The Spike Mill: Early Review

[@robaxelsson530]

I could see this for a small brewery.. I do like the 3to1 ratio and the “sheer” opposed to “crush”.. I like the slotted / angled rollers opposed to “knurled”. Looks like a great product..price.. not so much.. maybe a non-motor version for the “frugal brewer”..

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Fair enough!

[@TWillBeer]

Whenever spike has a product announcement, the price seems steep. Then I look at the alternatives to come up with something in the same ballpark of functionality. The price doesn’t seem so bad after that. This is definitely on my “save up for months to buy list”

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Right. It really is the affordable option for a good quality motorized mill.

[@WreckedBrewery]

Very cool. Always loved Spike equipment. They've been top notch and this seems to be very well made no differently. I am currently using a Monster Mill 2 so I'm not in the market at this time, but this definitely peaks my interest. I like that it's all inclusive with the motor, so that would really cut down on the footprint of my current mill station.

[@chadcarpenter9742]

Larry, I'm so happy to see you took it apart. I like to think I implanted that thought in your head.😂 I actually thought the price tag was going to be higher. Looks well built.

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Ha. I’ve got video and photo of the other side under the cover too, but that was only the electronics. Boring! It’s actually on the lower price side of motorized malt mills. Others I’ve seen are $1000+. Very sturdy built.

[@curtpick628]

Nice mill. A bit pricey but looks to be a beast. If I had the budget, I'd bite. Good job Larry 👏 👍 I'd like to see a noise level(dba).

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

There’s raw footage on Instagram with sound.

[@beerandbbqhobbyist6464]

Hey Larry, thanks for the review. Is that the home model or pro?

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Home version

[@jphomebrew]

Another good one Larry!

[@MaryBrownForFreedom]

On my list to buy... bushings in my current mill are shot and the crush is really wonky...

[@jaskats1]

Thanks for the excellent review! While you have the mill, could you please do a sieve test for grain crush? This would be extremely valuable for both home brewer and professional brewer. Thank you

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Too late. It was back at Spike before this video was published. Hopefully, I’ll get another chance once the mill is available to the public.

[@grahamhawes7089]

This is pretty attractive. I had been eyeing the Maltzilla but was apprehensive after reading/watching complaints about the QC. This is a bit pricier but the features and fit and finish look excellent. Will definitely consider it after more reviews come out. I hope they offer a cheap pre-drilled base plate with it.

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

They have a bucket adapter lid to mount it on as well as a mill table made just for it.

[@patrickglaser1560]

Maltzilla gives great results. Knock on wood I got a good motor

[@suwirwong]

Do you recomend this over ss brewtech one ?

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

I’ve never used batch Brewtech. I don’t know.

[@beeroquoisnation]

Looks very robust. I have a Malt Muncher. I have rigged up a Phidgets motor and a chain drive that runs off my Milwaukee drill batteries. Takes the need to babysit the crushing process. If I could find a nice little table to mount it on that a bucket will fit under, it'll be getting mounted on it. Cheers Larry. Great Vidya as always. Spike did a great job on the design of this mill.

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Sounds like a good DIY solution.

[@F18Paul]

Here's my justification for the cost. I give myself a $100 allowance each month and I have a "long-term home brewery plan"...when I find the perfect tool for my dream brewery, I pull my allowance out like a kid in a candy store...LOL! I also wait for holiday or kickstarter sales...which was the case here for the Spike grain crusher. Let's be honest, homebrewing is not cheap, so take your time, save your pennies, and get yourself something nice that is American made, built by a super cool company, and will last you a lifetime!

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Good plan!

[@MaryBrownForFreedom]

with such a consistent crush you may be able to use a little less grain each batch, over time that could pay for itself! With my worn out Barley Crusher I et a very inconsistent crush and I can taste it batch to batch as efficiency suffers from the bad crush. Been waiting for these to become available!

[@TheBrewQ]

500?! woooo that's a hefty price. It looks cool but that would have to be a "next year" purchase lol. Thanks for the demo!

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Starting saving now.

[@CrazyAboutVinylRecords]

One thing I can always count on with Spike Brewing is whenever I see something I might want to buy from them they are are almost always out of stock. I waited months to get the pressure lid upgrade for my Flex fermenter. And there have been at least three other times where I was interested in buying product from them but they were unavailable. So I ended up buying from the competition because I didn't want to wait two or three months or more. Most recently I wanted to buy a Spike Flow pump. It is unobtainium. So I bought a Blichmann Riptide instead. Spike Brewing needs to understand product availability issues is costing them business.

