Brewing Master » Brewing Liquor » Gott cooler question
Gott cooler question
Question:
Anyone know where I can get a 10-gallon cooler in Chicago by any chance? I spent hours today calling around and nobody seems to have one in the winter. Mellow slow, Mike
Response:
While I do not live anywhere near Chicago, try calling a building / construction supply store that sells mostly to contractors. They are the primary users of the 10 gallon Gott coolers. That is where I found my new Gott after 4 months of fruitless searching through WalMart, Target, Home Depot, etc. Bruce Ross
Response:
How many coolers will I need for all-grain? I think its two, one to hold sparge water and the other to mash. Is that it and are there any faq’s or other sources of info? I’m thinking about getting the 7 or 10 gallon model. BrewWard I have two of the 10 gallon Gotts, one for mash and the other for sparge water. I drilled a 1/4" hole in the top of the mash cooler’s lid and inserted Phil’s rotating sparge arm. Now the sparge water stays at a constant 170-180 degrees and the mash temp is also stable. I find this to be a great setup, no more problems with water or mash losing heat during the sparge! Steve
Thanks steve. I also want to know how much sparge water will I need. The guy who posted True Valu Hardware’s sale was correct. They are selling 5 gal Gotts for 19.99. What I was wondering is, could I get a 10 gal for mashing and a five gal for the sparge water? I never make over five gallons of beer. Breward
Response:
FYI: True Value HW has Gott 5 gallon coolers on sale for $19.99 (incl. paper cup dispenser). No affiliation, blah blah, blah. Just thought it was a pretty good price. I "got" a flyer from them in the Sunday paper (AZ Republic). The sale is probably nationwide as the flyer wasn’t specific to AZ. Dave H. "Donuts…is there anything they can’t do?" – Homer
Response:
I think that a 5 gallon cooler will be a bit small. I have two 6 gallon Coleman water cooler jugs and they are just fine for a pale lager of about 5-6 gallons, but are too small for 10 gallon batches or 5 gallon stout batches. I suggest going for the larger size. By the way, I also use one of three plastic ice chests I have (for camping), and all fo those work well too! All you have to do is clean them well before and after each use to eliminate any off-smells. Bruce Ross
Response:
How many coolers will I need for all-grain? I think its two, one to hold sparge water and the other to mash. Is that it and are there any faq’s or other sources of info? I’m thinking about getting the 7 or 10 gallon model. BrewWard
Response:
How many coolers will I need for all-grain? I think its two, one to hold sparge water and the other to mash. Is that it and are there any faq’s or other sources of info? I’m thinking about getting the 7 or 10 gallon model. BrewWard I have two of the 10 gallon Gotts, one for mash and the other for sparge water. I drilled a 1/4" hole in the top of the mash cooler’s lid and inserted Phil’s rotating sparge arm. Now the sparge water stays at a constant 170-180 degrees and the mash temp is also stable. I find this to be a great setup, no more problems with water or mash losing heat during the sparge! Steve — Steve Turner
Response:
] ]Steam injection is a very simple way to easily ]raise the temperature of the mash in a Gott cooler. I have read about steam injection, however I know nothing about it. I am sure there are many readers interested in this. I would be happy to read about it. Please post or E-Mail direct. Thanks In Advance Scott Tift
Response:
Steam injection is a very simple way to easily raise the temperature of the mash in a Gott cooler. I do it all the time especially to reach mashout temperature without having a thin mash.
Tell me more! How do you inject the steam into the cooler? Thanks Brent
Response:
And I foresee some filter-bed thickness problems with the 10-gallon Gott when brewing 5-gallon batches. The bed would be too thin for the Another problem is that a 10 gallon Gott is not full enough with a 5 gallon batch…the temperature is more stable when the cooler is full or nearly full. For a 5 gallon batch, a 5 gallon Gott with either a Phil’s Phalse Bottom or an EM type arrangement with the copper tube in a #2 drilled stopper that fits inside the spigot is nearly perfect…
What about making a five gallon batch of imperial stout or barley wine? Will there be room enough? I do these brews every now and then from extract and would like to go all-grain, but I am not sure which size to purchase. Maybe the seven gallon would be a good compromise since I never make 10 gals of barley wine. Thoughts appretiated. BrewWard
Response:
Beer at home will have 10 gallon Gott Coolers in 10 days and will be selling them for $47.50. There is also a converted Gott Cooler complete with Listermann sparge arm and false bottom. These items are not in the catalog, http://beerathome.com/~beer yet but can be ordered at 1-800-789-3677
Response:
I often do multiple-step infusion mashes in my Gott. I started with 122-154 degree F steps for wheat beers and lagers. Lately I’ve been doing 140-158 degree steps for my other beers. It’s quite simple. If you have a PC and the program SUDS, the calculations are done for you. If you don’t and don’t want to do the math, just start with as thick a mash as possible, then add boiling water slowly until your next step is reached. I’ve never done this for more that one step. I think if you want to do more than one step, you’d have to settle for a very thin mash at the end or do a decoction. Finally, I haven’t done a mash-out for years. I’m not convinced it’s necessary (or even usefull) for homebrewers.
