Grainfather Electric Grain Mill Overview & First Impressions For Homebrewers

[@mattrickl06]

Brewed a yorkshire bitter yesterday using the bottom of my crushed grain bag, it was very powdery. SG came out at 1.061 instead of 1.038. Watched this great video and ordered this grain mill. Thanks David

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Cheers Matt 🍻🍻🍻

[@johngriffin9547]

Thanks for the great video. Based on your review, I decide to invest in one after getting frustrated with stuck mash after stuck mash. I had been relying on my LHBS to crack my grain for me - I've never owned a mill before, I've always demurred as I have no desire to store grain. I managed to source one (stock is scarce) and I just gave it a run for the first time on the weekend. I can't imagine milling grain gets much easier. Set the number, pour in the grain, hit go, and keep pouring. Super simple, super quick. Way less flour than what i was used to, way more "chunks" of cracked grain. Best of all, my brew day went better than it has in months, no stuck mash. It made a huge difference to my recirculation, wort was clearer quicker, and my efficiency was up. It was so easy, I ended up doing a second beer. One of my best ever purchases.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Great to hear John. Yes sure is easy! Great to have control too.

[@alanman5328]

Fantastic review, this answered all of my questions. I was concerned about the 1kg feed size but I can see that topping up rather than working a drill is going to be more fun. Thanks for the great video once again.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Many thanks Alan. Yes, I think the hopper size has been an easy thing to misjudge with this mill.

[@Oelsvingen]

I picked up this mill today and I am pleased with the result after milling a small amount of Maris Otter. I chose gap setting number six, and all grains where cracked. Noise wise it’s acceptable. I am looking forward to test it out on my next batch. Great video, David.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Great to hear :) I am glad that you found the video useful.

[@nickatnite2806]

Great Review. I purchased an electric all-in-one system two years ago, and haven't had the extra money for a grain mill. I have ordered my grains milled, while this is not ideal, it gave me time to get familiar with using my system. In the mean time, I have been looking into grain mills. I am gald I waited!! This is exactly what I want in a grain mill, not a lot of fussing around, easy adjustments.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Thanks Nick, this certainly has a lot of convenience along side a quality crush.

[@stevengadsby5384]

Received my electric grainmill a couple of weeks ago. Tested it with 200 gr. pale malt and was very pleased with the result. Today brew day. Filled the hopper with Munich malt. Was two thirds through when it just stopped!! Cleared the rollers as I thought there maybe a stone in the gap. Nothing. Doesn’t start again. Will have to send it back, obviously still in guarantee 🙈🤷‍♂️.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Ahh thats a pity. Still, I guess you will get a new one fast.

[@6581punk]

Possibly a defective power switch, it does happen.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Yes, sad but true.

[@johnfogarty4720]

I have a monster mill, and I agree with your comments on the laboriousness of settings and managing the drill action. I think I'm going to invest in the GF mill as it looks like a great tool, and will certainly take some of the stress out of the crush task and the fear of gap settings and the whole thing flying up in my face when you get a slight variation in the grain thickness. Thanks David, good review!

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Great to hear John. I have been using just the GF mill ever since,still very impressed.

[@v.hamers4652]

Hi David, I listened to you as did Grainfather! First me: I ordered the Mill right away. I already own a very capable mill (Mattmill kompakt) but I struggle setting the gap correct and handling the drill and drill speed. So I will be selling this soon :-). Now for Grainfather: In their latest Mill Instructions PDF, they have adjusted the Wheat Gap settings to 5 (6)! They probably also looked at your great review!

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Great to hear. Yes, I see some instructions changes. I guess that this is based on overall feedback rather than just mine.

[@WoollyCraftBeer]

Amazing - this is the exact video I’ve been looking for since it’s recent release. Thanks for the awesome review

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Great to hear. Yes, I was surprised to not see any real reviews of this until now. It's certainly filling a void in the market.

[@philcurtis8935]

Thanks for another really useful video David. This looks like a great addition to improve the process and I can’t resist a gadget!

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Its certainly continuing to impress me since this video.

