Question about a bad crush, how do I remedy the situation?

[AdamR]

I bought some grains from a new (to me) supplier, they were the cheapest I have seen @£18 for 25kg of pale malt.
There are a noticable proportion of uncrushed grains in there.
Worse though, I got some wheal malt and the majority of the grains aren't chushed.
Is the best course of action to bag them up and bash with a rolling pin?
I don't really fancy bashing 31kg of grain before I can use it.

[BenB]

That's seriously cheap malt but it's as useful as the traditional chocolate teapot if it's not crushed properly. After all people who have a mill will buy uncrushed because it lasts longer. So selling "crushed" grain which isn't is just going to lead to unhappy customers. Waste of grain too!
Where abouts are you based? You might find someone locally who has a mill. Trying to bash 25kg of malt into size would be hard work. I suspect in days gone by it was done with a pestle and mortar. Either way it's going to be hard work (the daily grind!).

Have you spoken to whoever sold it to you? Not sure how much it would cost to ship 25kg of grain back to them to get it done properly but it might be the simplest option. At the very least they need to be informed to check their mill and adjust it.

[BenB]

Does anyone near you own the proverbial used once pasta maker? I know we do and most of our mates do- masterchef aspirations It's not going to grip the grain like a proper mill so not sure how well it would work. Something sellotape to the rollers to grip would help. Sandpaper would likely give off too much sand which might effect the wort but something like a bit of gauze of muslin just to cause a bit of grip might help.

Moistening the malt before running it through the machine might help get it stick to the rollers and help crush it...

Crushing it with a rolling pin is likely to lead to uneven crush- poor efficiency (due to uncrushed malt) and risk of tannin extraction from over-crushed malt.

[Jim]

A traditional coffee grinder (NOT the type that just has sharp spinning blades) will also crush grain, but you'll be on a long time.

As already said, this is not fit for purpose and your best bet is to try to get the supplier to put it right (preferably by replacing it).

[Clibit]

Did you definitely request crushed? Some online sellers have whole malt as a default setting.

And if you say where you are, there could be someone nearby with a mill, or who could suggest a local homebrew store who will crush it for you.

The first time I brewed I got whole malt by mistake, and I crushed it in a blender - I got about 70% efficiency and the beer was great. It took a while though, could only do a bit at a time, like a couple of inches, cos it only chopped the bottom inch or two.

[ppsmith]

I have the same problem, more than likely from the same supplier as the price was the same. I'm requesting a refund/return as it's not good enough.

Here's what they sent me: http://monosnap.com/image/UWqWysJtK3Y0Z ... V8reLQEHK9

I'm not naming the supplier as it's only fair they get a chance to make amends first - maybe their mill is/was faulty and they genuinely didn't realise...

[RobWalker]

I'd say they probably just sent the bag without really looking at it too.

For future reference I remember a recent post elsewhere where someone realised his crush wasn't very fine after mashing. Rather than ditch the beer, he ground up the malt in a food processor bit by bit, and eventually returned it all to the main mash. The conversion had still taken place inside the grain, and his beer was ready and on target with a sparge. So even if you go ahead, I guess all is not lost!

[Clibit]

What a heartwarming story! Just what I needed on the day I returned to work in January. Thanks.

[legion]

I have also received grain from the same supplier and my 7kgs of Baird's malt, although a lot better crushed than yours gave me rubbish efficiency. Luckily for me I have just purchased a grain mill and the other 75kg of malt was ordered whole to begin with.