Steam injection is a very simple way to easily raise the temperature of the mash in a Gott cooler. I do it all the time especially to reach mashout temperature without having a thin mash. — Phil
Response:
My 5-gallon Gott has served me VERY well, and it has never failed me to hold the desired amount of mash.
Agreed, a 5 gallon Gott is ample for a 5 gallon batch of beer – I have done 10 gallon batches in my 7 gallon Gott, although I prefer my later acquired 10 gallon Gott for that batch size, so I have room for the desired amount of grain and strike liquor, and a step-up infusion of water just off the boi . And I foresee some filter-bed thickness problems with the 10-gallon Gott when brewing 5-gallon batches. The bed would be too thin for the
Another problem is that a 10 gallon Gott is not full enough with a 5 gallon batch…the temperature is more stable when the cooler is full or nearly full. I highly recommend that you use the 5-gallon.
For a 5 gallon batch, a 5 gallon Gott with either a Phil’s Phalse Bottom or an EM type arrangement with the copper tube in a #2 drilled stopper that fits inside the spigot is nearly perfect… —
Response:
I’m about ready to make the jump to all-grain, and I’m pretty well sold on the idea of a Gott cooler based mash/lauter tun. I’ll only be doing single-step mashes for the near future, and this system seems the easiest to build and operate. I have a few questions, though. 1. What size cooler should I get? I understand that the cooler is available in 5 and 10 gallon sizes. As I’ll be doing only 5 gallon batches for the forseeable future, which size will give me a reasonable grain bed depth? 2. How do I mash-out? Add boiling water? Rely on the sparge water? Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. — Dave Eddy-Moeller | homebrewer, juggler, M:tG, BritComs, FRP
Response:
Speaking of Gott Coolers, Does anyone know of a source for the 10 gallon ones? Mail order would be fine unless you know one of them in the San Francisco Bay Area. Thanks, Brent
Response:
The San Francisco Brewer’s Supply, on Clement Street, about 1 block west of Park Presidio, has Gott coolers in their window. Check with them to see how much. I looked around my home and was not able to find them, ending up with 6 gallon square Coleman coolers… ended up being too small for stouts, etc. Bruce Ross
Response:
I’m about ready to make the jump to all-grain, and I’m pretty well sold on the idea of a Gott cooler based mash/lauter tun. I’ll only be doing single-step mashes for the near future, and this system seems the easiest to build and operate. I have a few questions, though. 1. What size cooler should I get? I understand that the cooler is available in 5 and 10 gallon sizes. As I’ll be doing only 5 gallon batches for the forseeable future, which size will give me a reasonable grain bed depth? 2. How do I mash-out? Add boiling water? Rely on the sparge water? Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I am an all-grain brewer who has considered the Gott cooler. Get the 10 gallon. While the 5 gallon should hold up to 14 lbs of grains with a thick mash, that doesn’t leave room for water in sparging. While 14 lbs seems like a lot it is not all that unusual for high gravity brews such as doublebocks, which would be fun to do with the Gott cooler setup and a decoction method. David
Response:
Brent asked: Speaking of Gott Coolers, Does anyone know of a source for the 10 gallon ones?
