SS vs Aluminum brewpot
- Thread starter J311gonzo
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DirtyJersey
Well-Known Member
I will leave it up to the regulars to answer your question, but I would suggest that you search this site for similar threads. I believe this is one of the most discussed questions on this site.
I have been using aluminum for about a year now and never had a problem.
I have been using aluminum for about a year now and never had a problem.
Here we go, all you need to know to decide for yourself. It IS a sticky for a reason after all. 
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/faq-aluminum-pots-boil-kettles-49449/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/faq-aluminum-pots-boil-kettles-49449/
Mightyscoop
Active Member
cheezydemon3
Well-Known Member
Make your brewpot out of pubic hairs stapled together and kilned at 40000000000 degrees F.
Barring that create one with pure psychic energy.
Barring that create one with pure psychic energy.
Righlander
Well-Known Member
i just spent the extra money and got a SS pot. just to ease my mind.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
I've always used SS pots for cooking, especially anything that contains higher acid levels (pasta sauce) since that [from what I've been told] was better/safer than using aluminum. But, when you're making beer, and you properly condition an aluminum pot before hand, there's no [real] difference between the metals. If anything, a thick aluminum pot will perform better than a similarly priced SS pot (since chances are the SS pot will be far thinner, and probably not a clad/thick bottom)...
I picked up an 8 gallon aluminum pot, with lid, for about $45 not that long ago... It's great for 5 gallon batches. For about $75 (will post the actual price/total once I've picked it up) I'll be getting a 60 quart (that's 15 gallons) or 80 quart (20 gallons) aluminum pot. Thick aluminum is easy to drill through too, compared with high grade SS pots. I might toss a ball valve into the new pot (or the current one I have), to make draining it easier. So making the correct size hole won't kill me, the drill, or drill bit at all.
For me, the cost savings of going with good aluminum far out weighs the extra cost you have when getting same grade SS pots. I'd rather spend the cost difference on more useful items, like a Barley Crusher, or a couple of sacks of MO...
I picked up an 8 gallon aluminum pot, with lid, for about $45 not that long ago... It's great for 5 gallon batches. For about $75 (will post the actual price/total once I've picked it up) I'll be getting a 60 quart (that's 15 gallons) or 80 quart (20 gallons) aluminum pot. Thick aluminum is easy to drill through too, compared with high grade SS pots. I might toss a ball valve into the new pot (or the current one I have), to make draining it easier. So making the correct size hole won't kill me, the drill, or drill bit at all.
For me, the cost savings of going with good aluminum far out weighs the extra cost you have when getting same grade SS pots. I'd rather spend the cost difference on more useful items, like a Barley Crusher, or a couple of sacks of MO...
Yankeehillbrewer
Well-Known Member
As long as you cure the pot before you brew with it you'll be fine. I've been using Aluminum for the better part of 4 years with no issues.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Forgot to mention that I did condition/cure my aluminum pot before I was going to use it for brewing (a few days ahead)... I put as much water as I could into it, and boiled it for 30-60 minutes to get a nice black aluminum oxide coating on it... I plan on having a propane burner before I go to use the next (larger) pot, so I'll condition that with as much water as I can fit into it. I hope to only have under 2" of non-conditioned aluminum in the pot (from the top edge)... I can't imagine ever needing to fill it up to that level when using it for brewing. Well, at least not while I'm using it for 5 and 10 gallon batches. 
wolverinebrewer
Well-Known Member
I just received a 60 qt. aluminum pot from Sam's Club and it was less than $50 delivered. The funny thing is the 5 gal. mark is only 6" deep in this pot and my homemade 5/8" copper chiller sticks up twice that high. Now I need to take it apart, reform it to a bigger diameter and solder it back up so it cools more efficiently.
So you're saying its approximately 4 quarts to a gallon (60 divided by 15 = approx. 4)? Cool!
J311gonzo
Well-Known Member
Golddiggie said:Forgot to mention that I did condition/cure my aluminum pot before I was going to use it for brewing (a few days ahead)... I put as much water as I could into it, and boiled it for 30-60 minutes to get a nice black aluminum oxide coating on it... I plan on having a propane burner before I go to use the next (larger) pot, so I'll condition that with as much water as I can fit into it. I hope to only have under 2" of non-conditioned aluminum in the pot (from the top edge)... I can't imagine ever needing to fill it up to that level when using it for brewing. Well, at least not while I'm using it for 5 and 10 gallon batches.
Now when you cure it is the black on the outside or inside? And do I have to do this before I use it everytime?
bja
Well-Known Member
wolverinebrewer
Well-Known Member
Inside. You do not need to do this everytime. The key is that when you are done with it, you DO NOT use any abrasive cleaning agents or scrubbers when cleaning off the baked on trub. All I use is hot water and a soft sponge. The oxide layer is a protectant.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Curing on the stove will only darken the inside of the pot. You MIGHT get some outside darkening if you try to condition it in the oven. Although when I tried that, I got zero color shift on any parts of the pot...
I've just used a soapy sponge, and very hot water, to clean the pot since conditioning it.
IF you use the BIAB method (for all grain) or hop bags for extract batches, your trub level will be reduced. I actually picked up three more hop bags last night, so that I have four. That should cover me for anything I brew moving forward. This will also allow me to put each hop (time) addition in one bag, and just put the bag into the boiling wort. Meals less worries about opening the hot bag to add more hops.
bh10
Well-Known Member
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Questions like that make me wonder if you're really asking it, or if you're trying to tug on our leg...
It's like asking "Is a yard approximately 3 feet long?"
So either you're messing with us, or your "senior year" of school was the 3rd grade...
mikeysab
Well-Known Member
Wow, Revvy, that was a very reserved anwer to this question. Im proud of you.
As for the 4 quarts to a gallon thing, I could understand not knowing metric cconversions, but gallons to quarts is something I thought everyone knew. I didnt actually think I read that.
Whoever said that thing about the brewpot made out of pubes, thanks for the new sig
As for the 4 quarts to a gallon thing, I could understand not knowing metric cconversions, but gallons to quarts is something I thought everyone knew. I didnt actually think I read that.
Whoever said that thing about the brewpot made out of pubes, thanks for the new sig
Questions like that make me wonder if you're really asking it, or if you're trying to tug on our leg...
It's like asking "Is a yard approximately 3 feet long?"
So either you're messing with us, or your "senior year" of school was the 3rd grade...
Wait, is that at sea level or at elevation?
(tug tug
)
sudsmcgee
Well-Known Member
Actually, I have a harder time with standard American units than I do metric units because in HS and college all that we ever used were metric units because science is an international thing, and teaching kids only American units is a disservice to them in this regard.
I can quickly tell you that 1 mcg/g is also 1 ppm, but I have no idea how many pints are in a gallon.
Boodlemania
Well-Known Member
A pint's a pound the world around.
Northcalais40
Well-Known Member
Actually, I have a harder time with standard American units than I do metric units because in HS and college all that we ever used were metric units because science is an international thing, and teaching kids only American units is a disservice to them in this regard.
I can quickly tell you that 1 mcg/g is also 1 ppm, but I have no idea how many pints are in a gallon.
1 Imperial gallon = 4.80380169 US quarts, so that'd be 9.60760338 pints :rockin:
wildwest450
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I can quickly tell you that 1 mcg/g is also 1 ppm, but I have no idea how many pints are in a gallon.
Commie.
sudsmcgee
Well-Known Member
wildwest450 said:Commie.
It's my damn science background. No one uses anything but metric measurements around me.
Righlander
Well-Known Member
oh nice dude. were subbed to each other on youtube. i'm glitch777 on youtube. cheers bro!
