The Cereal Killer Grain Mill from Adventures in Homebrewing is homebrew grain mill that features two adjustable rollers. It has a 7 lb capacity hopper and a wood base. The current version of the Cereal Killer sports a ball bearing design for the rollers, marked settings for the adjustable rollers and a new improved handle.

Note: Since this review was published the Cereal Killer has beer upgraded. Of particular note is a mew plastic base

Get Current Price, Review Continues Below:

Cereal Killer Grain Mill – via Adventures in Homebrewing

Features:

Includes a handle, but you can also easily use a drill.

Hardened steel roller size is 5″ long and 1.25″ diameter

The crank shaft has a 10mm diameter

It is suggested to run @ 300 RPM if motorized

Body is anodized aluminum for a lifetime worth of use

Two adjustable rollers

The roller gap can be set as low as around .02″

Rollers will adjust up to .100″

Rollers have a ball bearing design

Marked adjustable roller for easy adjustment

7 lb capacity hopper

Wood base designed to fit snugly on the top of a 5 or 6 gallon bucket

A Case for Milling Your Own Grain

Crush is a pretty big deal when it comes to efficiency. Homebrew shops have a tendency to under mill grain. I think the reason for that is ease of use, with the thinking that a more coarse crush equals few stuck mashes and more happy customers. I guess it’s possible that a shop mill could over mill grain too. The point is, when you’re using someone else’s mill, it’s up to them how you mill your grain.

Milling your own grain… 1. Gives you control over the crush of your grain. That’s a big factor in efficiency. 2. A mill allows you to fine tune for your equipment and process. You know what the crush is going to be since you set it. 3. A mill allows you to save money by buying whole bags of grain at a discount, and 3. The shelf life of unmilled grain is longer than pre-milled grain. Freshly milled grain = better tasting beer.

A Look at the Cereal Killer Grain Mill

The Cereal Killer comes in it’s own branded box. It generally includes free shipping to addresses in the contiguous 48 US States How it comes out of the box A look at the handle and base. Handles used to be an additional purchase. With this version of the mill, the handle has been upgraded and is now included with every mill. The sticker on the base reads… “Base is flipped for shipping. Flip base over to operate mill”. The base is shipped upside down, presumably, to protect the bucket pegs during shipping. Flipping this over is easy. Two bolts and you’re done. Note that there is a right way and wrong way to install the base. The shaft should be on the short side of the base to allow you to install the handle or use a drill. The top of the hopper features a rubber guard. A look inside the 7 lb hopper A look at the two rollers. The mill assembly feels very solid. The ball bearing design allows the rollers to roll nice and smoothly. Loosening the set screw frees up the rollers to be adjusted. Another improvement is the marked roller adjustments. It’s hard to see in this picture (click to zoom), but there are three markings – .1″, .05″ and .025″ Again, it may be hard to see, but there is a line on the adjustment knob. You line that up with your selected setting (.1″, .05″ or .025″) and tighten the set screw to lock it in. These markings and knobs are on both sides of the mill. That’s great because it’s important that the mill is set evenly. If it isn’t even, grain will have a tendency to go to one side of the rollers and come out under-crushed. I picked up this feeler gauge tool [Lisle 68100 Deluxe Feeler Gauge] with the thought that I would need a feeler gauge to adjust the mill. I should have read the full and updated feature set because I really didn’t need it because of the handy dandy markings on the roller adjustment knobs. It was handy to confirm the uniformity of the markings and settings. The rollers are set to .025″ in this photo. The .025″ feeler gauge slides evenly along the entire length of the rollers. It’s not loose but it’s not overly tight. It felt even. I also attempt to insert the next largest gauge between the rollers, .026″. That did not easily insert at any point along the rollers. I slide it down the length and it didn’t go between the rollers. I probably could have forced it, but moderate pressure didn’t get it to go in. That’s pretty great. A look at the mill shaft. This can accept either a manual handle (included) or work with a drill Handle installed Installed on an Emergency Essentials 6 Gallon Bucket. The pegs and base fit nice only top of this bucket. It should fit well on any standard 5 or 6 gallon bucket. The Cereal Killer Grain Mill Hopper filled with about 7 lbs of malt. Grind on .025″ setting. Note that this particular grain bill is rice malt, so volumes and appearance may be a bit different vs barley

As of this update, I’ve used this mill for just over 2 years. I now understand the praise that this mill has been getting. This is a great mill. It’s every bit the quality of the other brand two roller mill I’ve owned and it has more features. It’s generally available for around $99 and includes free shipping to many US addresses. At that price it’s an amazing value.

Cereal Killer Grain Mill – via Adventures in Homebrewing

Also: All Grain Tips & Gear | 10 Gallon Mash Tun Conversion Kit [Review] | Cereal Killer Grain MIll | Batch Sparge Spreadsheet | BIAB Brew Day Spreadsheet | The Brew Bag – Purpose Made BIAB

review:cerealkillermill tag:tpr