I was unable to find a 10 gallon Gott cooler locally (Dallas/Ft. Worth) but found 10 gallon Igloo coolers that are very similar. I bought one for ~$35 and it works fine without any permanent modifications. I use the rubber bung for a minikeg in place of the spigot with a siphon hose through the hole to a section of hard siphon tube to another short piece of siphon hose connecting to a Phil’s Phalse Bottom. No leaks, works fine. get 27 pts/lb./gal. which I know is not spectacular but I don’t think the blame lies with the Igloo. The availability of these coolers seems to be seasonal around here but that season is fast approaching. I don’t have any connection to any of the suppliers mentioned above. John Wilkinson
Response:
The San Francisco Brewer’s Supply, on Clement Street, about 1 block west of Park Presidio, has Gott coolers in their window. Check with them to see how much. I looked around my home and was not able to find them, ending up with 6 gallon square Coleman coolers… ended up being too small for stouts, etc.
Uh? Too small for a stout?? What does a stout have that others don’t? I could see that it would be tricky to do a 5-gallon batch of barleywine in a 5-gallon Gott Cooler, but other than that, stout is no different than other beers (quantity-wise). My 5-gallon Gott has served me VERY well, and it has never failed me to hold the desired amount of mash. Of course, careful planning and calculations are necessary, but there really shouldn’t be any problems with 95% of your brews. I have never overfilled my 5-gallon Gott this far. And I foresee some filter-bed thickness problems with the 10-gallon Gott when brewing 5-gallon batches. The bed would be too thin for the small amount of grains. I highly recommend that you use the 5-gallon. JP
Response:
I’m about ready to make the jump to all-grain, and I’m pretty well sold on the idea of a Gott cooler based mash/lauter tun. I’ll only be doing single-step mashes for the near future, and this system seems the easiest to build and operate. I have a few questions, though. 1. What size cooler should I get? I understand that the cooler is available in 5 and 10 gallon sizes. As I’ll be doing only 5 gallon batches for the forseeable future, which size will give me a reasonable grain bed depth? 2. How do I mash-out? Add boiling water? Rely on the sparge water? Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. — Dave Eddy-Moeller | homebrewer, juggler, M:tG, BritComs, FRP
I found my 10 gal Gott cooler last month at Tri -City sporting goods in Fremont, Ca. (bay area) they had lots of them but they wern’t cheap $40 -$50 US. I have the same questions as Dave,(see above) could someone with more experiance please give us a hand. Thanks -Don
Response:
Speaking of Gott Coolers, Does anyone know of a source for the 10 gallon ones? Mail order would be fine unless you know one of them in the San Francisco Bay Area. Thanks, Brent
You can usually find the 10 gallon coolers at golf course supply companies. Phone the superintendant of a golf course and ask where they bought theirs from. Another place is to check with local football teams where they got theirs. I managed to get one from an obscure sports wholesaler by doing this. — Mark LaGrange "Its okay to let yourself go, as long as you know how to get yourself back" – Mick Jagger
Response:
Hi Brent, Brewcraft on 17th and Clement make complete 5 gal Gott lauter tuns, but I can’t remember if they have the 10 gallon ones. You could also try Great Fermentations in San Rafael or Oak Barrel Winecraft in Berkeley. Mike
Response:
writes: Speaking of Gott Coolers, Does anyone know of a source for the 10 gallon ones? Mail order would be fine unless you know one of them in the San Francisco Bay Area. Thanks, Brent
Out of the blue I got a 50-page Rubbermaid catalog in the mail. The 10-gallon Gott is $66.70 plus shipping. Other nice containers in the catalog, too. Phone 800-362-1000. John
Response:
Speaking of Gott Coolers, Does anyone know of a source for the 10 gallon ones? Mail order would be fine unless you know one of them in the San Francisco Bay Area. Thanks, Brent
Gott coolers can be purchased mail-order directly from the manufacturer. Here’s the address/phone number to get more information: Rubbermaid Specialty Products (ask for the catalog that contains GOTT water coolers) Consumer Services Department 1147 Akron Road Wooster, OH 44691-6000 1-800-347-3114
Response:
: Gott coolers can be purchased mail-order directly from the : manufacturer. Here’s the address/phone number to get more : information: I phoned them there and they said they don’t sell directly to the consumer. -Alan : Rubbermaid Specialty Products : (ask for the catalog that contains GOTT water coolers) : Consumer Services Department : 1147 Akron Road : Wooster, OH 44691-6000 : 1-800-347-3114 — "Heuer wuensche ich mir zu Weinachten eigentlich nur eine Homolka Kettensaege, mit kraftvollem 1,6 PS, dreifach Schliff, und Schmierautomatik" – Die Toten Hosen http://www.acadiau.ca/cc/alan/