Has anyone tried using aluminum bottles. They came out last year, but I haven't actually had my hands on any yet. I know that Iron City Beer got quite a bit of news coverage last year, and that some of the bigger names were going to try them out. Do you think there would be any special steps to take to sanatize or prep these bottles that would be irregular compared to glass bottles?
Aluminum
- Thread starter jokers10
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you do not want to clean aluminum with bleach. that's for sure.
As for the bottles, I've only seen them used for Budweiser. Two problems with that:
(a) I refuse to buy Bud, even if the bottles are nice.
(b) they have twist-off caps and so they can't be re-used for homebrew.
-walker
As for the bottles, I've only seen them used for Budweiser. Two problems with that:
(a) I refuse to buy Bud, even if the bottles are nice.
(b) they have twist-off caps and so they can't be re-used for homebrew.
-walker
From Palmer's online book regarding the cleaning of stainless steel and aluminum:
FIRST ENTRY (from "cleaning your equipment", section 2.2.2)
Cleaning Stainless Steel and Aluminum
For general cleaning, mild detergents or percarbonate-based cleaners are best for steel and aluminum. Bleach should be avoided because the high pH of a bleach solution can cause corrosion of aluminum and to a lessor degree of stainless steel. Do not clean aluminum shiny bright or use bleach to clean an aluminum brewpot because this removes the protective oxides and can result in a metallic taste. This detectable level of aluminum is not hazardous. There is more aluminum in a common antacid tablet than would be present in a batch of beer made in an aluminum pot.
There are oxalic acid based cleansers available at the grocery store that are very effective for cleaning stubborn stains, deposits, and rust from stainless. They also work well for copper. One example is Revere Ware Copper and Stainless Cleanser and another is Kleen King Stainless Steel Cleanser. Use according to the manufacturer's directions and rinse thoroughly with water afterwards.
SECOND ENTRY (from "brewing metallurgy", index B)
Cleaning Stainless Steel and Aluminum
For general cleaning, mild detergents or percarbonate-based cleaners are best for steel and aluminum. Bleach should be avoided because the high pH of a bleach solution can cause corrosion of aluminum and to a lessor degree of stainless steel. Do not clean aluminum shiny bright or use bleach to clean an aluminum brewpot because this removes the protective oxides and can result in a metallic taste. This taste-detectable level of aluminum is not hazardous. There is more aluminum in a common antacid tablet than would be present in a batch of beer made in an aluminum pot.
As with aluminum, the corrosion inhibitor in stainless steel is the passive oxide layer that protects the surface. The 300-series alloys (a.k.a. 18-8 alloys) commonly used in the brewing industry are very corrosion-resistant to most chemicals. Unfortunately, chlorine is one of the few chemicals to which these steels are not resistant. The chlorine in bleach acts to destabilize the passive oxide layer on steel, creating corrosion pits. This type of attack is accelerated by localization and is generally known as crevice or pitting corrosion.
Many brewers have experienced pinholes in stainless-steel vessels that have been filled with a bleach-water solution and left to soak for several days. On a microscopic scale, a scratch or crevice from a gasket can present a localized area where the surface oxide can be destabilized by the chlorine. The chlorides can combine with the oxygen, both in the water and on the steel surface, to form chlorite ions, depleting that local area of protection. If the water is not circulating, the crevice becomes a tiny, highly active site relative to the more passive stainless steel around it and corrodes. The same thing can happen at the liquid surface if the pot is only half full of bleach solution. A dry stable area above, a less stable but very large area below, and the crevice corrosion occurs at the waterline. Usually this type of corrosion will manifest as pitting or pinholes because of the accelerating effect of localization.
A third way chlorides can corrode stainless steel is by concentration. This mode is very similar to the crevice mode described above. By allowing chlorinated water to evaporate and dry on a steel surface, those chlorides become concentrated and destabilize the surface oxides at that site. The next time the surface is wetted, the oxides will quickly dissolve, creating a shallow pit. When the pot is allowed to dry, that pit probably will be one of the last sites to evaporate, causing chloride concentration again. At some point in the cleaning life of the pot, that site will become deep enough for crevice corrosion to take over and the pit to corrode through.
It is best to not use bleach to clean stainless steel and other metal. There are other cleaners available that work just as well without danger of corrosion. The percarbonate-based cleaners like PBW are the best choice for general cleaning.
If you have a particularly tough stain liked burn malt extract then you may need something stronger. There are oxalic acid based cleansers available at the grocery store that are very effective for cleaning stains and deposits from stainless. They also work well for copper. One example is Revere Ware Copper and Stainless Cleanser, another is Bar Keeper's Friend, and another is Kleen King Stainless Steel Cleanser. Use according to the manufacturer's directions and rinse thoroughly with water afterwards.
FIRST ENTRY (from "cleaning your equipment", section 2.2.2)
Cleaning Stainless Steel and Aluminum
For general cleaning, mild detergents or percarbonate-based cleaners are best for steel and aluminum. Bleach should be avoided because the high pH of a bleach solution can cause corrosion of aluminum and to a lessor degree of stainless steel. Do not clean aluminum shiny bright or use bleach to clean an aluminum brewpot because this removes the protective oxides and can result in a metallic taste. This detectable level of aluminum is not hazardous. There is more aluminum in a common antacid tablet than would be present in a batch of beer made in an aluminum pot.
There are oxalic acid based cleansers available at the grocery store that are very effective for cleaning stubborn stains, deposits, and rust from stainless. They also work well for copper. One example is Revere Ware Copper and Stainless Cleanser and another is Kleen King Stainless Steel Cleanser. Use according to the manufacturer's directions and rinse thoroughly with water afterwards.
