Aluminum for Brew Kettles
- Thread starter zenenviro
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Yes totally! I have always brewed with aluminum. Cheaper!
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Yep. My tamale steamer works like a champ.
Just boil water in it before the first use so it builds a grey oxide layer. Don't scrub that off or you'll need to boil water again.
Valves are easy to add. Aluminum drills like butter and weldless bulkheads couldn't be easier to install.
Valves are easy to add. Aluminum drills like butter and weldless bulkheads couldn't be easier to install.
Black Island Brewer
An Ode to Beer
Aluminum is a much better conductor than stainless, so once you have your aluminum kettles, there's no reason to go to stainless.
Most of the valves you add to boil kettles will have some sort of gasket or high temp seal. This will keep the two dissimilar metals away from each other!
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user 141939
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I bought aluminum instead of stainless. I can taste the savings in every batch. It's delicious!
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seanybubbles
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I love my aluminum brew pot. I heard using aluminum can lead to dementia. Thankfully I haven't noticed any side effects. Side effects. Side effects. Side effects. Side effects. Effects side....
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I have an aluminum pot I love love love it. Only downside is I bought too small 
As is life, says the wife
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tracyk
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I have 2 aluminum (60 quart) stock pots and would not trade them. I just like the fact that the side walls are 6mm thick vs the standard 2mm for stainless steel pots. Almost impossible to dent. Holes are easier to drill if you want to add anything.
Also the link between aluminum and Alzheimer's was disproven some time ago, so there's no worries about that. I think there's a sticky mega-thread about aluminum pots too actually.
I used an aluminum pot for my sparge water and stainless for my boil until just recently. I'm not dead yet, and the beers I made tasted great. I'd still be using it, but I upgraded to a larger bk and now use the old stainless one for heating sparge water.
Minbari
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I bought an old AL pot for my HLT on ebay. about 40 years old, still holds water!
if 40 years is not good enough, I dont know what is.RonPopeil
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And then you have people like this guy who force you to couch your responses to prevent footenmouth disorder.I bought an old AL pot for my HLT on ebay. about 40 years old, still holds water!
I still use the aluminum kettle that came with my turkey fryer (long ago upgraded) to heat sparge water. its light, heats a little faster and has "great memories" attached. It is a little easier to drill on (I added a valve) but stainless is not hard to drill either really when you use a step bit etc..
Minbari
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what is that supposed to mean exactly?
RonPopeil
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Absolutely. This would be my recommendation on the way to start out, as the money you save on buying aluminum will definitely be well spent on the many other tools you will need to get started with in home brewing. In the future when you are ready to ugrade, you can use your aluminum kettle for your strike water, or as a second boil kettle for a parti-gyle recipe.
Personally, I don't view SS as an upgrade. Aluminum is lighter weight, conducts heat much better (faster to boil and faster chill), easier to drill, easy to clean (since I don't want it gleaming), and is far cheaper. I have no interest in "upgrading".
