John Palmer says aluminum is good.

http://www.basicbrewing.com/radio/mp3/bbr01-19-06.mp3

About 6 minutes in John Palmer talks about aluminum.

Paraphrasing:

A very good brewing material... using it for years... key is let aluminum build up a passive oxide like on a copper wort chiller. That layer is inert.

Good to boil water to build up a grey oxide on the inside of the pot. Wash with dishsoap. Don't use straight out of Walmart ! Yeast will take care of aluminum ions. Never had an off flavor with aluminum. Iron is another matter ! Will cause off flavors. Prefers aluminum over enamel. Better heat distribution.

Host calls it a hot button issue.

The interview goes on to talk about lagering.

Interesting listen. John sounds like a real laid back down to Earth sort of guy. If Aluminum is good enough for him, it's good enough for me too.

Considering metals is his business, I'll believe him.

At one point in his book he talks about bad things in the wort, specifically a bat. I've got a dead mouse in a fermenter. Time for some bleach.

Aluminum has always been good enough for me... it is light, and yes, if you boil water in it, there is your oxide coating. Also, I just use some dish soap and a sponge to clean it. I love it, go ALUMINUM!

Brewpilot

brewman ! said:

Host calls it a hot button issue.

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More so than Iraq. Ask any Marine.

david_42 said:

a bat.

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Every time I hear the word 'bat' I think of this sketch:

Bounder: The what?

Tourist: The bolour supplement.

Bounder: The colour supplement?

Tourist: Yes. I'm sorry I can't say the letter 'B'.

Bounder: 'C'?

Tourist: Yes, that's right. It's all due to a trauma I suffered when I
was a spoolboy. I was attacked by a bat.

Bounder: A cat?

Tourist: No a bat.

Bounder: Can you say the letter 'K'?

Tourist: Oh yes. Khaki, king, kettle, Kuwait, Keble Bollege Oxford.

Bounder: Why don't you use the letter 'K' instead of the letter 'C'?

Tourist: What you mean ... spell bolour with a 'K'?

Bounder: Yes.

Tourist: Kolour. Oh, that's very good, I never thought of that.

Classic. Okay back to metallurgy...

Chairman Cheyco said:

Every time I hear the word 'bat' I think of this sketch:

Bounder: The what?

Tourist: The bolour supplement.

Bounder: The colour supplement?

Tourist: Yes. I'm sorry I can't say the letter 'B'.

Bounder: 'C'?

Tourist: Yes, that's right. It's all due to a trauma I suffered when I
was a spoolboy. I was attacked by a bat.

Bounder: A cat?

Tourist: No a bat.

Bounder: Can you say the letter 'K'?

Tourist: Oh yes. Khaki, king, kettle, Kuwait, Keble Bollege Oxford.

Bounder: Why don't you use the letter 'K' instead of the letter 'C'?

Tourist: What you mean ... spell bolour with a 'K'?

Bounder: Yes.

Tourist: Kolour. Oh, that's very good, I never thought of that.

Classic. Okay back to metallurgy...

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Is that Python? Sounds familiar, but I'm having a hard time placing it

Cheesefood said:

More so than Iraq. Ask any Marine.

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Did you say the Iraqi army is using aluminum brew pots?!

No wonder we are having such a hard time training them!

"Oh what a silly bunt"

rdwj said:

Is that Python? Sounds familiar, but I'm having a hard time placing it

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Bingo, Fish got the silly bunt - which oddly never appears in any script, only in performance.

Good Lord, I am so tempted. I found a place that has some brand spanking new restaurant make 80 qt. aluminum pot for about $70. Is this a no brainer guys? I mean seriously, this thing is exactly what we used back in the day in the restaurant. Industrial! I could get a 15 gallon fermentor and triple my effectiveness on brew day....the wheels are turning.

You could but then you'd either have to drink 3 times as much or brew 3 times less.

I'm sticking eith the 5 gallon suff for now. I like brewing.

orfy said:

You could but then you'd either have to drink 3 times as much or brew 3 times less.

I'm sticking eith the 5 gallon suff for now. I like brewing.

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Yeah I guess that is the other side of the coin. Plus I'd need to up my bottle stock. Hrmm. I guess what is sticking in my mind is that in a few months time will be occupied quite a bit by gardening and plus I'll be getting some farm animals, which will make it tougher to schedule brew time. I love all those activities. So little time.
I guess as well, then I'd have larger batches of single brew rather than varieties. Heck those pots would be good for more than brewing...I dunno....gotta ponder it some more.

Do It!!!!!!!!!

orfy said:

You could but then you'd either have to drink 3 times as much or brew 3 times less.

I'm sticking eith the 5 gallon suff for now. I like brewing.

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Ditto, I personally rather do more, smaller batches. My wife is really into this brewing thing too, but sometimes even she thinks that I'm getting obsessed. I don't want to think about how much money I've spent since I started brewing (10 months ago) but I know I've done about 100 gallons.

zoebisch01 said:

Good Lord, I am so tempted. I found a place that has some brand spanking new restaurant make 80 qt. aluminum pot for about $70. Is this a no brainer guys? I mean seriously, this thing is exactly what we used back in the day in the restaurant. Industrial! I could get a 15 gallon fermentor and triple my effectiveness on brew day....the wheels are turning.

