Is this pot ok to use? (pic)

I borrowed this pot from a friend, he has cooked crawfish in it before. I have scrubbed it really good but there are some spots on it (see pic). Is this going to cause any off flavors? I boiled some water in it earlier and tasted it after it had cooled and it tasted normal.

personally I wouldn't its pretty dirty. You could try some "Carbon-Off" to clean it up, Its stainless steel? if not buy another pot

I agree. If it's stainless you should be able to get it clean. If it's aluminum you have a good seafood boil pot and need to get a new brewpot.

Hello...the pot look's aluminum, I would boil some water with lemon juice in it...this will help remove the unwanted flavors and previous burnt on food....however when you use this for beer, leave the burnt on look...it will place a layer that protect the aluminum from leaching in to your wort.

A soak in PBW if it's stainless steel would likely take care of all the residue. My stainless steel brewpot looks like that once in a while and needs a soak in PBW to get it gleaming.

IMO you could use as is...if you prefer saok w/ pbw or dish washer soap and scrub clean. Try bar keepers friend or a scrubbie pad if you want to remove the soiling.

Another way to get the stuff off it is to use a baking soda paste.

wilserbrewer said:

IMO you could use as is...if you prefer saok w/ pbw or dish washer soap and scrub clean. Try bar keepers friend or a scrubbie pad if you want to remove the soiling.

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+1 BKF AND a scotchbrite pad.

I use this stuff for pots, works quite well. You have to scrub a bit but it'll remove anything from Stainless or copper.

I have used a stainless scrubby and vinager and it worked great on the inside of one of my keggles

Tested th pot with a magnet. It is an aluminum pot.

I scrubbed a much worse looking AL pot for my first kettle. Once you get it all nice and shiny with BKF and a Scotchbrite pad, you want to re-season it. I forget the method (its been a while). A quick search should give you the answer.

Used bkf and to pot looks perfect now

Jabrock1 said:

Tested th pot with a magnet. It is an aluminum pot.

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That means it's more likely to be SS. Magnets only stick to Iron, nothing else. Stainless steel sometimes contains a small amount of iron, depending on the alloy. But if it's pure aluminum a magnet will not stick.


On the topic though, does anyone have a good way of telling if something is stainless steel or aluminum, assuming a magnet does not stick. Most high-quality SS is non-ferrous.

TheBroonery said:

On the topic though, does anyone have a good way of telling if something is stainless steel or aluminum, assuming a magnet does not stick. Most high-quality SS is non-ferrous.

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Stainless steel is hard, aluminum is soft. Aluminum will scratch easily w/ a butterknife...the pot in the OP looks like stainless to me??

If ya can't tell aluminum from stainless...get back under the rock