Cheap Malt Mill

I received my first order ever from a homebrew store in Mexico! A homebrew store out of Mexico City called Fermentando sold and shipped me four kilos of 2-row to brew a batch of IPA while I'm down here in San Miguel. The order process was easy using my Pal pal account and I received the shipment via Estafeta in just four days. I was happy with the process and feel like a satisfied customer.


Now, I need to mill this grain. I could have ordered it pre-milled but I like the idea of using this molino that I found at the market. I used it a couple of years ago for this project and had good results with my efficiency so I'm confident this time that the results will be similar.

This mill is inexpensive at a cost of about $25 and easily available here, where roller mills are hard to find. It's adjustable with a wing nut that holds the position of the grinding plates at a certain distance. Here I will maximize my yield by setting the gap very close and crushing the grain severely. As you will see in the video, the mill clamps onto the table top and doesn't leave room for a catch bucket. I improvised by cutting a cardboard box out to catch the grain which tends to spray out to the sides as you crank. Of course, modifications to the table or building something effective for this would be preferable but I'm only using this thing once this year and so I'm trying to keep it simple.


One other thought on this type of mill, although I've never done it myself, I suspect that a 1/2" drill or screw gun could be attached to drive it rather than the laborious hand cranking. You could probably even adapt it to be used with a stationary motor and belt system. If anyone reading this has experience with this type of mill or has gone so far as to modify it to make it more practical, please share in the comment section. I've only used this type a few times but I imagine there are some great changes that could be made to really have an effective piece of equipment for the brewery. Cheers!

Watch how it works!