Worth Getting A Grain Mill And Bag Grain

[fergi]

just wondering if its worth buying my own mill and bulk malt grain, at the moment i buy a recipe pack from a retailer who does an excellent product.
grain cracked in plastic bags, hops cryvac individually with 60 min 15 min written on them,and yeast. plus the recipe printed out from the data base.
a 54 liter batch costs me between 50 and 60 dollars depending on what the recipe is used, this includes 2 us05 yeasts in the price.
i like the idea of crushing my own when i need it rather than having to drive a fair distance to pick my order up. does it save you money enough to justify buying a mill.
fergi

 

[DU99]

startup cost is the killer,buying the mill ,but once you get going you will see the saving's...

 

[QldKev]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=site%3Awww.aussiehome...h+buying+a+mill

Too many variables, including how much beer you brew, the convenience of getting to the brew shop etc.

 

[Batz]

just wondering if its worth buying my own mill and bulk malt grain, at the moment i buy a recipe pack from a retailer who does an excellent product.
grain cracked in plastic bags, hops cryvac individually with 60 min 15 min written on them,and yeast. plus the recipe printed out from the data base.
a 54 liter batch costs me between 50 and 60 dollars depending on what the recipe is used, this includes 2 us05 yeasts in the price.
i like the idea of crushing my own when i need it rather than having to drive a fair distance to pick my order up. does it save you money enough to justify buying a mill.
fergi

You need to answer that yourself fergi,how much do you brew? You'll need hops in the freezer and perhaps a vacuum sealer as well. Somewhere to store grain and a few types as well.
Sounds like you have a good retailer there that's doing what you need, think about it mate.

Batz

 

[razz]

I'm with Batz on this one Ferg, your costs from a local supplier look like a good deal.

 

[bum]

Batz post is spot on.

For me, buying a mill and a having a couple bags of grain on hand will never probably end up being better than ordering all my grain on a per batch basis (due to not drinking/brewing a tonne and often buying some base grain for many batches anyway as I like to mix things up a bit pretty often). Having said that, I do really enjoy milling my own grain so the purchase price is still justified to me. I guess it is kinda silly but it is all part of the experience of brewing for me and so I haven't regretted the purchase once. Work out where you sit on the convenience/price/enjoyment spectrum and decide from there.

 

[Nick JD]

There's something very freeing about seeing a recipe somewhere and just ordering the recipe whole sale. Done.

 

[spog]

just wondering if its worth buying my own mill and bulk malt grain, at the moment i buy a recipe pack from a retailer who does an excellent product.
grain cracked in plastic bags, hops cryvac individually with 60 min 15 min written on them,and yeast. plus the recipe printed out from the data base.
a 54 liter batch costs me between 50 and 60 dollars depending on what the recipe is used, this includes 2 us05 yeasts in the price.
i like the idea of crushing my own when i need it rather than having to drive a fair distance to pick my order up. does it save you money enough to justify buying a mill.
fergi

i agree with the above post's,but how close is your hb shop,do you go past on the way to work/shopping etc. i am now buying grain in bulk (25kg) and have my own mill,i have to as the nearest grain supply shop is 660km from me.
just wiegh up your options if you can do without a mill you can then use that money on brewing ingredients

..cheers...spog.......

 

[bookworm1707]

We use the same supplier, check out the grain book. Even more worthwhile.

I had/have a cheap mill, I bought some base grain but then found I was still always short of spec grains or hops. I am upgrading my brew rig to get it where I want, then I will sort out stir plates etc, then comes milling and hop bulk buys.

So my answer is if you don't need to spend anywhere else and you are happy to buy a lot of different grain and hops then go for it!

 

[Batz]

I have a mill, big mobs of grain, freezer full of hops, vacuum sealer, and just about anything else a brewer could need. I once used two pre-packed brews from Marks Home Brew. I really like these for a trial brew, I wish Mark had a shop closer to here as I'll buy may more.

Batz

 

[Spiesy]

A while back I took a look at getting a mill, and I'd still like to do it... at my current rate of brewing 21 litres per fortnight, I think it worked out to pay the mill off in a year (assuming I could supply all the grain I needed, which I doubt)... every brew after that is just saving money. And I do like the idea of waking up in the morning and deciding what to brew, rather than planning ahead. I already have a sizeable amount of hops vacuum sealed.

 

[Cocko]

... I do like the idea of waking up in the morning and deciding what to brew, rather than planning ahead.

That is my favourite part of owning a mill, wake up "Oh, I have some spare time... *rub hands together* Right, what will I brew then.."

And as Bum mentioned, I find it an enjoyable part of the process - weighing up the grain and cracking it.

If you can afford it, get one, I am sure it will hold its value if you decide to sell it.

2c

 

[mika]

..... And I do like the idea of waking up in the morning and deciding what to brew, rather than planning ahead....

This is ultimately my reason for continuing to own a mill. Originally, yeah the HBS was a fair distance, but I can live with that. The bigger issue was I'm 99.9% positive that grains I wanted were being subbed with other brands/types because the HBS didn't have them at the time.
Now I have ~7 bags of grain to choose from and more crystal malts than I'll use in my lifetime, so yeast I'll start up 3-4 days before, but I can now make last minute recipe alterations until about 10mins before I plan to mash in.
I enjoy that flexibility, but honestly the market has tightened up a fair bit from the monopolies we used to see, so with what you're saving on bulk buying grain, unless you're brewing a hell of a lot, or buy a really cheap mill, it'll take quite a while to recoup your costs, unless you're trying to 'buy' time on the weekend for doing other things.

 

[Spiesy]

^ yeah, I like the idea of 100% knowing for sure what is in my beer, and how it has been milled.

 

[alcoadam]

I own a mill now purely for the reason that on a few occasions a shop(s) forgot/misplaced my order....and of course this happened at a time I really needed those ingredients. This wont be happening again! :angry:

 

[Amber Fluid]

I reckon if you have the spare cash then you can't beat getting your own mill for all the reasons above. If you can't afford it right now then what you are currently doing seems to be working for you.

Personally I think it is a financial thing, got the money... get the mill. :icon_cheers:

 

[fergi]

ok thanks guys.
lots of ideas there, all relevant too to each situation.

i do like the idea of getting up in the morning then deciding i might brew, i like the idea of crushing my own grain too, part of the brewing process.
i generally have plenty of days to play with.
i was thinking of maybe getting a bag of base malt and just getting small amounts of other grains to start with.
thanks fergi

 

[Mugsworthy]

I recently got myself a mill for the same reason a few others have mentioned already.

I had been getting various kinds of grain bagged and milled for me for each brew I did and a few times it was almost 50g either more or less than I'd ordered. It sucked not knowing which particular grain (if only one) was lacking or overpowering in the mix.

It needed a hopper built for it but that was relatively simple. Not for me though, because I'm a fool, but my father-in-law knocked one up in about 15 minutes! It's built to fit upside down in the bin that I grind the grain into.

Have some pics. Go on, have some: