Introduction
For us, milling our own grain was the final frontier in our homebrewing journey - the last piece of the proverbial brew-day puzzle that we didn't have complete control over ourselves. We'd always just left it to our local homebrew store to mill the grains for us when we ordered them, and we therefore had no idea whether we were getting a fine or coarse crush, nor was there an option to select what type of crush we wanted when ordering.
We were getting decent results though, hitting our recipes target numbers more often than not, so we weren't too worried about it. However, in our never ending quest to learn more about brewing and ultimately make the best beer possible, we wanted to invest in a grain mill and get up to speed on doing it ourselves.
After much research we landed on the Malt King from Keg King. A geared, 3 roller grain mill that comes with a mounting board included, something that other mills on the market seemed to lack as a standard inclusion.
Before we go any further, it's worth mentioning the two blog posts we've already written on this mill. One on assembly and the other on adjusting the gap size. There will of course be some overlap in content with this review article, but we won't be going into quite as much detail here as we did in the dedicated posts on these two areas. So if you'd like to read more on either of these aspects of the mill, you can find the links to the posts at the end of this review.
 |
| Fully assembled Malt King Grain Mill |
Why Mill Your Own Grains
As we mentioned above, we always left it to our local homebrew store to mill our grains for us when ordering. After using the Malt King to mill our own grains with a relatively coarse crush to suit our all-in-one BrewZilla system, it has become apparent that the homebrew shop was crushing much finer, as we've noticed significantly better flow through the grain bed when recirculating during the mash, with no loss of efficiency either.
This is a great reason and an example of why it's preferable to mill your own grain. You're ultimately removing a variable (or at least gaining control over that variable) to really help you dial in your recipes and processes and ensure consistent results between batches.
There are other benefits too, like being able to buy and store your unmilled grains in bulk, which almost always works out cheaper than buying them in smaller lots (assuming you use everything you buy in bulk and don't waste any). Some homebrew stores charge extra for milling as well.
2 Roller vs 3 Roller Grain Mills
If you're in the market for a grain mill, you'll soon discover that they're generally available in 2 roller or 3 roller variants. 2 roller mills operate by having rollers that rotate in the opposite direction, crushing the grain once as they're pulled between the rollers.
A 3 roller design like the Malt King, has a top pair of rollers that initially pull the grain into the mill, before being crushed between one of the top rollers and the bottom roller. It is believed that 3 roller designs provide a more consistent crush and help preserve the integrity of the grain husk which aids in filtering during sparging/lautering.
Packaging & Contents
The Malt King comes with everything neatly packaged in a single box, including;
- Grain mill body
- Handle
- Steel mounting board
- 4 x panels for the hopper
- Screws and nuts for hopper assembly
- Metal roller guard
- Rubber seal/gasket to go on top of the hopper
- Instructions
 |
| Keg King Malt King - all parts laid out in preparation for assembly |
Grain Mill Body
The grain mill body is constructed of 6061 aluminium and features metal adjustment dials on either side which are used to set the gap between the rollers which determines crush size, as well as black locking screws on the rear plate to lock the adjustment dials in place.
The locking screws work well and once fastened we weren't able to move the adjustment dials at all, so as long as these stay tight your mill gap settings are very much set and forget.
 |
| The Malt King adjustment knob and black locking screws |
The opposing face of the mill has a removable plate (via four screws in the corners) that once removed provides access to the bottom roller so it can be accurately adjusted. More on this later.
Lastly, there is the 12mm crank where a handle or drill can be attached in order to operate the mill and turn the rollers. We'll cover this in more detail later in this review as well.
 |
| 12mm crank that a drill or handle can be attached to |
Steel Rollers
The rollers themselves are made from cold rolled steel, and feature 12 TPI (teeth per inch) knurling to help grab the grain and feed it through the rollers while leaving the hull as intact as possible. Preserving the grain husk is important to ensure the grain bed can filter effectively during the mash.
 |
| Cold rolled steel rollers featuring 12 TPI on the Malt King |
The cold rolled steel means these rollers are super strong and durable so will no doubt last a long time and happily crush grains for years to come. The rollers are suitable for crushing all types of grain, like regular malted barley as well as other varieties such as malted wheat and rye.
Roller Gearing System
On the opposite side of the mill body to the crank shaft, you can see the gear system that is used to link the drive roller (connected to the crank shaft) to the other roller. This means that both both rollers are rotating at exactly the same speed ensuring smooth operation and a consistent, uniform crush.
The clear cover over the gear mechanism also looks pretty cool.
 |
| The gearing system used to power both rollers |
Steel Mounting Board
A quick note on the included steel mounting board that is included with the mill. The mill body came conveniently pre-installed on the board which is a gloss black colour, meaning it's non-porous so the inevitable grain milling dust that will cover it can be easily wiped away.
 |
| The Malt King comes pre-mounted on the black steel mounting board |
There's also a lip that runs down both of the long sides of the board, which are a perfect fit for the bucket we use for milling into, and once slotted in, all but locks the mill into place and does a great job at minimising movement. This was a nice little design inclusion that shows some real thought went into this, as a flat bottomed board would certainly slide around more and be harder to wrangle during operation.