[@3rwparks3]

I think the design department needed to justify its pay. It looks good, and I like the idea of it being motorized. No more drills on brew day. But I am achieving 74-76 % with my simple Barley Crusher. How much more brew house efficiency can this thing give you? I am retired, so an additional 500 bucks is out. BUT!! If I had the extra money, I do like gadgets, and I would buy one.

[@MaryBrownForFreedom]

When the bushing go on your Barley Crusher(and they WILL fail) you will have to other replace them or buy a new mill... ones in mine are shot, the drive roller slops around making the gap inconsistent...

[@3rwparks3]

i haven't noticed any issues with the bushings yet. But I will keep an eye on them. Like your icon. @@MaryBrownForFreedom

[@perrymattes4285]

Ok tell me i use a victory mill with two plates that have a gap. The roller mills crush by squashing the grain. Why is one better than the other. ? As for the belt chain issue the dust will suck out all the lube. A kevlar timing belt is far superior. And isnt affected by the dust. I had an application very close to this. And the chains didn’t hold up. The belt lasted forever no stretch no wear.

[@SpikeBrewing]

The old knurled roller design pinches/crushes the husk and is really abrasive. This doesn't leave the husk in tact and creates a lot more flour. The shearing action cracks the husk and is far more gentle. Most new mills have this shearing action. Ours provides this with the helical fluted rollers and the offset driven design. Most home brew mills (especially the cheap ones) were either designed 50 years ago or designed overseas by engineers that don't brew beer. There's a popular mill on the market that uses a belt drive. We'll let you do the research on how that is working but we specifically avoided that. Our chain doesn't need lube so there's no worries there. We've run our test mills with 10,000's of grain and haven't had any issues with the chain or gears. If you're using this on the home brew scale we're confident that your children's, children's, children will still be using this beast!

[@MetalHeadBrewer]

Jumped on the Kickstart a few months back. I am really looking forward to not using my drill or adjusting the gap all the time. Merry Christmas to me🍻

[@TV-xy6xp]

Шикарная мельница

[@MetalHeadBrewer]

Still waiting Spike, maybe April😔

[@orange-micro-fiber9740]

I don't see the need for a mill at home. LHBS mills for free & malt is cheaper and fresher there. Honest question, what scenario would justify this when it's free?

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

That's fine, but there are several scenarios why people like a mill at home: 1) Not everyone has a LHBS and must order grains delivered direct to their home. 2) If they do have a LHBS, not all offer an onsite mill for free use. 3) If they do have a local LHBS and have an onsite mill for free use, the gap will preset for someone else's gap preference requiring you to use it or to set it up for your own needs. 4) Some people buy and store bulk whole grains at home and do not want to go out seeking a LBHS to bring their measured grains for milling on every brew day. 5) Complete control over the crush of every type of grain in their recipe. 6) Convenience factor. OK. There's some overlap/redundancy above, but those are reasons why.

[@orange-micro-fiber9740]

@@BEERNBBQBYLARRY thanks for actually replying! I think the "don't have a LHBS" makes most sense to me. I've always lived near big cities, but if you lived in BFE north Dakota, you wouldn't have one. I'm a cheap b-word but I've never found bulk buying to be cheaper than buying at my LHBS. I follow a homebrew deal account on twitter and their bulk grain deals are never cheaper than my LHBS. Maybe I'm just blessed!

[@dh9478]

My friend still hauls his heavy carboys under his house to ferment at ambient temperature. He makes great beer. I have a stainless steel conical with temp control including a glycol chiller. I also make great beer. But, what is my justification? Is: "I want to" enough of a reason?

[@z135210]

It's like 3x the cost of a standard 2-3 roller mill...

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

That is true if ignoring the “apples to oranges” comparison of powered versus unpowered mills, but when comparing self powered malt mills, it is the cheapest I’ve seen.

[@januszkszczotek8587]

Honestly, I'm not impressed by the looks of the milled malt. Considering the price, there are too much broken husks when milling at 0.04" (that's just over 1mm). Also, why should it be better to drive the rolls at different speeds? If anything, I want to *reduce* the sheering, since it's that what destroys the husks. Sheering is the problem of all mills where only one roll is motorized. Why do they introduce it on purpose?

[@SpikeBrewing]

We developed the Spike Mill while working with Briess Malt to really hone in the crush. They are the experts in the industry so that is why the shearing direction was taken.

[@improvsax]

I would certainly like to have one. The one I have (uses crank for hand drill) works ok and my brews come out well. but I sure like the quick, positive adjustment and build quality. Perhaps in the future I will spring the $$$. Considering the pricing of other mills out there, it does not seem out of line for what you get. Thanks for the quick review.

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Right! The inclusion of a motor certainly raises the price.