SECOND ENTRY (from "brewing metallurgy", index B)
Cleaning Stainless Steel and Aluminum
For general cleaning, mild detergents or percarbonate-based cleaners are best for steel and aluminum. Bleach should be avoided because the high pH of a bleach solution can cause corrosion of aluminum and to a lessor degree of stainless steel. Do not clean aluminum shiny bright or use bleach to clean an aluminum brewpot because this removes the protective oxides and can result in a metallic taste. This taste-detectable level of aluminum is not hazardous. There is more aluminum in a common antacid tablet than would be present in a batch of beer made in an aluminum pot.
As with aluminum, the corrosion inhibitor in stainless steel is the passive oxide layer that protects the surface. The 300-series alloys (a.k.a. 18-8 alloys) commonly used in the brewing industry are very corrosion-resistant to most chemicals. Unfortunately, chlorine is one of the few chemicals to which these steels are not resistant. The chlorine in bleach acts to destabilize the passive oxide layer on steel, creating corrosion pits. This type of attack is accelerated by localization and is generally known as crevice or pitting corrosion.
Many brewers have experienced pinholes in stainless-steel vessels that have been filled with a bleach-water solution and left to soak for several days. On a microscopic scale, a scratch or crevice from a gasket can present a localized area where the surface oxide can be destabilized by the chlorine. The chlorides can combine with the oxygen, both in the water and on the steel surface, to form chlorite ions, depleting that local area of protection. If the water is not circulating, the crevice becomes a tiny, highly active site relative to the more passive stainless steel around it and corrodes. The same thing can happen at the liquid surface if the pot is only half full of bleach solution. A dry stable area above, a less stable but very large area below, and the crevice corrosion occurs at the waterline. Usually this type of corrosion will manifest as pitting or pinholes because of the accelerating effect of localization.
A third way chlorides can corrode stainless steel is by concentration. This mode is very similar to the crevice mode described above. By allowing chlorinated water to evaporate and dry on a steel surface, those chlorides become concentrated and destabilize the surface oxides at that site. The next time the surface is wetted, the oxides will quickly dissolve, creating a shallow pit. When the pot is allowed to dry, that pit probably will be one of the last sites to evaporate, causing chloride concentration again. At some point in the cleaning life of the pot, that site will become deep enough for crevice corrosion to take over and the pit to corrode through.
It is best to not use bleach to clean stainless steel and other metal. There are other cleaners available that work just as well without danger of corrosion. The percarbonate-based cleaners like PBW are the best choice for general cleaning.
If you have a particularly tough stain liked burn malt extract then you may need something stronger. There are oxalic acid based cleansers available at the grocery store that are very effective for cleaning stains and deposits from stainless. They also work well for copper. One example is Revere Ware Copper and Stainless Cleanser, another is Bar Keeper's Friend, and another is Kleen King Stainless Steel Cleanser. Use according to the manufacturer's directions and rinse thoroughly with water afterwards.
SteveM
Well-Known Member
I think it would be neat to have aluminum bottles of home brewed beer, but I rely on sight in the filling process. For me at least, this would complicate bottling.
if you use a bottling wand (little thing with the spring-loaded tip that depresses to let the beer flow) then you just have to push the wand in until the beer comes ALL the way to the top of the bottle's neck. When you remove the wand, the level of the beer in the bottle drops and leaves you with the perfect amount of head room in the bottle. No need to see through the bottle that way.
Just my $0.02.
-walker
Just my $0.02.
-walker
jokers10 said:
Well first off--aren't they twist off bottles anyway? They probably won't work too well with a wing capper.
Igorstien
Well-Known Member
Since we're talking about aluminum, I always wondered if anyone have ever canned beer. The beer companies do it, so we know it can be done. I always thought that would be pretty cool.
Anyway, just wasting my time here at work................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Anyway, just wasting my time here at work................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
i think the price of such equipment would be far too prohibitive for a homebrewer.
Here's an article about a microbrew company that started using cans. Their canning machine processes 5 cans at a time and costs $45,000. They used to use a manual '2-at-a-time' machine, but no word on the price of that one.
-walker
Here's an article about a microbrew company that started using cans. Their canning machine processes 5 cans at a time and costs $45,000. They used to use a manual '2-at-a-time' machine, but no word on the price of that one.
-walker
SwAMi75
Well-Known Member
Walker said:
Dale's Pale Ale is good stuff, too. Never had Old Chub, but I'd like to.
SteveM
Well-Known Member
ORRELSE said:
I thought of this as a hypothetical discussion. Being from a large, ethnically Irish family, I am willing to take a pointless and entirely hypothetical discussion almost to the point of violence.
El Pistolero
Well-Known Member
Is this the same guy that was warning nubees of the danger of humor this very evening?SteveM said:I thought of this as a hypothetical discussion. Being from a large, ethnically Irish family, I am willing to take a pointless and entirely hypothetical discussion almost to the point of violence.
SteveM
Well-Known Member
We are a complex people, that's for sure!
Edit - plus I feel comfortable leading "the noobs" astray as I am pretty much still one myself, having only registered a month or so!
God Emporer BillyBrew
Well-Known Member
Iron City bottles are pry-off. I have a couple at my house right now. I'm probably going to try one or two just to see. They seemed to taste a little metallic, but I've never had Iron City before so I didn't have anything to compare it to. I'll know how they bottle in a month or so, because I'm starting a batch tonight.
2nd Street Brewery
Well-Known Member
I used to drink Iron City back in college. Don't recall much about the taste, just that it was cheap. 99 cesnts a sixer back in the late 70's
