Milling

Grain Handling
And
Grist Preparation

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Technology
 Key Points

 Purpose of Milling
 Malt Transport Systems
 Malt Handling Systems
 Types of Milling / Grinding Systems
 Ideal Grist Fractions
 Auxiliary Equipment
 Importance for Mashing / Brewing

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 Purpose of Milling

 Crack the outer husk (preferably longitudinally)

and separate it from the endosperm
 Crush / disintegrate the endosperm so it is
exposed for speedy enzymatic degradation
 Create the correct assortment of materials so
the lautering process will be optimized
 Mill in a short time (w/ minimum oxygen
pickup) so brewing is not interrupted

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 Ideally Crushed Malt

 No uncrushed kernels
 The majority of husks split end to end
with no endosperm particles adhering
 The endosperm reduced to a uniform
particle size
 A minimum of snowy white powder

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 Milling Compromises

 Husk and Endosperm require different

milling objectives
 Husk should be as intact as possible to
act as filtration medium
 Endosperm must be finely ground for
hydrolysis and maximum yield
 Minimize ‘tan flour’ – binds lauter bed
and may indicate handling damage
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 Yield from Grain Ingredients

 Fine Crushing (Maximum Yield):

 More fermentable sugars
 Higher attenuation
 Higher alcohol production
 Coarse Crushing (Maximum Speed):
 Better lautering run-off
 Lower yield

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 Husks - 1

 Husks should be milled as little as possible

 Mostly cellulose:
 Not water soluble
 Minimally affected by enzymes
 Husk is elastic and difficult to mill – but also
difficult to pulverize
 Provides a natural filter bed for lautering

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 Husks - 2

 Husks can affect color and taste

negatively – contains polyphenols, harsh
/ bitter substances, silicates and proteins
 If too finely milled will slow extract run-off
during lautering
 Crushed Grist Quality is Largely
Dependent on the Condition of the Husk

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 Endosperm

 Primary extract source of starch, other

carbohydrates and proteins
 Well-modified sections readily solubilized
by enzymes
 Hard sections (steely ends) provide less
extract and require intensive mashing
 Should be finely milled

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 Milling is a Mechanical
Process
 Provides the foundation for:
 Chemical / biological conversion which
occurs during the mashing operation
 Qualitative composition of the wort
 Extract yield
 If malt quality is poor, milling becomes
even more critical

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 The Steps to Milling

 Transporting the malt from the maltster to

the brewery
 Unloading the malt into the brewery
storage areas
 Moving the malt to the mill which may
include: Cleaning, Conditioning and
Weighing (Fig. 1)

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 Malt Transport

 Bulk Shipment:
 Ships (now mostly Containers)
 Rail (Pressure or Dump)
 Truck (Tilt dump, blower, container, etc.)
 Small Shipment:
 Pallet bag system
 Standard bags

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 Unloading Systems

 Belt Conveyors
 Bucket Elevators
 Screw Conveyors
 Pneumatic Systems:
 Old – High Volume / Low Mass
 New – Low Volume / High Mass
 Forklifts and Humans

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 Brewery Malt Cleaning

 Vibrating (Shaker) Screens:

 Large stones, wood, metal, etc.
 Cyclones:
 Dust, Flour, Fines
 Husk fractions
 Magnets:
 Ferrous metals

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 Malt Conditioning

 Add moisture to the husk to soften it to

make it easier to remove and reduce
shattering (Fig. 2)
 Conditioning systems are often screw
conveyors that inject steam or hot water
to passing malt
 Supposed to improve yield / reduce dust
 Used with dry mills
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 Types of ‘Milling’ Machines

 Dry Mills (2, 4, 5, 6-roll) – Fig. 3, 4, 5

 Used in most world breweries
 Wet Mills (mostly 2-roll)
 Advantages / Disadvantages versus Dry Mills
 Hammer mills
 Mostly used with Mash Filters
 Experimental rotary disc wet grinding
 Meura ‘Hydromill’ used with Mash Filter

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 2-Roll Dry Mills

 Simplest, least expensive mills – most

common in small breweries (Fig. 6)
 Easy to operate and adjust
 Requires uniform, well-modified malt for
reasonable grist quality
 Slow milling capacity (15-20 kg/cm roller
width/hr) – 160-180 rpm roller speed
 Often used to grind raw cereal adjuncts
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 4-Roll Dry Mills

 Also requires well-modified malt

 1st roller pair: pre-crushing (Fig. 7, 8)
 2nd roller pair: husk rolls
 There are many configurations (with and
without screens)
 Faster throughput than 2-roll mills and
better control of grind
 Used in breweries larger than brewpubs
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 5-Roll Mills

