Finer crush for B.IAB.?

Sure i've read on here or jim,s that it's better to have a finer crush. Or does it make much difference? Just done my 1st BIAB and ordered crushed from geterbrewed but they sent whole. which mean't a lot of smashing with mallet/rolling pin etc. If thats the case , does anyone know a good H.B.S. that does this, with delivery. copper kettle near Kettering's my nearest but still 15 miles away and not sure if they do this but i know they deliver . Cheers.

davereal said:

Sure i've read on here or jim,s that it's better to have a finer crush. Or does it make much difference? Just done my 1st BIAB and ordered crushed from geterbrewed but they sent whole. which mean't a lot of smashing with mallet/rolling pin etc. If thats the case , does anyone know a good H.B.S. that does this, with delivery. copper kettle near Kettering's my nearest but still 15 miles away and not sure if they do this but i know they deliver . Cheers.

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I use geterbrew. The last time I just mentioned in the order note to fine crush the grain and that's the way it came. Most companies I use have an online order note where you can ask to fine crush the malt. Brewstore.co.uk for instance. Pity you didn't get a fine crush though :-/

stesmi said:

I use geterbrew. The last time I just mentioned in the order note to fine crush the grain and that's the way it came. Most companies I use have an online order note where you can ask to fine crush the malt. Brewstore.co.uk for instance. Pity you didn't get a fine crush though :-/

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Thanks.Yep, i'm sure i did enter a note to crush for BIAB.But hey, just glad it was 7kg not 25. They do have a free phone number or i'll have a look at Brewstore. cheers.P.s. if having used both what's the benefits. As i've only done one i've nothing to compare. Even 2 hour of hard labour smashing it myself, still came near estimates with volumes and pre boil gravity till last knockings ,then ended up with 2litres extra and O.G of 1.050/52 stead of 1.060ish. thou i did squeeze the hell out of it. Looking forward to the next one Cheers

davereal said:

Thanks.Yep, i'm sure i did enter a note to crush for BIAB.But hey, just glad it was 7kg not 25. They do have a free phone number or i'll have a look at Brewstore. cheers.P.s. if having used both what's the benefits. As i've only done one i've nothing to compare. Even 2 hour of hard labour smashing it myself, still came near estimates with volumes and pre boil gravity till last knockings ,then ended up with 2litres extra and O.G of 1.050/52 stead of 1.060ish. thou i did squeeze the hell out of it. Looking forward to the next one Cheers

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I like both the suppliers. Geterbrew is cheaper, so I tend to use them coz delivery costs are very good too. You say you squeeze the hell out of your mash? Let me know how that turns out. I squeezed once and got lots of mouth puckering tannin's, so never again . But there are those who say squeezing is fine.

stesmi said:

I like both the suppliers. Geterbrew is cheaper, so I tend to use them coz delivery costs are very good too. You say you squeeze the hell out of your mash? Let me know how that turns out. I squeezed once and got lots of mouth puckering tannin's, so never again . But there are those who say squeezing is fine.

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I will.1st one , so thought squeezing was the norm.Will maybe leave on a rack and drain next time. I'll let you know. sorry to confuse in previous post, i mean't, have you noticed the difference in brews between crushed and finer crushed. Cheers

I've just started doing BIAB and do the squeezing thing - just draining leaves a heck of a lot of liquid left in the grain. Haven't noticed any tannin problems but I am only on my third brew. I got my malt from the Worcester hop shop (who only seem to do ingredients & not equipment) - 25kg of pale malt (crushed) was about £22, though they do have a standard delivery charge so if you only want a few things it's expensive.

davereal said:

I will.1st one , so thought squeezing was the norm.Will maybe leave on a rack and drain next time. I'll let you know. sorry to confuse in previous post, i mean't, have you noticed the difference in brews between crushed and finer crushed. Cheers

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Ah, I see. Finer crush gets better efficiency in my book. Some will disagree though on the merits, but I always get a finer crush. It suits mash tun and biab :-)

I have brewed 34 partial mashes so far (BIAB) and always squeeze the bag with the base of a cup as the bag sits in a large colander.

For those of you who have a grain mill, I've read on he merits of a finer crush but conditioning he grains first to keep from tearing them up too much which would give you sparging issues. What is done is the grains are dumped into a bucket and a spray bottle (fine mist) is used to slightly moisten the grains. You then mix it by hand and continue this process until it's slightly damp. It's been explained as a wet leather feel. You don't want it too wet or it will cake up on the rollers, and too little won't save the grain husks. I've only recently tried this.

The tighter crush is supposed to increase efficiency.