What's wrong with Aluminum

Hi,
I'm lining up my equipment for an all grain brew. I wanted a propane cooker for the boil. I was all set to buy one for about $50.00 plus shipping. I don't think that included a regulator. Anyway, I landed up buying a turkey fryer for $39.00 which included the propane cooker, a regulator and a 7 gallon aluminum pot. I fired up the propane cooker and it works fine. My question is, what wrong with using the aluminum pot for doing the boil?

Regards,

David

Some people say that aluminum gives off flavors into the beer. I use the aluminum pot that came with my turkey fryer and have had no ill effects. The one thing I have to say about it is that you don't want to use a metal spoon with one because it will scratch. Use a wooden or plastic spoon and you will be ok. Brew on brother.

Aluminum is used extensively in restaurant kitchens--in fact, it's the cookware of choice in maybe all but the highest end commercial kitchens.

Pros don't use aluminum for highly acidic dishes, like tomato sauces. (Because the acid reacts with the aluminum to create an off flavor.) It's highly debatable whether wort is acidic enough to be a concern.

I don't use an aluminum kettle, but I'm a budget-minded brewer and I probably would purchase a large aluminum kettle if the price were right.

Some folk have cautioned the use of aluminum because of suspected links to alzhymers (or however you spell it, I seem to have forgotten, damn aluminum pots). Lately I have heard this is not the concern it was made out to be. Brewing with leech oxides from your pot, if this is a health issue I can't say, but I have never tasted a beer that had off-flavors related to aluminum.

I've noticed that the aluminum pots that come with turkey fryers are awfully thin and light weight, is that of concern?

cweston said:

Aluminum is used extensively in restaurant kitchens--in fact, it's the cookware of choice in maybe all but the highest end commercial kitchens.

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Respecfully, I believe you're wrong about this. I've never spoken to a professional cook of any kind that uses aluminum for anything other than deep fat frying, and generally not even that.

As far as aluminum boil kettles...there's absolutely nothing wrong with them, except that they're not the right tool for the job. SS heats more evenly, minimizes scorching, gives a better more vigourous boil, and is far easier to clean. Aluminum is absolutely fine...you won't have any problems with it. But as with any fine tool, once you've "cooked" with a good quality SS pot, you'll never want to go back.

This debate is really old, and no one (at least any homebrewer I've ever talked to, myself included) knows enough metallurgy to settle the debate.

The answer is: it depends.

There are different types and blends of aluminum just like there are different types of stainless steel (e.g. I have a T304 Stainless Steel exhaust, but I've seen a lot of stainless steel pots that are not T304 and are of lower quality, e.g. the kind that come with turkey fryers).

The aluminum pot that came with my turkey fryer is of very good quality and I've never had any issue with scorching or uneven heating. However, I've seen kits that come with very thin, cheap aluminum pots and kits that come with cheap, crappy stainless pots. It all depends.

You will get alzheimers if you use an aluminium brew kettle even once.

In fact, just posting this thread might push you over the edge.

El Pistolero said:

SS heats more evenly, minimizes scorching,

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FWIW, this is definitely wrong. This is why expensive SS cookware (like all-clad) have stainless layers around heavy aluminum (or copper). Stainless is a superior cooking *surface,* but aluminum and copper are superior heat distributing materials.

As far as what professionals use, I'm educated-guessing and you may be right. I'm not talking about haute-cuisine restaurants so much as just workaday places like Applebees, et al.

Janx said:

You will get alzheimers if you use an aluminium brew kettle even once.

In fact, just posting this thread might push you over the edge.

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What the heck are we talking about? Who are you? Aluminium was linked to alzheimers a while back but has since been debunked. I use my 30 qt pot without any off flavors or worries.

boo boo said:

I use my 30 qt pot without any off flavors or worries.

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How would you know?

boo boo said:

What the heck are we talking about? Who are you? Aluminium was linked to alzheimers a while back but has since been debunked. I use my 30 qt pot without any off flavors or worries.

