should keep a few months in a cool dark place. But if it is only specialty grains, I suggest using a rolling pin and ziploc bag. I bought a cheap mill, but it did take a few modifications for it to work right, and it is still messy and time consuming.