Corona Mill vs. PhilMill?
Art Vandelay
I'm a fairly new homebrewer, with a whopping total of 5 batches so
far. All of my brews so far have been partial mash kits from the
LHBS. Anyway, I'd like to try brewing some ofther recipes I've
found. So, I'm going to have to invest in a grain mill.
Do any of you have any recommendations for either the Corona grain
mill, or the PhilMill? From what I've seen so far, the Corona mill is
around $45, and the PhilMill is $85. I don't mind paying that much if
the PhilMill is that much better. But, if the quality on the two
units is pretty comparable, I'd much prefer buying the Corona model
and spending the difference on ingredients for a couple batches of
beer! :-p
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Brad
b...@fuse.net
John Misrahi
My 0.02$ is that in the long term you will be glad you spent the extra cash
for the philmill. I don't have one (i use a valley mill) but a guy in our
club won 5 medals at the last competition. His beer is top notch and he only
uses a phil.
I laughed at his little tiny mill until I tried his beer
;-p
john
John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
The Corona is a stop gap solution if you can't afford a mill
specifically designed for milling grain, at best. A Corona is not
intended to do the same job that the other barley mills are. It's
primary purpose in life is to make flour. Consequently, it does not do
a proper job of crushing grain. In actuallity it grinds the grain, not
crush it, which results in a rather inconsistent result. You tend to
either severely undercrush the grain, or else you get lots of flour.
Neither which will make for the best results in your mash.
Some people use them and are happy with how they perform. I doubt
most people would argue that a mill designed for barley will do a
much better job.
Personally, I started with a Corona as my first mill and upgraded to a
"real" mill later anyway. If you've got the money now to go for a
$80 - $120 homebrewer's mill, skip the Corona.
John.
--
*** John P. Kolesar ***
*** sp...@shagg.net --- http://www.shagg.net/ ***
*** Valley Mead Brewery ***
***********************
Dan Listermann
Corona is a burr mill that has two opposing heavily grooved plates that
rotate relative to each other. The corns are repeatedly ground and reground
as they move out toward the periphery of the plates. This action is
designed to make flour and it does this well. Malted barley for brewing
needs to be crushed to expose the endosperm without over damaging the husk
material which is needed for the formation of the grain bed's filtering
material during lautering.
The Philmill has a single knurled roller that crushes against a smooth plate
that wraps around the roller. The corn is grabbed by the knurl and pushed
against the smooth plate as it rotates around in a long slow crush similar
to what would be seen in a mill with much larger rollers. It is my opinion
that a single roller mill can produce a better grist than any homebrew
double roller mill because it exposes the husk material to exactly half the
number of sharp edges.
--
Dan Listermann
Check out our E-tail site at www.listermann.com
Free shipping for orders greater than $35
and East of the Mighty Miss.
"Art Vandelay" <nospa...@fuse.net> wrote in message
news:3e9575a8...@news.fuse.net...
Art Vandelay
i'm single-handedly keeping Dan in business now, something like $700
spent in the past two months...
Brad
p.s. Hey Dan, how about starting a Phrequent Brewer's Discount? :-p
Kelvin Kundert
>Do any of you have any recommendations for either the Corona grain
>mill, or the PhilMill?
I've used a corona mill for almost ten years of all-grain brewing now
and contend that it works just fine. It can be adjusted to produce a
finer grind (notice I don't call it a crush) if you so desire, and a
fellow homebrewer actually used his to make flour for a batch of
bread. I like mine, but then I don't have problems with stuck mashes
either, even when grinding my malt finer than usual & using 50% raw
wheat. I've motorized mine by cutting the head off a bolt that screws
into where the handle would fit, then attach an electric drill to it.
I can't compare to the PhilMill since I've tried neither of Dan's mill
offerings.