 Intended as an improvement on 6-roll

mills (Fig. 9)
 #2 roller used in two operations
 Found that this shared roller required
frequent resurfacing in intensive milling
operations
 No longer manufactured

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 6-Roll Mills

 Standard for large breweries (Fig. 9, 10)

 Provides the largest degree of control of
the milling operation
 Can be used with malts of varying
modification levels
 Large throughput capability
 Robust, requiring minimal maintenance

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 Wet Milling - 1

 Stainless steel, 2-roll mills with CIP system

 Partially combines milling & mashing (Fig. 11)
 Advantages cited:
 No dust generated during milling
 Husk remains intact – higher lauter loading
(brewhouse capacity)
 Use less modified malts
 Increase extract and brewhouse efficiency

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 Wet Milling - 2

 Disadvantages:
 Hard to adjust in operation
 High maintenance costs (water seals, etc.)
 Increased oxygen pickup due to pumping
 High capacity units needed to meet brewing
schedules
 No longer manufactured – replaced by
intensive steeping systems (Fig. 12)

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 Hammer Mills

 Often used in conjunction with Mash Filters

 The grist created is very fine since the filter
cloths of the mash filter does the filtration – so
no need for an intact husk (Fig. 13)
 These mills are inexpensive in comparison to
roller mills
 Very high extract efficiencies in combination
with mash filters

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 Grist Assortment

 Defined as the crushed (malt) particle

size as determined by screening tests
 Four principle fractions of grist:
 Husks
 Course Grits
 Fine Grits
 Flour

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 Assortment Adjustment

 Affected by:
 Mill Settings
 Malt Type
 Mill Type
 Conditioning / No Conditioning
 Mill Maintenance
 Auxiliary Equipment

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 Recommended Grist
Fractions on EBC Screens
Fraction Retained on Lauter Tun Grist Mash Filter Grist
Screen # % (Range) % (Range)
Husk #16 (1.270 mm) 18% (20 – 30) 11% (8 – 13)

Course Grind #20 (1.010 mm) 8% (5 – 10) 4% (2 – 4)

Fine Grind I #36 (0.547 mm) 35% (28 – 42) 16% (14 – 18)

Fine Grind II #85 (0.253 mm) 21% (12 – 18) 43% (38 – 48)

Flour #140 (0.152mm) 7% (4 – 8) 10% (8 – 12)

Powder Pan 11% (8 – 15) 16% (14 – 19)

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 Recommended Grist
Fractions on ASBC Screens
Fraction Retained on Screen Lauter Tun Grist Mash Filter Grist
Number Fraction, % Fraction, %
Husks I #10 (0.0787”) 13% 3%
(2.000 mm)
Husks II #14 (0.0555”) 20% 4%
(1.410 mm)
Coarse Grits I #18 (0.0394”) 32% 13%
(1.000 mm)
Coarse Grits II #30 (0.0234”) 24% 20%
(0.590 mm)
Fine Grits #60 (0.0098”) 6% 45%
(0.250 mm)
Coarse Flour #100 (0.0059”) 2% 10%
(0.149 mm)
Powder Pan 3% 5%
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 Checking the Grist

 Check visually every day

 Take screen assortment once per week
 Correct sampling of milling operation is vital
 Most mills have have built-in trier (sampler)
 Follow manufacturers sampling procedure and
ASBC screening procedure

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 Mill Adjustment - 1

 Use assortment results as a guide to adjust

 Set to recommended settings making sure:
 Rollers are parallel
 Rollers are not badly worn
 Bearings are not badly worn
 Use feeler gauges (or run solder through each
roller set and measure) – do not trust
graduation markings on mill roller adjusters

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 Mill Adjustment - 2

 Infeed must be controlled to not flood / jam

 Uncrushed malt kernels indicate:
 Roller gap(s) too large
 Malt fed too fast
 Rollers are wear-grooved
 If flour is not white some husks are being
ground
 Disconnect power when working on mills!

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 Malt Mill Problems

 Out of adjustment
 Change in malt type and/or kernel size
 Excess mechanical wear
 Insufficient lubrication (food grade
greases)
 Cleanliness
 Problems in the malt handling system

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 Dust Collection

 Crushing the malt will always generate

dust (Fig. 14)
 Dust collection systems should operate
whenever malt is moved / milled for:
 Explosion prevention
 Brewery cleanliness
 Microbiological safety
 Employee health concerns

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 Final Comments

 Proper milling of malts (and adjuncts)

leads to improved brewhouse efficiency:
 Proper mash conversion, optimum lautering
 High quality worts
 Beer with good filtration characteristics
 Stable, good-tasting beers!
 It is the start of the brewing process

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