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Boo Boo, I think that Janx was pullin ya leg a bit........

I personally use SS and shy away from AL, (and no it's not because of the alzheimer's thing) but other people swear by it. If SS is too pricey for you, see if you can find a 28-40 Qt enameled steel stock pot.

Oh I get it- boo boo was pullin back. I'm a little slow. Must be that damn aluminum cookware..............

cweston said:

As far as what professionals use, I'm educated-guessing and you may be right. I'm not talking about haute-cuisine restaurants so much as just workaday places like Applebees, et al.

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I used to make insurance inspections of commercial kitchens and never saw one once (even 5 star) that did not have a huge inventory of aluminum or aluminium cookware.

Try subscribing to some of the cooking channels on TV where they go into real (not made for TV) restaurants, you'll see what I mean.

FWIW, aluminum sits as aluminum oxide, and it's pretty stable as regards acid, which is why Coca-Cola doesn't wear through aluminum cans, even though it's quite acidic. I do think however, that pop tastes better from a bottle than a can, and same with beer. I do not offer an explanation.

Sasquatch said:

FWIW, aluminum sits as aluminum oxide, and it's pretty stable as regards acid, which is why Coca-Cola doesn't wear through aluminum cans, even though it's quite acidic. I do think however, that pop tastes better from a bottle than a can, and same with beer. I do not offer an explanation.

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I don't know if it is in my head or not but beer in a can tastes like a**. I always buy beer in bottles no matter what brand.

ablrbrau said:

Boo Boo, I think that Janx was pullin ya leg a bit........

I personally use SS and shy away from AL, (and no it's not because of the alzheimer's thing) but other people swear by it. If SS is too pricey for you, see if you can find a 28-40 Qt enameled steel stock pot.

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Ya, I know. I was pulling everyones leg also. I'd use SS if I could get it cheap and I will get a good SS 40 qt pot one of these days, it's just the mullah is tight right now.

FWIW I just picked up a 30qt SS pot at Walmart for $30. It was in the section with the grills and outdoor turkey fryers, which I also purchased one of for $37. Came with another aluminum pot that I'm not sure how I'll use.

RichBrewer said:

I don't know if it is in my head or not but beer in a can tastes like a**. I always buy beer in bottles no matter what brand.

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Not trying to hijack/divert the thread, but the reason pop & beer taste better out of a bottle than they do from a can is the fact that you're smelling the aluminum. Aluminum gives off a smell whereas glass does not. If you were to take a can and a bottle of the same beer and pour them into pint glasses you wouldn't (shouldn't) be able to tell the difference.

RichBrewer said:

I don't know if it is in my head or not but beer in a can tastes like a**. I always buy beer in bottles no matter what brand.

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I think it's because of the fact that most beer put into cans tastes like a** to begin with.

RichBrewer said:

I don't know if it is in my head or not but beer in a can tastes like a**. I always buy beer in bottles no matter what brand.

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Thats because no beer actually worth drinking comes in a can. All the good imports are bottled. The only canned beer I can think of thats worth a darn is Boddington's.

UNOmar said:

... the reason pop & beer taste better out of a bottle than they do from a can is the fact that you're smelling the aluminum. Aluminum gives off a smell whereas glass does not. ...

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Yes, I hoping someone would bring this up. Also, all cans, be they aluminum or metal, have a very thin coating on the inside to keep the contents from making contact with the can. They've been making them this way since the mid-1930's!

.......

Well I found this little excerpt from the web:

Cats injected with aluminum directly into the brain showed behavioral changes similar to Alzheimer's. http://www.ucheepines.org/alzheimers.htm

I do think if we injected the cats with Homebrew they'd show similar symptoms as well .

I don't think this will be ever confirmed. The experts keep asking those with Alzheimers if they cooked a great deal with aluminum and none of them can recall .