Kelvin
ben w
> Do any of you have any recommendations for either the Corona grain
> mill, or the PhilMill? From what I've seen so far, the Corona mill is
> around $45, and the PhilMill is $85. I don't mind paying that much if
> the PhilMill is that much better. But, if the quality on the two
> units is pretty comparable, I'd much prefer buying the Corona model
> and spending the difference on ingredients for a couple batches of
> beer! :-p
The Corona isn't a malt mill and has no business being recommended as
one or sold as one.
There are a number of mills out there -- Valley Mill, JSP Maltmill,
PhilMills 1 & 2, Crankenstein, etc. -- all have their own features, so
choose depending what's important to you, but the difference between
them isn't as dramatic as the arguments about them.
ben
Chad Gould
wrote:
>Do any of you have any recommendations for either the Corona grain
>mill, or the PhilMill? From what I've seen so far, the Corona mill is
>around $45, and the PhilMill is $85. I don't mind paying that much if
>the PhilMill is that much better. But, if the quality on the two
>units is pretty comparable, I'd much prefer buying the Corona model
>and spending the difference on ingredients for a couple batches of
>beer! :-p
What I've read (of recent opinion) is that the PhilMill and other
specialty grinding mills will give you a slightly better crush
overall. The Corona at best is a little coarse and will require a bit
more grain to get a good mash efficiency. Otherwise, Coronas work as
fine as anything else.
It is also a little laborous since its a hand crank (one of the
reasons I like morebeer.com's mills, the one I went with, is the fact
you can crank with a drill). But hey, a workout isn't always bad.
Kelvin Kundert
>nospa...@fuse.net (Art Vandelay) wrote in message news:<3e9575a8...@news.fuse.net>...
>
>> Do any of you have any recommendations for either the Corona grain
>> mill, or the PhilMill? From what I've seen so far, the Corona mill is
>> around $45, and the PhilMill is $85. I don't mind paying that much if
>> the PhilMill is that much better. But, if the quality on the two
>> units is pretty comparable, I'd much prefer buying the Corona model
>> and spending the difference on ingredients for a couple batches of
>> beer! :-p
>
>The Corona isn't a malt mill and has no business being recommended as
>one or sold as one.
It was designed as a corn mill, but will work for malt. Very well, in
fact. I can achieve 80% efficiency with a corona mill, single
infusion mashing in a brewpot and sparging in a homemade double bucket
lauter tun. The super-duper advanced equipment is not required to
make great beer, but I will admit to lusting after a nice roller mill
at times. Bottom line is that I got my corona mill for free, and
achieve more than acceptable results without having to do anything
else.
Kelvin
Brett Hetherington
news:65612c80.03041...@posting.google.com:
>
> The Corona isn't a malt mill and has no business being recommended as
> one or sold as one.
>
That's right, and don't let my 85% efficiency or my excellent beers or my
$5 flea market corona mill stand in the way of the facts! :)=)
OK, I'll not proselytize anymore...
-Brett
Kyle Gendron
get upwards of 83% effeciency. However, if I had it to do over, I would
have spent the extra money and gotten either a PhilMilll or a Malt Mill.
With the corona mill it takes about 1/2 hour to crush 8-10lbs of
grain. Thats a lot of cranking.
I got a 3 liter bottle of soda and cut it up so I could add another 1-2
lbs of grain in the hopper. It can now hold about 4lbs. The 3 liter
soda bottle fits perfectly into the high hopper that my corona mill came
with.
Alan Keyes
> > mill, or the PhilMill? From what I've seen so far, the Corona mill is
> > around $45, and the PhilMill is $85. I don't mind paying that much if
> > the PhilMill is that much better. But, if the quality on the two
> > units is pretty comparable, I'd much prefer buying the Corona model
> > and spending the difference on ingredients for a couple batches of
> > beer! :-p
>
> Personally, I started with a Corona as my first mill and upgraded to a
> "real" mill later anyway. If you've got the money now to go for a
> $80 - $120 homebrewer's mill, skip the Corona.
>
>
> John.
Check out:
www.barleycrusher.com
$99 plus shipping, setup for placing over a 5-gal bucket, attached
hopper, can turn w/ a drill or hand-crank, and fully adjustable. I
picked one up for the winter brew season and could not be happier. I
second John's advice, pick up a homebrew specific mill - extra dollars
are well spent.