[@stephenwildgust2869]

David it’s brilliant bit of kit had mine couple of weeks no rice hulls needed And it’s quick

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Great to hear Stephen. Yes, I am impressed also :)

[@JacekPomykalski]

Great review David, thank you! You convinced me to buy one, just placed an order.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Ive used it a fair bit since this video and it continues to impress me. I think you will be very happy with it too.

[@rathmountvideo]

I Have found from my own testing that milling half the base malt and all the speciality malt at setting 6 and the other half the base at 7 strikes a good balance between efficiency and filtration. Malt varies quite a bit from country to country so always run your own tests.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Cheers Paul, yes exactly. 🍻🍻🍻

[@rathmountvideo]

@@DavidHeathHomebrew This video convinced me to buy one, and it definitely has not disappointed :) Cheers!🍻🍻

[@adambroad3479]

Great review David. I'm purchasing 1 this week.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Thanks Adam, I am glad that you found this useful :)

[@michaelcooney7687]

As always… another excellent presentation and informative review… top work 🥰😎

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Many thanks Michael 🍺🍺🍺

[@kenfowler1980]

Looks very good David thx

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Cheers Ken. Yes, I really like this one so far. I am hopeful for the long term.

[@HOMEBREW4LIFE]

Another killer tutorial DH, cheers!

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Cheers CH 🍺🍺🍺

[@philphy9257]

Thanks for the video David. Really useful and answered all of my questions. Only concern I have which obviously you may not be able to answer, given the length of time you have had it, is the robustness and longevity of the mill. But it certainly looks easy to use and convenient. Cheers PH

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Thank you, great to hear. Certainly it feels like it is built to take some knocks and drops. The quality is apparent once you handle it . There is certainly nothing fragile about it.

[@markbarber7839]

Thanks David, I see the value straight away. I'll have to have a few before looking at the price though:)

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Great, thanks Mark.

[@giancarlodipierro3762]

Thanks a lot, David! Do you know when this will be again in stock? Thanks and Merry Christmas 🌲

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Cheers. That would be a question for Grainfather in your country 🍻

[@rolandfrans4596]

Hope I can find it in Sweden. Really enjoyed your review, as always. I have just started brewing and I now use a Mattmill Student. It works, but it has a fixed setting, which isn't ideal in the long run. I like doing my own crushing, since it is a way of learning as well. Thanks for all the great content on your channel.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Cheers Roland, I should imagine that you will find it in Sweden easily enough.

[@SonofTheMorningStar666]

Skicka ett mail till Humlegårdens Ekolager. Dom säljer andra produkter från Grainfather och kan säkert ta hem en åt dig om dom inte planerar att lägga till den i sortimentet.

[@rolandfrans4596]

@@SonofTheMorningStar666 Handlar till 99% där, så det blir nog bra.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

🍻🍻🍻

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

🍻🍻🍻

[@DAVEBRAVEY1966]

Great video David, I am considering buying one, which a great upgrade from my meat mincer type grinder.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Many thanks Dave. I hope this helps you decide. 🍺🍺🍺

[@mardanheddeokwa]

Hi David, thanks for the review. I'm considering buying this mill. Do you still use this mill?

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Hey, yes. My Monster mill 3 pro has not been used since I got this one. I highly recommend it.

[@Oelsvingen]

How fast does it run? Here are some readings without load. Supplied voltage is about 225 volts. 1 = 350 rpm 2 = 425 rpm 3 = 460 rpm 4 = 545 rpm 5 = 640 rpm Did not do any readings above five.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Great information!! Thank you :)

[@peterblack2431]

Thanks David, great video as always. I've just received mine this morning and am very pleased with the milling. Would it be possible for you to list all the grains you've crushed and the gap sizes please?

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Thanks Peter. Everything went through as per Grainfathers recommendations for mill gap except the wheat. Here is the list:- Pale, pilsner, wheat malt, various crystal malt from light to dark. Flaked oats, acid malt, a few different chocolate malts, Abbey malt, flaked maize and Munich malt. I think that's it so far.

[@Vormulac1]

I've been wondering about one of these as I don't have a mill. I think this is going on my birthday list :D

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Great, I am glad you found this useful

[@CrazyAboutVinylRecords]

I was interested in buying one but sadly it isn't available in the U.S.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

That is a great pity, these are really good, I use mine often.

[@CrazyAboutVinylRecords]

@@DavidHeathHomebrew I very much like Grainfather as a company and am a fan of their brewing ecosystem. I started out with a G30 and recently upgraded to a G40. But their distribution is hard to make sense of. For example, I can buy a G40 here in the U.S. It ships from California. But I cannot buy the G40 whirlpool arm...though customers everywhere else Grainfather equipment is sold can. While I don't really need another fermenter, I am considering buying the GF30 fermenter + GC2 glycol chiller. I could make good use of a glycol chiller and it makes sense to pair the GC2 with the GF30.

[@mossyrock123]

a similar design to the maltzilla, a comparison video would be good to see!

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

I am considering a comparison video for the future.

[@Zumaray]

I’m hoping that I get one for Xmas!! I’m sick of the getting poor efficiency on poor milling from various shops not getting it right!

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

This sure makes things easy

[@daviegraham4483]

Great video as ever David, just placed an order for one.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Thanks Davie, I am glad you found it useful :)

[@daviegraham4483]

Tried the mill a couple of times now David, excellent and so easy to use and is extremely efficient

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Great to hear Dave. I agree :)

[@jamesgoacher1606]

Unless I saw incorrectly the two rollers seemed to be different sizes. That is good it reduces the possible harmonic wear. Unfortunately my Doctor has forbidden me to use a motorised grain mill. He says winding the thing by hand is the only exercise I get.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Haha, you should find more fun forms of exercise James :p

[@feuer-gluat-quoim]

Hi David, thanks for sharing. After one year, are you still using this mill? Still happy with it's crush work?

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Yes, this is the only mill I use now 🍻🍻🍻

[@leroygross9144]

I love it. that might be the one to get

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Glad you found this useful Leroy.

[@peterschipperen1001]

Hey David, i wondering do you stil use this Mill after 3 years? I look at this review for about a 10 times in the last year and stil realy curious. I would really like to try the mill in combination with the brewtools B-80

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Yes. My monster mill pro is now redundant and I use this full time. So much easier to adjust and the crush is very good.

[@peterschipperen1001]

@@DavidHeathHomebrew Thank you very much for the response, I have ordered the mill and received it. I am very curious if this will bring me a step forward. brewed a heavy stout (start sg 1.126) 3 weeks ago and despite the many rice hulls in the mash, sparging took about 3 to 4 hours

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

@peterschipperen1001 Grain crush is vital. Too fine and a stuck mash and/or sparge will hit you. This mill makes adjustments very fast and easy.

[@peterppoulsen6308]

Yesterday I brew with 94% bohemian pils, 4% cara pils, and 2% all crushed with settings 5 and speed 3 and it was a nightmare in GF30 - I let the mash stand for 10 min after doe in before recirculating - stuck mash even with lots of rice hulls (when I saw the troubles) - didn't help - during mash it refused to heat (due to lots of burt flour). How would settings be for bohemian pilsner (weyermann)? Any good advice will be much appreaciated!

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Hi Peter, I suggest you go 6 or 7

[@peterppoulsen6308]

@@DavidHeathHomebrew, thanks for bohemian malt only and which speed?

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Speed 3 is good

[@rogercorbett122]

Like all Grainfather equipment it is still very expensive. I will stay with my existing mill and variable speed drill, which gives me perfectly good results. I even have an electric motor I could mount on it if I wanted.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

The price is for the individual to decide. Naturally there is some good convenience baked into this.

[@mikef9609]

Hi David I am seriously looking into purchasing this mill. I have lately been conditioning my grain prior to milling with good results. Have you tried conditioned grains with this mill, if not what are your thoughts? With thanks

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Hi Mike, whilst grain conditioning can be useful for certain mills it is not a practise that I have needed personally. My mill of choice before the GF mill was the Monster Mill 3 pro. I have not tried conditioned malt with the GF mill as the instructions are clear that grain must be totally dry. Once again though I find myself not needing it.

[@mackemsruleFTM]

I bought one about 2 weeks ago and got a free 25kg bag of marris otter with it, but looking at the instructions you showed it says they don't recommend Corn and I've bought a bag to make some bourbon so hope it goes through ok

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

I hope you enjoy it. Corn isn't recommend to use with many mills, my monster mill 3 pro included. A corn mill would be the way.

[@anthonyshepherdson8]

Thank you for this review, David. Have you managed to run any rye malt through the mill? For me, this is the grain which is the most problematic when it comes to crushing. Cheers.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Thanks Anthony. Rye is not something I use much, so currently this is not one I have tried.

[@mrow7598]

I can see another episode where you show us how to make a larger hopper. But with the electric feed you can fill up as you go. The only downside I see is the plastic hopper, I can see durability issues down the road. As for the price, converting the NZD to USD $420 to $300 (all in one version). The price isn't too bad when you compare the easy crush adjustment and the electric motor with a speed adjustment. If I were to buy a grain mill this would be one I would consider. I also noticed grain father is selling a "Overflow Filter" now. I guess they saw too many of your videos where you threw on sink strainer.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Haha, I guess that could be as simple as a 5L water bottle with the base cut off but I find it easy enough to top up at present. I think it's a fair enough price personally. It's cheaper than my current mill and has some conveniences for sure compared.

[@ShortCircuitedBrewers]

Nice mill from what you see! Could be a real viable option depending on price! Definitely like the adjustment mechanism. That's a huge pain point on other mills. Did you by any chance see if the gap was consistent across the rollers? Thanks for sharing David! 👍🍻

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Thanks Brian. It certainly seems to be. I guess the crush speaks for itself.

[@GraveyardGrog]

To be honest, I was thinking about buying that 1200 dollar grain mill from Blichmann for some time now based on the fact of how powerful it is. I then put the idea on the back burner but kept it on very very low heat. Then this one comes along and I was comPLETELY turned off by it. Looked too small, the bowl was too small. It seemed like a quick cash grab from GF. After watching this video, I realized a couple of things... 1. I'm not a small company brewer, so the Blichmann would be kinda silly and would take up some precious real estate in my brew room just to be used sporadically. 2. The Grainfather graining mill is detachable and space friendly. I am in reality a minimalist and the ability to take this out, setup, use and dismantle and store again, is good. 3. Price. While I do live in the U.S.A. it is not released here yet, but I would imagine it ain't nowhere near the 1200 price of the Blichmann grain mill. So where I stand right now...In the middle of nowhere. While I do not think I will be purchasing the Blichmann model and the GF mill isn't available here yet...I am stuck using the old drill mill. *sigh*

[@ShortCircuitedBrewers]

@@GraveyardGrog I think it's a good option from what David experienced.

[@GraveyardGrog]

@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Totally agree! His review definitely sold me on it. Ok, so we have to constantly keep pouring into that...little teeny tiny bowl....I am ok with that now!!

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

I should think that this will release in the US in the near future. It gives you time to consider :)

[@ReadingTim88]

My understanding was that the rollers are NOT stainless steel as stated, and so users have to avoid milling damp grain. Happy to be corrected though.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

It's in the technical specs from GF that the rollers are “hardened stainless steel “. You can find this in the instructions on page 3. GF do advise against the crushing of wet grain though. help.grainfather.com/hc/en-us/articles/360020758657-Instructions-Electric-Grain-Mill

[@fdk7014]

BTW, today I am brewing a Rauchbier. I took the recipe from my last brew but replaced the Caramunich II (Weyermann) with Munich Dark (VIking) just to see if you really need caramel malt in a Rauchbier. Everything else being equal as much as possible. I've always used caramel before but I'm not sure it's needed. What is your experience with Rauchbier, David?

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

I have to be honest and say that it's a style that I am still working on for a more pleasing result.

