Gatoraid re-branding pushed me over the edge

Normally i'm not one to post these sorts of "I JUST DID MY FIRST AG" but I was very impressed with myself today.

So, a few weeks ago i was sitting in bed and began to think about the fact that gatoraid was re-branding to "G". Well, this led to an email to the guy who was the athletic trainer i worked with during high school to find out if he was getting any of the new coolers and needing to 'get rid of' some of his old five gallon coolers.

Well, he said he didn't have any 5's to spare, but offered me a 7 instead.

Fast forward to today, i removed the braid from my 2 gallon cooler i was using for PMs and attached it to the seven and doughed-in for the first time. I was making Centennial blonde since it wasn't a hugh grain bill.

Well, i gotta say, i was impressed. I was actually able to accomplish my brew session in less time than my PM sessions, i got a higher efficiency (i think) than the recipe called for using a double batch sparge, hit my mash temps, etc.

It was just a really nice brew day. I think the biggest improvement was that it wasn't windy and i was able to control my KAB4 much better and it was much more efficient today than in the past.

Sorry, just had to share with someone since SWMBO could care less.

Sorry, just had to share with someone since SWMBO could care less.

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I hear you there. I will talk about my beer and all I heard, "Well, that's good baby!" Then when she drinks it I get a small smile and a nod of approval. I think she is just being nice.

Sounds like you got a good buy (or freebie)!

All-grain is a lot more rewarding imo. It does drive you crazy because your choice of fermentables skyrocket. I almost went back to extract for the winter due to the cold but I could not get myself to get back to using syrups when I could do the real thing.

Yeah she could care less how it's made but tries to drink them after 1 week in the bottle.

Congrats Donner! I'm jealous now. Man, I've got to get a cooler and some Fermtabs - or a bigger brew pot.

going from mashing 4-5 lbs of grain in a 2 gallon cooler to 8.75 lbs in a 7 gallon cooler was crazy. I couldn't get over all the space i had in the cooler. It made things much easier to batch sparge. I crunched the numbers and think i got close to 79 percent efficiency from my mash. My target pre-boil OG was 1.034 according to beer alchemy, i hit 1.038.

Blackhawkbrew said:

Congrats Donner! I'm jealous now. Man, I've got to get a cooler and some Fermtabs - or a bigger brew pot.

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You could do what I do.....just buy a second smaller pot. I have a seven gallon and a five gallon pot. I can use the full amounts of mash water and sparge water without worrying about volume. I brew with natural gas on the stove, though, not propane outside. Easy to brew in two pots.

I really thought this thread was going to be about a hatred of gatorade.

BeerPressure said:

I really thought this thread was going to be about a hatred of gatorade.

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as did I, I had my corporate bashing boots on

anyhoo welcome to all grain, before you lies an endless road of beer ingredients, crushed pecans in the mash? malted Quinoa, triticale, teff, kamut, or spelt? endless.....

Donner said:

Sorry, just had to share with someone since SWMBO could care less.

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Couldn't.... sorry

I had to go all over town to find a 10-gallon cooler and when I finally did, it was well out of my way and I still had to pay $50 for it. A 7-gallon is a great size. You should be able to do all but the biggest of beers in it and besides, it's probably easier to find a storage spot for. At any rate, it sounds like the price can't be beat.


Now that I'm into all-grain, I can't imagine going back. Yes, it takes a lot more time and yes, it uses more equipment that you have to clean afterwards but I think the rewards are worth it.

It "clicked" for me when I tasted my first batch of smoked oatmeal stout. *This* is why I went AG. I'm using two ingredients (smoked malt & oats) that you just can't use in extract form and they work marvelously well together. I mean, yeah, there are things I'd change (I only used 10lb. of grain and I think this beer deserves to be a little bit bigger) but it's still really, really good.


I have yet to make a blonde, but Summer is coming up so maybe I'll give it a shot.

Anyhow, congrats on the new tun!