Also:
http://schmidling.netfirms.com/maltmill.htm
Al
Kelvin Kundert
>I have a corona mill. Took 2 batches to get it adjusted. But I can now
>get upwards of 83% effeciency. However, if I had it to do over, I would
>have spent the extra money and gotten either a PhilMilll or a Malt Mill.
> With the corona mill it takes about 1/2 hour to crush 8-10lbs of
>grain. Thats a lot of cranking.
>
>I got a 3 liter bottle of soda and cut it up so I could add another 1-2
>lbs of grain in the hopper. It can now hold about 4lbs. The 3 liter
>soda bottle fits perfectly into the high hopper that my corona mill came
>with.
>
Try the electric drill trick. While some exercise would be nice, the
corona does seem to take a lot of revolutions to grind up a full batch
worth of malt. As for your hopper, the 3L bottle sounds like it would
work well. I use a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Another guy I know
uses a piece of sheet metal designed for home heating vents.
Kelvin
Allan Dobler
ben w wrote:
> The Corona isn't a malt mill and has no business being recommended as
> one or sold as one.
I don't know why I feel the need to defend my Corona mill, but here it goes
anyway. My efficiency went up from 77% to 81% when I bought my Corona Mill and
and stopped using the LHBS Valley Mill. I batch sparge, and use a
bucket-in-bucket lauter tun. Not the best setup, but with over 80% efficiency
and less than $50, why complain? I use a 1/2" drill on mine and I can grind 10
lb. in about 3-4 minutes. I added a 6 lb. hopper so I only need to refill
once. http://members.shaw.ca/duff_brewery
I might get something different once this mill wears out, or I start brewing 10
gallon batches.
I suspect that a lot of the bad press the flour mills get is from people that
have never used one. Even Listermann agrees that they work pretty good. Like
any hobby, part of the fun is making due with the materials you either already
have, or that you can find/modify from local sources.
Allan
ben w
> It was designed as a corn mill, but will work for malt. Very well, in
> fact. I can achieve 80% efficiency with a corona mill, single
> infusion mashing in a brewpot and sparging in a homemade double bucket
> lauter tun. The super-duper advanced equipment is not required to
> make great beer, but I will admit to lusting after a nice roller mill
> at times. Bottom line is that I got my corona mill for free, and
> achieve more than acceptable results without having to do anything
> else.
Well, that's told me. I'm surprised.
Your choice of mill has an effect on your efficiency and ease of
runoff/sparging. I wouldn't really consider it a major factor in
whether you make great beer or not.
ben
Taisho
>From: nospa...@fuse.net (Art Vandelay)
>Date: 4/10/03 9:20 AM Pacific Daylight Time
>Message-id: <3e959829...@news.fuse.net>
Art,
You will be very happy with your purchase. I have a PhilMill I and it has
worked quite well; very good crush and it's infinitely adjustable so you can
custom mill your grains to however you like. One other advantage you will find
is that the mill's small size makes it easy to store once the handle and hopper
are removed. Cheers!
(nayy, btw)
John Letendre
It is very similar to the Corona and works great...I started with the corona
until my wife bought me the attachment for the mixer. Sure you can get
better...but if you enjoy your beer that is all that matters in the end!
John
"Kelvin Kundert" <kelvin.kundert@despam_newviewland.com> wrote in message
news:8tmb9v48uano2upik...@4ax.com...
Brett Hetherington
HVAC section. It will slip into your existing inadequate grain cup and add
a few more pounds capacity to your mill.
-Brett
Kyle Gendron <kgend...@nospam.comcast.net> wrote in
news:3E95D2BE...@nospam.comcast.net:
Brett Hetherington
about 4 lbs to your mill!
www.idcomm.com/personal/bretth/beer/coronamill.jpg
-Brett
Kelvin Kundert <kelvin.kundert@despam_newviewland.com> wrote in
news:8tmb9v48uano2upik...@4ax.com:
Kelvin Kundert
>Here's a picture of the 5 inch side take-off you can get that will add
>about 4 lbs to your mill!