[@fdk7014]

@@DavidHeathHomebrew The results are in from my experiment! I used 4.5kg Viking beech smoked malt (90%) and 100 grams of Weyermann Carafa Special 2 (2%) in both brews. However, in the first I also used 400 grams of Weyermann Caramunich III and in the second I replaced that with 400 grams of Viking Munich dark. Both were hopped with 15 grams of Perle 8% @60 and 35 grams of Perle @10 minutes. I used WLP838 South German Lager however I did use the very same yeast for both. The first one was the second pitch of the yeast and then I dumped the second brew on the yeast cake left by the previous brew (i.e. 3rd pitch of the same yeast). Before the smoked beers I did a pilsner with Hull Melon hops to build up the yeast cake. Anyway, the result is two-fold: first of all I have to say I like the one with Caramunich more. I do think there should be a bit of caramel in a smoked beer. I would say the 8% I used is about the max, maybe I should have used Caramunich I instead. Initially I thought the beer was a bit too sweet but it mellowed out a bit with some age and turned out really nice. The Munich Dark one is still good but not as nice as the Caramunich one. The second result is that I am not impressed by the Viking smoked malt. I have done several smoked beers before with Weyermann beech smoked malt and those had a lot more flavor, despite using less of it (~70%). I have used several Viking malts before (mostly because it's my local-ish maltster) and they are normally just as good as anyone else but it seems their smoked offerings are not as good as Weyermann so that is what I'll be using going forward. (I should add that I make 20L batches)

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Many thanks for the information. Yes I believe it is key to balance styles with malts. Once you find a combination you like then you can start tweaking further. Something that you have little experience with always takes longer but I enjoy the process :)

[@PortlyGentleman]

Really good video David! That mill looks like it’s going to shake up the market, maybe GF is back on track. I personally think for the American market they’re might have to increase the hopper size. We can't help ourselves or maybe it’s just me 😅 Thank you again🍻

[@FermentationAdventures]

A bigger hopper will probably be an optional accessory is my guess.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

I suspect so a little later on

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Many thanks Bradley :) Yes, I think this is going to do really well once people realise how well it works and the advantages it offers.

[@fdk7014]

Not bad. I have a cheaper mill (Evil Twin) that I crank by hand. It has fairly small rollers and occasionally they seem to slip and not mill at all. This could be an upgrade in the future.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Certainly well worth considering for a better crush and much convenience I would say.

[@mrkesu]

Great video David, thanks! I will definitely be buying one later this year, even though it is a bit pricey. The perk of having Adult Money 😃

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

I am glad that you found this video useful :)

[@myrbakkbryggeri6886]

Bra video som vanlig, og fikk lyst å kjøpe en

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Thank you, yes this is very nice. Grainfather are back on a roll :)

[@larswollesen272]

Sold out …

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Yup, they are popular.

[@michaelkennedy8766]

Excellent review David but the price is ridiculous.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Price is totally for the individual to decide. I am glad you enjoyed the video :)

[@themagicmatt]

Ridiculous is a bit much. To me it feels like a fair price for a premium and convenient product. But I personally have other places to spend money to improve my beer before this.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Every one has their take on things. I am happy to advise on what is on offer but people need to decide on the value and worth.

[@improvsax]

When I first saw it was coming out- I thought ‘why would I need this?’. But after watching the video I can see where it would be quite useful and seemed to work very well. I have had very good results with the fairly cheap mill I have, but I certainly can see where this would be an improvement. Of course, a lot will depend on price.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

This for sure mills very well and offers a lot of conveniences.

[@paskrell]

Agree

[@JValida]

Well 300€ for so mutch plastic....

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

The plastic casing was a good move in my opinion. Naturally everything inside is metal and this is protective and keeps the weight manageable. In the end it is those rollers and the drive mechanism that you are paying for. My MM3 Pro is much more expensive too.

[@zzing]

Oh no not another great product...

[@zzing]

When and if this product comes to Canada, it will be a desirous protect. The NZ price I saw is actually cheaper than what I expected. Your conclusion about convenience is exactly what I was thinking. I actually built a table for milling grain because it was hard to make sure the thing stayed on top of the bucket. This would make milling a non-issue.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

This is certainly a nice convenient option for sure. I have to wonder why no body else did this already really