Grain mills – crush your own malt for homebrewing and breweries

A grain mill cracks the malt so the mash water can reach the starch, while keeping the husk as intact as possible. Here you will find manual and electric mills for homebrewers from Project Brew, Grainfather and Monster Brewing Hardware, and Sommer Maltman mills for breweries, as well as feeler gauges, oil and spare parts.

Choosing a grain mill

Manual and affordable: The Project Brew CrushMaster has two 304 stainless rollers adjustable from 0.6 to 2.5 mm. The hopper holds 3 kg of malt, and the metal base fixes onto a bucket.
Electric: The Grainfather Electric Grain Mill has a 400 W variable-speed motor and hardened stainless rollers. The gap adjusts in ten steps from 0.8 to 2 mm. It comes with or without the bamboo base.
Two or three rollers: A three-roller mill crushes the malt twice in one pass. The Monster Mill MM-3 is made for homebrewers. The MM3-Pro HT and MM2-Pro HT have heat-treated, hardened steel rollers for heavier use. With the hopper extension the hopper holds about 17 kg.
Breweries: Sommer Maltman mills from Germany are made to order and available in Norway only. Brewshop distributes Sommer and runs two Maltman 150 mills itself every day.

The mills compared

Mill	Drive	Capacity
Project Brew CrushMaster	Manual, 2 rollers	3 kg hopper
Grainfather Electric Grain Mill	Electric, 400 W	Gap 0.8–2 mm in ten steps
Monster Mill MM-3, MM2-Pro HT and MM3-Pro HT	2 or 3 rollers	About 17 kg with hopper extension
Sommer Maltman 110 and 150	Electric, 230 V	100–150 and 150–200 kg per hour
Sommer Maltman 220 and 400	Electric	300–400 and 600–800 kg per hour

Grain mill FAQ

Why crush your own malt?

Whole-husk malt keeps better than crushed malt because it oxidises more slowly. With your own mill you can crush on brew day and match the crush to your brewing system.

What roller gap should I use?

It depends on your brewing system. Start in the middle of the mill's range and adjust from the results. Monster Brewing Hardware recommends a starting gap of 1–1.14 mm. A feeler gauge makes it easy to set the gap precisely.