Assembly
Assembly is relatively straightforward, and we found the included instructions to be clear and helpful with putting it all together. In terms of tools, all you'll need is a phillips head screw driver and some long nose pliers.
As previously mentioned, the mill body came pre-installed on the mounting board which was nice and one less thing to worry about during assembly.
The aluminium sheets that make up the hopper come shipped with blue plastic on them (to protect from scratches). We've read some horror stories about them being impossible to remove and leaving a nasty residue behind, but we had no problems with ours at all. If you do encounter difficulties, you can try heating them up with a hair drier to soften the plastic and melt the adhesive.
 |
| The infamous blue plastic sheets on the hopper pieces were fairly easy to remove for us |
First order of business is to assemble the hopper, which after initially putting one of the pieces around the wrong way, we eventually figured out. Putting the screws and nuts in and only doing them up finger tight to hold things loosely together means fixing mistakes isn't such a big deal and helps to orient things in place.
One key element with the assembly is to ensure the narrower sides overlap on the outside of the wider panels, as pictured below.
 |
| Ensure the edges of the narrow sides overlap on the outside of the wider sides |
We initially forgot to install the guard piece, but we were able to squeeze it into place by loosening the bottom screws and thankfully didn't have to take everything apart to start again.
 |
| Guard piece installed on the Malt King |
The hopper is then installed onto the mill body by backing off two screws on the mill then sliding the hopper into place and re-tightening. Simple.
The last step was to install the rubber gasket on the top of the hopper to protect arms and hands from the metal edges here. This was also surprisingly easy to put on, just take a minute to orient it since it's a rectangle shape, then feed it on and go around it a couple of times to make sure it's all sitting nice and flush.
Adjusting Gap Size
Why Gap Size Matters
The gap size refers to the distance between the lower roller and the front upper roller on the mill, which are the two rollers that actually crush the grain. Setting it correctly and accurately is crucial to ensure you get the expected result from your grain crush. Setting the gap too close will result in a very fine crush, which can hinder recirculation during the mash and lead to stuck mashes and stuck sparges, as the grain husks become destroyed and become less effective at allowing water to flow through them.
Conversely, setting the gap too wide or open, will result in a coarser crush which can lead to a drop in efficiency if the grain husks aren't sufficiently cracked to allow the mash water to access the starches to convert them to sugar.
Striking a balance is key and there's plenty of advice out there on the ideal crush size for your brewing system. Generally speaking, all-in-one brewing systems like the Guten or BrewZilla will want a coarse crush, whereas Brew In A Bag (BIAB) brewers will want a finer crush.
The Malt King has an adjustment range of .62mm to 2.54mm which will give a suitable crush for any brewing system out there.
Feeler Gauge
The best way to adjust the gap size of the mill is to use feeler gauges, which are strips of steel at known thicknesses. The gauges can be bunched together to give a desired total thickness, and are then wedged in between the rollers to set the gap between them. These are very affordable and a worthwhile investment to go with your grain mill.
 |
| A feeler gauge is a must-have to accurately dial in your gap size |
Adjustment Dial Measurements
What became apparent from our testing is that the gap measurements around the adjustment dials are not accurate, so these shouldn't be relied upon for setting your gap. As an example, we set the gap to 1.35mm using our feeler gauge, which saw the dial land between the 2.41mm and 2.16mm settings on both sides.
 |
| The measurements on the adjustment dials are not accurate and shouldn't be relied upon for determing your mill gap setting |
Instructions
We also found the included instructions were somewhat lacking in terms of actual detail on setting your gap size. Little details like which way to turn the adjustment dials to set them are important, since they need to be turned in opposing directions to ensure the bottom roller sits straight.
You can refer to our dedicated post on adjusting the gap size for full instructions (see Related Articles section at the bottom), but the process essentially involves removing the four screws on the front plate to gain access to the rollers.
 |
| Remove the four screws on this to remove the plate to access the rollers for adjustment |
Once removed, you insert the feeler gauge between the two lower rollers then adjust the roller using the dial on each side of the mill so roller sits tight up against the feeler gauge.
 |
| Feeler gauge inserted between the two lower rollers |
The dial on the driveshaft side (right side pictured below) needs to be turned clockwise, and the dial on the opposing side needs to be turned counter-clockwise to move the bottom roller in the direction indicated by the arrows in the picture below below.
It perhaps sounds a little complicated, but turning each of the dials with the plate off will show you the way the roller is moving.
Adjust the roller so it's firmly against the feeler gauge, then fasten the locking screw and gently slide out the feeler gauge. Repeat on the other side, then double check by re-inserting the feeler gauge on both sides.
You'll know you've got the roller sitting straight and set evenly if the adjustment dials on both sides are sitting at the same values (even if the values don't match the gap you've set).
Hopper Capacity
Keg King state that the aluminium hopper has a capacity of 6kg, which seems about right if you fill it all the way to the brim. Actual capacity may vary slightly depending on what type of grain you're using, but for single batches, most regular size grain bills should fit in the hopper.
