Mill Gap Setting

[MikeS]

Yeah it's interesting. Each kind of malt sounds different. I know when we're grinding light vs dark crystal, wheat vs barley, and when the grist case is full... All by the sound. Crystal in particular, much higher pitched, louder too.

Briess Carapils sounds like a hail storm on a tin roof!

[TGTimm]

UPDATE: So we adjusted the mill to a couple different settings that looked in the range, then compared the grind side by side using both Gambrinus ESB and GW Pale Ale malt. Found one that looked best overall on visual inspection and used it. Got 85% efficiency on a 1.078 (19 plato) wort. The sifting screen showed up the next day and I ran that grist through using the Van Havig method from his Rock Bottom days (you can find a pdf of it here: http://tinyurl.com/andldef ). Rather than buy all the different screens we just used the #14 screen, then shook 3 minutes, weighed what went through and what stayed, looking for 70% on top, 30% on bottom. We got 67/33, which is ok by me. It was the finer grained GW Pale Ale, I expect it'll be 70-ish with the plumper (and moister) Gambrinus. (Seemed like those husks held together much better.) Brewday tomorrow, we'll see what we get.

Your link doesn't work. Could you try to re-post it? I'm very interested in this as we haven't checked our mill in quite a while. In the past, we've sent grist samples off to Great Western and had them analyze them, but I'd rather do it in-house.

And thanks for the solder-trick tip! I've been using feeler gauges, and sure enough, they don't work very well.

[Bainbridge]

Yeah looks like the link went down. Here's another version: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/vi...craft-brewers-

[TGTimm]

Thanks, Russell--that one works. Now to do some reading....

[dhdarden]

Do you have to join the ASBC to get its procedure for measuring Grist ?

I'm hoping this procedure (using the sieves) is available without having to join the ASBC. Is there a link to the measurement procedure somehwre ?

Thanks,

Dan Darden
Darden Consulting LLC

It's tough to use feeler gauges, since there is play in the bearings. One way to check is to run a soft piece of metal, like solder, through the mill and measure its thickness with calipers.

But the best way is to buy or borrow a set of sieves.

[Bainbridge]

Well the point is there's the scientificated ASBC way, and there's this way, the quick and dirty way. But a 70/30ish split on a #14 shaker tray is more or less where you want to be. Also the second link is down it seems. Lamers.

We just checked our mill this morning actually. Amazing what a small adjustment on a mill not specifically designed for malted barley will do. A millimeter here and there was: 64/36, 67/33, 75/25.

[Bainbridge]

Addendum: Van gave the talk again at the CBC I guess, and the last MBAA District NW meeting (I know 'cause I watched that one) so you can look for the pdfs around. Or here, for as long as it holds.