I am thinking of a new homebrewing equipment purchase and I was thinking I would pose the question to you, fine reader.
If you were to choose between buying a grain mill or a refractometer, which would you buy first and why?
These two pieces of equipment serve different purposes but have been on my want-to-have list for a long time. I plan to buy one and then the other. I don’t have a good reason to buy one first over the other at this point so I am putting it out there.
The grain mill probably has a bigger impact on my brewing. The cracking of grains right before brewing provides fresher malts for my brews. It would be interesting to put that notion to the test to see if there was a big difference between beer brewed with grains that were milled right before the brew versus one that used pre-milled grains (a few days old) but let’s just go with the notion that freshly milled grain is better. Is that enough of a reason to buy it first?
What about a refractometer? It would really great to be able to know the gravity of my wort as it is coming out of the mash tun. I use my hydrometer now but the adjustments I have to use due to the temperature of the wort are fuzzy at best. It would be great to have that intelligence for my pre and post boil gravities to see if I needed to doctor the wort with some dry malt extract to get the gravity up if I totally missed my target.
Also, it’s just a cool little device. All you need is a few drops and you know what your gravity. That’s pretty sweet. No need for a big sample. Just a few drops.
So which one would you buy first and why?
Let me know – Brew on!
Aaron
I have a mill but not a refractometer. It’s still on my list. I don’t really consider these two in the same scale of investment, a proper mill is in the range of 125-150, and a refractometer can be had for 35-65. That said, I think there is a significant value in a mill, since it allows you to buy grain in bulk, and mill when you are ready to brew. The ability to buy grain for 50-80c an lb is a huge savings over buying a few lbs at a time from the LBS. Enough so that over the course of a year you could have saved enough to buy your refractometer.
AO
John P.(From MA)
Honestly, I have both. I got a Cereal Killer mill and a refractometer for Christmas last year from my wife. My advise would be to see if you can borrow one of each from another brewer, and see what fits best in your work flow for now.
I love being able to crush my own grains, but I love not having to take a ton of wort out to test. This is especially critical when you are doing 1-3 gallon brews like I usually do. Hell if you were local, I’d let you use mine.
Now given your premise of one or the other… yeah you can bulk buy grain, but a lot of online site will crush it for you, and seeing as it’s only in transit for a few days you wont see much of a difference. I think being able to get regular consistent readings all through the brewing process will net you the most bang for your buck.
Cory
I have both and rarely use the refractometer anymore. I used it for about 10-15 brews but found myself using the hydrometer more and more to the point that I just stopped used the refractometer at some point. It is still nice to have to do preboil readings whenever they are needed, but if it disappeared I would not buy a new one.
The grain mill on the other hand has saved a lot of money over the years as it has allowed to buy base malt in bulk. I am sure it has paid for itself by now. Plus for whatever reason when a friend come by who has never seen beer being made the grain mill seems to make it legit.
Nate from BreweryReviewery
I love both options but I would go with the mill. It gives you the option to buy in bulk and save se serious cash. The refractometer just saves some time.
John
Thanks. I am going to get a mill.
Josh
I have both, and would be reluctant to give either one up. That being said, if you don’t have a mill, get one, preferably adjustable (been playing with my crush for better efficiency, and it’s nice to have that option. The refractometer has dramatically improved the brew day, allows me to take on the fly gravity readings during runoff and the boil…when you are ready to get a refractometer, get on with OG and Brix, mine is only a Brix, and I have to do some conversions, no biggie, but could be easier…then there’s Ph meters, sight glasses, pumps, new burners, conicals, etc., etc…I love this hobby.
Tim
Refractometers are very cheap. You can get one on ebay for $32 with shipping and these work great. I’ve used them for my salt water aquariums for years and I’ve never had any issues with them. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Salinity-Refractometer-for-Saltwater-aquariums-/290971522937?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43bf411779 I think if you are serious about the purchase and have the money the mill is the way to go just because the refractometers are an easy gift or can be picked up pretty cheap!