Pro tip - don't add your grains into the hopper until you have the mill situated in place on top of the bucket or other vessel you'll be milling into. We quickly discovered that moving the mill around with grains in the hopper (perhaps unsurprisingly) leads to them falling through the mill without being crushed, essentially wasting them (unless you take the mill off the bucket to retrieve them, which would likely lead to even more grains falling through).
Attaching a Drill
When it comes to powering your mill, you've got three options. First, you can go old school and use the included crank handle to manually turn the rollers to feed and crush the grain. Not something we've attempted but we expect it would be quite the workout, and probably a little time consuming as well.
Option two is to purchase a dedicated mill motor to drive it. Keg King sell one for AU$299, which costs more than the mill itself. You'll need an adapter to connect the mill shaft to the motor, and you'll also need to raise up the mill approximately 15mm to get it all to line up. If you're using this for homebrew scale single batches, it just isn't a worthwhile investment in our opinion.
 |
| A high-torque motor is sold separately as one option to drive your malt king mill |
The last option is what we decided to go for, and what pretty much every homebrew mill uses - the trusty household drill. We did more research than we care to admit on this, looking at all manner of high-torque paint mixing drills, but eventually ended up going for a regular Ryobi 18V drill driver, which cost around AU$100 with battery and charger.
The 12mm crank shaft on the Malt King attaches easily to a drill and secures in place without slipping during operation.
 |
| Malt King with Ryobi house hold drill attached |
The weight of the mill itself also means that with a drill secured, you can sit it in place on the bucket without it tipping over which makes going solo and milling on your own hassle free.
Performance
So how does the Malt King actually perform? Let's go through some of the key areas to find out.
Low Dust Operation
Firstly, the included mounting board does an excellent job at reducing the dust that escapes from the mill and bucket. This is important as exposure to any sort of dust like this poses a potential health hazard. Wearing a face mask or respirator is probably a good idea anyway, but not something we worried about when milling around 5kg of grain for each batch.
It's also worth mentioning again how the mounting board is held in place on top of the bucket quite well from the folded down rides on the under-side of the board.
Smooth Drill Operation
We found it relatively easy to maintain a steady and consistent speed with the drill when milling grains. If you have different gears and speed options on your drill, it's a good idea to experiment with them to see which one works best. Ideally you want maximum torque but minimum speed. Slow and steady is the name of the game here, so running the drill at maximum speed is not recommended as you'll run the risk of cooking/burning the grain as it passes through the rollers at high speed. Having a variable speed trigger on your drill also helps with this.
The roller operation is very smooth thanks to the long lasting steel bearings, and the gearing system helps to ensure the rollers don't free-spin in the event of some stubborn grain becoming stuck. We were able to crush a 5kg batch in around 5-10 minutes.
Finger Guard Woes
One complaint we do have is that the finger guard seemed to hinder the grain from feeding in properly at times. We found ourselves having to repeatedly grab the top of the hopper and gently rock it to help coax the grain into the mill past the guard. We'll be removing it to alleviate this next time as we know not to stick our fingers (or anything besides grain) down there.
 |
| The finger guard seemed to hinder the flow of grain into the mill so we're going to remove ours |
It's worth checking the crush shortly after starting to mill to make sure it's looking how you expect. Since we use an all-in-one BrewZilla system, we go for a reasonably coarse crush that sees the grain husks remain mostly in tact, as seen in the picture below.
 |
| Sample coarse crush to suit our BrewZilla all-in-one system |
Consistent Crush
After brewing a number of batches after milling our grain with the Malt King, we're very pleased with the results we've gotten. Our efficiency numbers have remained essentially unchanged from when we were purchasing grain bills that were crushed by our local homebrew store.
What did change though, was the speed at which we were able to recirculate during the mash. With a relatively coarse crush (1.35mm), we found we were able to recirculate at a much higher rate than we could previously, which can help promote a more even temperature throughout the grain bed, and lead to the wort running clearer more quickly.
 |
| Coarse crush showing grain husks relatively in-tact |
The locking screws have also done an admirable job at securing the rollers in place so we haven't needed to re-adjust our mill after setting our desired gap settings. They haven't come loose, and a quick check of the adjustment dials before each use confirms they're locked in place and haven't budged at all.
Final Thoughts
We're very happy with the features and performance of our Keg King Malt King 3 Roller Grain Mill. Features like the steel mounting board are excellent standard inclusions, and the build quality of aluminium and steel is hard to fault.
The hopper size is adequate for single batches, and the geared 3 roller system has a very smooth operation that worked well with our entry level Ryobi drill.
Besides the inaccurate measurements for adjustment and issues with grain feeding in because of the finger guard, both of which are easily addressed, the operation and performance of our mill has been excellent, and we're very pleased with our purchase.
We're looking forward to further testing with different gap sizes on future batches, which are easy to set and lock in place with the double sided adjustment dials and locking screws.
The 3 roller Malt King currently sells for AU$219.95 from Keg King and is well worth considering if you're in the market for your own grain mill.
Related Articles
.png)
No comments:
Post a Comment