>
>www.idcomm.com/personal/bretth/beer/coronamill.jpg
>
>-Brett
Yep, that looks like it would work quite well. Right now I just have
my mill mounted on the counter with a plastic garbage bag split
lengthwise & taped together acting as a grain chute to direct the malt
into my mash tun/brewpot. I have to get around to building a more
permanent setup for the mill.
Kelvin
Jack Erbes
wrote:
<snip>
>Do any of you have any recommendations for either the Corona grain
>mill, or the PhilMill?
I am at the same level of experience that you are, I have been using
adjunct grains from the start and quickly bought a used Corona to
crack grains for steeping after trying to do it with a rolling pin.
I buy adjunct grains in one pound bags usually, grind the whole bag,
and store it ready to use. When I grind a grain that is different
than the last grain I milled, I back the adjuster on the mill off
about 1/2 turn or so to open the gap on the plates a little. Then I
fill the hopper and turn the crank to fill the screw and stop when I
have a 1/4 cup or so sample (I catch it in a white, flat bottomed
bowl). If there are uncracked grains I close the adjuster 1/4 turn,
put the grain back in the hopper, and grind another sample.
When I can grind a sample that only has 5 or 10 completely uncracked
grains in it I run the rest of the grain through. The performance of
the Corona changes a little at the start and finish of the grind, I'm
sure that has something to do with getting the screw and plates full,
loaded, and working. I think it is best to settle for a slightly
coarse sample and expect it to be a little finer than that after a
full run.
When I dumped my results in a big bowl and looked at it critically, I
found some uncracked grains with the husks still on, some uncracked
grains with no husks, and some flour. I found many whole husks, quite
a few broken husks, and some little splinters of husks that represent
husks that had shattered or that were essentially destroyed.
I have looked at the photos of properly milled grains in HTB, NCJHB,
and some web sites and decided that I am getting good and typical
results.
I am a anal retentive machinist sort of person by nature so I fiddle
with and look hard at everything. When one of the recent mill wars
erupted here, I absorbed all the data and facts and that also
convinced me that I was getting a good job out of my Corona. What it
will not do is match the volume and throughput of any of the "real"
mills.
I had to work at it a little at first but now it is quick and simple.
One thing I noticed about my mill is the two plates do not run
perfectly parallel, there is a little "wow" in them. When I first
used it I set the gap in the place where the plates come closest
together to a gap in the range Dan Listermann or Jack Schmidling
(alphabetically listed, no preference or endorsement implied or
intended ;>) had mentioned and found that they were correct about the
range of spacings that works best. I used drill stems to gage the
gap.
I'm not going to get into a war with any of the experts, but my
opinion is that the Corona rolls and breaks the grains that exceed the
gap on the plates and that, once broken, they are along for the ride
until they fall clear and do not suffer a lot more damage. If a
Corona is producing a lot of flour the plates are probably set too
close. I am not saying the Corona is as good as a good roller mill
but it is adequate for some types of home brewing.
I also noticed that when I back off the adjuster on my Corona mill, I
have to tap the feed screw at the crank end with a block of wood to
get the plates to open back up. That is because there is a captive
bearing and bearing retainer in there that will simply not back up on
its own. The best way to use it is to get it open a little too far
and then close in on the best setting as I described above.
So if you think you will wind up all grain brewing a "real" mill is
probably the best thing to buy. If (like me) you don't think you will
go all grain, I think you can be happy with the results from a Corona.
The Corona describes itself as a grain mill, not a flour mill, and it
is intended to be able to produce a range of flours, meals, and
cracked or broken grain grinds.
When and if I do buy a roller mill, I will buy one that has adjustable
roller spacing because it is clear that the gap is critical to results
and grains come in a range of different sizes. I don't think a fixed
gap roller mill will do as well with a variety of grains.
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