![]() Wine BottleĪs a brewer, you might not own one of these strange foreign objects, but if there’s someone else in your house they should be able to describe what it looks like. But beware, you don’t get much control so you need to make sure you’re not totally pulverizing some of the grains while leaving others completely in tact. ![]() The motion you use when operating a mortar and pestle allows you to exert a lot of force with minimal effort. You won't be crushing the grain entirely and will leave many kernels unopened. Mortar and Pestle From here on out you expect noticeable dips in efficiency. Now check out these other methods which are definite no-goes. Even paying a small fee if they insist on charging one is cheaper than buying a new blender. This however isn't an issue if you do Brew in a bag where there isn't a sparge, but it may be worth it to go to your nearest homebrew store to get the grain crushed. ![]() Dry Grain in a Blender (BIAB ONLY!)If you compare the image here to ‘wet grain in a blender’, you’ll see that this image shows more pulverized grain, rather than cracked. Continued use will burn out the blender's motor in no time. BUT, any time you use a blender you'll find that a fair bit of grain will be pulverized and you can only attempt to crush a small amount at a time to make sure all of the grain makes contact with the blades. Using wet grain in a blender can work as a back-up if your mill breaks or you accidentally ordered uncrushed specialty grains. The blender is also the easiest for you, as it doesn’t require any bashing or rolling. Maybe clean all of your equipment first so that there’s not much left in the bottom, tip that bit out and fill it back up with tap water. A good idea is to use your sanitizer spray bottle so that you know the water won’t be carrying any nasty hitchhikers. Wet Grain in a Blender.By wetting the grain just a tiny bit, the husks are given a little elasticity, which helps them retain their form. We put some "other" grain crushing devices to the test to see how they stack up to a mill. The most effective device for grain crushing, guess what, a grain mill. The water will clog and if you leave the bathroom for five minutes to grab a beer, you’ll probably return to wet ankles. Now imagine your sink is full of sand (a more pulverized, fine medium) and you turn the tap on. The water will wash away anything in-between those stones and run off quite freely. ![]() Imagine your sink is full of stones and you turn the tap on. If the grain is pulverized, it turns to a fine powder that clogs as soon as you try to run water through it. If the grain isn’t cracked open, you won’t get all the good stuff in for your boil. This will make the grain bed more coarse in the fermenter or grain bag, which will allow the water to pass through and remove the nutrients you need from within. Well-milled grain will leave the husk in tact, like the opening of a clam. The purpose of grain crushing is to crack open the outer husk of the grain, exposing the rich center. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itunes…and youtube…and streaming radio station) for more great tips on homebrewing.« Back to Questions Cringe-Worthy Grain Crushing Methods Put to the Test Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. You can find additional tutorials on the main tutorial page and download a free trial copy of BeerSmith from. It also features the new “unlisted” sharing options which make it easy to share with a friend even if you don’t want your recipe in the search results. Follow video details how to rate and share recipes in BeerSmith 3 home brewing, mead, wine, and cider making software.
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