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Well, if you did that, you'd either have to divy it up into multiple fermenters, or get larger fermenters. Maybe some conicals. But once you start down that path, there's really no turning back at all. You'd have to either also get a ton of 5gal kegs, or switch over to the big boys, 1/2bbl. I'll stick with my 30qt SS pot for now. It keeps me under control, just a tiny bit.

zoebisch01 said:

...I found a place that has some brand spanking new restaurant make 80 qt. aluminum pot for about $70. ...

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That is a good deal. I bought a 40 qt., 8mm thick walled aluminum pot from a local restaurant supply on sale for $43.49 when I went AG and I thought I'd hit the jackpot! When you break it down to a per qt. cost, you're getting a better deal than I did!

Rhoobarb said:

That is a good deal. I bought a 40 qt., 8mm thick walled aluminum pot from a local restaurant supply on sale for $43.49 when I went AG and I thought I'd hit the jackpot! When you break it down to a per qt. cost, you're getting a better deal than I did!

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I know, it is definitely a good deal. Shoot I am even considering picking it up just to have for any future endeavor that requires a big pot to boil stuff in.

what about aluminum and Alzheimers? -anyone else heard that connection?

No, really? Oh wait, I seem to remember someone saying something about this when I started brewing with my 30 qt aluminum pot......

Seriously, aluminum is linked to Alzheimers, but nobody really understands how yet. Aluminum pots don't appear to be the culprit, either.

If aluminum is related to Alzheimers, then we have way more things than brewpots to worry about ! Aluminum is everywhere.

Better stay away from antacids!!!!

Pabst Blue Robot said:

http://www.sciam.com/askexpert_question.cfm?articleID=0000FCD2-AA88-1C71-9EB7809EC588F2D7&catID=3

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That's a great link. Maybe it should be added to an "Is it bad to brew with aluminum?" FAQ.

Overwhelmingly, it seems like scientists aren't concerned about the use or intake of aluminum any more.

If they had said there was a link b/w Alzheimers and beer, would we stop drinking it?

Rhoobarb said:

If they had said there was a link b/w Alzheimers and beer, would we stop drinking it?

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I was supposed to have stopped drinking... but I forgot why... so I didn't...

Like I posted previously...

Doctors and scientists still don't know the exact origin and causes of Alzheimer, and are still trying to determine the cause. AD was first studied around 1900 and no real advances were made towards diagnosis, treatment and deterence until around 1972. And still it's a mystery.

They blame it on old age, mutated genes, genetics, and many other things. Aluminum was found in the grey matter of certain AD patients, and many doctors blamed it on aluminum toxicity, and pointed that blame to aluminum products in general. Even though aluminum is the most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust. Other doctors claim the aluminum found in the grey matter is a result of AD. So who they heck really knows?

All major countries mine bauxite ore to produce aluminum, and it's many forms are used in buildings, vehicles, cookware, Rolaids, Tums, and other antacids and many other products. It's in the clay in our soil, in our air, it's definately everywhere. It's even a part of our water treatment facilities. It has though been proven to retard growth of roots and plant structures in plants that grow in acidic soils, but on the other hand, it doesn't harm neutral ph or alkali ph grown plants.

My opinion is that in about 10 or 20 years scientists and doctors may pinpoint what actually causes AD, but for now, they don't know. So to me, the brewing debate on if it causes AD can't be proven either way.

zoebisch01 said:

Good Lord, I am so tempted. I found a place that has some brand spanking new restaurant make 80 qt. aluminum pot for about $70. Is this a no brainer guys? I mean seriously, this thing is exactly what we used back in the day in the restaurant. Industrial! I could get a 15 gallon fermentor and triple my effectiveness on brew day....the wheels are turning.

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For another $65 you can get a SS 80qt boil pot (IMO, pretty good deal)

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...tx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=boil+pot&noImage=0

zoebisch01: what are the dimensions of the aluminum pot. I am looking for an 80Qter, but most of the ones I find are pretty short and wide. I want one that is a little taller.

Yeah, you need to search for stick pots, some are sauce pans and are low and wide.

Breewpilot

Is that what they are called ? "stick pots" ?

I sent an email to Cabelas asking about the thickness and dimensions of the SS pot.

I prefer copper kettles. Ceramic pots work well too but takes more energy to bring to a boil.

Brewpilot said:

Yeah, you need to search for stick pots, some are sauce pans and are low and wide.

Breewpilot

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I use a 60qt boil kettle that's fairly stout, is that a drawback? It's by far wider than it is tall, but the evaporation rate isn't crazy or anything.

Hello everybody. Looking below my avatar, yes you can see I'm relatively new here. Speaking of my avatar, yes it's my 60 liter aluminum kettle. I've been using a 20 liter kettle up until now and bought the 60 liter to upgrade to AG. It's 42 cm diameter and 60 cm tall. Works great for boils of anything from 15 liters up to 45 liters. The only thing to worry about with aluminum is nicking it which will start eroding it. It's not much of a worry with my 60 liter put because it's 8mm thick and not a polished surface. My 20 liter kettle is polished and only 3 or 4 mm thick, which is highly susceptible to pockmarking. Found out the hard way with my first 20 liter kettle. It lasted all of 2 months before it started leaking. Of course here in Japan these kettles are expensive whether they're aluminum or SS.