No offense to those with loved ones with this disease; my father had it and passed on last year...

Lost said:

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ROTFLMAO @ Lost and his gif.

So basically if I use my big A** Aluminum pot that came with my turkey fryer, instead of my little 16 quart SS it shouldn't affect the brew?

budbo said:

So basically if I use my big A** Aluminum pot that came with my turkey fryer, instead of my little 16 quart SS it shouldn't affect the brew?

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I'll give you the "yes" on that one. I use a 30qt aluminum pot and the beer tastes just... what was the question again? Oh yea, tastes great.

My reply to the first post from experience...

Heating aluminum with fermented stuff in my experience has caused a lot of pitting of the aluminum. Al is quite a reactive metal...for instance, it will produce hydrogen gas when combined with an acid. When you get pitting, you ultimately get a lot of ionized aluminum in your brew, and that's no good! Off flavors, potential health risks (I don't know--), and whatnot. I'd stick with the stainless, cast iron, or other less reactive metal.

You can use aluminum, and it will work plenty well...just know that it has plenty of disadvantages.

Not only that but I've heard that brewing with dihydrogen monoxide present (even in trace amounts) is the leading cause of reactions with aluiminum.

Anybody know a way of eliminating this?

Janx said:

You will get alzheimers if you use an aluminium brew kettle even once.

In fact, just posting this thread might push you over the edge.

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I thiiink.. you are rihgtt about that message.. umm. what were we talkign about?

This is a lot like the diesel vs. gasser flap on RV forums, no one will ever change their minds about their position. The truth in both cases is: it doesn't matter.

I agree with you 100% that it doesn't matter.

I disagree about no one changing their mind...once you've used SS you'll never willingly go back.

No one but a weenie would drive a gas powered RV...diesels rock. :rockin:

El Pistolero said:

I agree with you 100% that it doesn't matter.

I disagree about no one changing their mind...once you've used SS you'll never willingly go back.

No one but a weenie would drive a gas powered RV...diesels rock. :rockin:

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no REAL RV'er would use diesel...

There is circumstantial evidence linking Aluminium with Alzheimer's disease but no causal relationship has yet been proved. Why risk it if you may already have a predisposition for the disease. I would recommend stainless steel over aluminum.

a recent study of autobiographies written by nuns weeks before taking thier vows
suggest that a high level of cognitive ability may offer protection againts developing the disease. low linguistic ability was found in 90 percent of those who developed alzhiemer's, and 13 percent in those who didnt.

there is strong evidence for a genetic basis for the disease...but enviromental factors likely play a role in most cases. (monozygote twins prove this when one gets the disease and the other doesnt)

a history of head injury is another risk factor. so are exposure to toxins such as lead or mercury, as well as chronic use of drugs including ALCOHOL.

some things that offer protection are: ibuprofen, NICOTINE, and statin drugs.
and engaging in cognitive activities like reading a newspaper everyday(or a brew magazine).

deano said:

There is circumstantial evidence linking Aluminium with Alzheimer's disease but no causal relationship.........

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And just as much circumstantial evidence proving that there is no link!

Let's stop quoting unrelated BS and get back to brewing.

If you are really worried about it, brew in aluminium while drinking home brew, smoking a big fat cigar and banging a stupid nun. . . and it sounds like they will all cancel each other out.

Alzheimer's isn't a desise you get while you are young. You get it late in life, which sucks, so you wont want to remember that part of your life anyway. Besides by the time you even get to the point where you MAY want to remember your later years you'll be long dead so whats the big whoop?

Seriously, use what ever you can afford and enjoy yourself. When you really start to worry about what you are doing and what you are using just think of the old monks. They didnt thave a choice of stainless or aluminium, they didnt have sanstar or iodine, hell they didnt even know wtf yeast was and they still made decent beers we are all trying to imitate.

Relax, dont worry, and have a home brew. If that dont work then