How do I crack the grains

[Trough Lolly]

I think the over-crushing leading to tannin extraction argument is flawed. If over-crushing led to tannin extraction, then tannins would come out regardless.
I think pH is probably a more likely culprit. But, I am a failed scientist...
(snip)

FWIW I agree with you SMOI - temperature and pH are the two culprits, IMO. And this is one reason why I never bother trying to scratch anywhere near 100% efficiency with the sparge - I'm happy with the full flavoured beers that I can happily make with around 75% to 85% efficiency. All I'd be doing if I tried to sparge the bejaysus out of the mash would be to push the pH up and encourage the extraction of polyphenols from the mashtun resulting in hazy beer.

If you want full flavoured beer, leave the Gypsum on the shelf and lash out with an extra kilo of base malt in the recipe!

Cheers,
TL

[Biernut]

I have just used a hand me down blender to crush my first two kilo's of grain. I did this in 350gr lots as the blender seem to work at optimum at that quantity. As this was my first time into partial grain brewing financial constrictions were the reasons for not investing in a grain mill. Not knowing what spent grain looks like I can only report it was much like the consistency of wet sawdust which I put on the garden. I guess I will know whether I was doing it right will be evident in the next three or four weeks. At this point the blender worked fine.

[KEG]

i use a blender too, but i'm only dealing with specialty grain. i pulse it until all the grains are broken, but nowhere near a powder/sawdust consistency. even so, i doubt you'll find any nasty flavours from over-crushing it.. unless a lot of husk is slipping through your strainer and getting boiled...