Aluminum is cheap. Must I use Stainless Steel?

I’m sure this question gets raised about once a month since the inception of the board but I cannot readily find any threads on the subject, so please bear with me, folks.


The instructions I got in my kit, and the people at the store I got it from, tell me I need to use either stainless steel or an enamel pot to boil my wort. However, SS is expensive, aluminum pots of the same size are cheaper by a great deal. I’d rather buy aluminum and save the money.


So what’s wrong with using an aluminum pot versus a SS pot? Why can’t I use aluminum? Anyone here use aluminum on a regular basis? Pros/cons? Advice?


Thanks for humoring me on what I’m sure is a tired subject for the regulars.

Lots of posts, pro and con. Doesn't make any difference.

If you save money on aluminum, we'll help you spend it somewhere else.

Here is a recent thread on the subject with arguments either way:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?p=313542.

Resistance to aluminum is waning as people realize that it makes great boil pots with many advantages over SS. But they are a bit harder to clean/maintain, and they won't stand up as well as SS over time. So it just comes down to personal choice.

Biggest problem with aluminum is that it conducts heat so much better than stainless.

FWIW, if you search for posts with "aluminum" in the thread title, you get 40+ results, and most of them are on this topic.

My alluminum pot is great. I can easily bring 7 gallons of wort to a boil on my electric stove with it. I dont think I would be able to do that as easily with a SS.

However, as someone mentioned, alluminum wont last as long as SS.

cubbies said:

However, as someone mentioned, alluminum wont last as long as SS.

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I don't think that's a given. I've seen some REALLY high-gauge Al pots from the restaurant industry that look like they'll last forever.

the_bird said:

I don't think that's a given. I've seen some REALLY high-gauge Al pots from the restaurant industry that look like they'll last forever.

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True enough, I guess I should have said, mine probably wont last forever. Don't get me wrong, it is not a cheapo, soda can type of aluminum, but it is definitely not as durable as SS. I told my fiance that we should register at Williams Sonoma so that we could register for the copper, 32-quart stock pot...only $800

the_bird said:

I don't think that's a given. I've seen some REALLY high-gauge Al pots from the restaurant industry that look like they'll last forever.

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I use a 40QT commercial gauge pot. I measured the sidewalls and they're 3/16" thick. Only ~100CDN too.

The biggest problem with Al pots, is that nobody appears to be able to spell aluminium correctly.

-a.

ajf said:

The biggest problem with Al pots, is that nobody appears to be able to spell aluminium correctly.

-a.

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I dunno how they do things in Long Island, but...ummmmm....

Bloody toothless brits, corrupting the language with "colour" and "flavour" and "aluminium".

Evan! said:

I dunno how they do things in Long Island, but...ummmmm....

Bloody toothless brits, corrupting the language with "colour" and "flavour" and "aluminium".

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haha...good stuff.

ajf said:

The biggest problem with Al pots, is that nobody appears to be able to spell aluminium correctly.

-a.

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That's because we're speaking AMERICAN here and not English...CHEERS!

(BTW blame Daniel Webster for screwing it all up!)

Can you still use your al. pot if it has been oxidized by Starsan? My pot is a gray color and I am afraid to use it. Is it OK to use???

I would not. there is a clear coat on "aluminium" that protects the pot from leaching into what ever is put into it. Aluminum is a very pore's and soft metal. when you heat it up it will transfer bits of aluminum into into your beer and will stick in your upper intestine.

Don't put anything that is aluminum in the dishwasher it will have the same effect.

ajf said:

The biggest problem with Al pots, is that nobody appears to be able to spell aluminium correctly.

-a.

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It's funny. We use the "u"s in all the words like "colour" and "neighbour" but not "aluminum".

BriarwoodBrewer said:

Can you still use your al. pot if it has been oxidized by Starsan? My pot is a gray color and I am afraid to use it. Is it OK to use???

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Yes, you can. Just boil water in it for a half-hour. That will rebuild the oxidization layer.
Plus, you shouldn't ever need to sanitize your pot, since you'll be bringing it to boiling whenever you're using it.

I started with an aluminum pot but then "upgraded" to a stainless steel, and now it take me longer to bring my water to a boil and a lot longer to chill it prior to pitching my yeast

barnyard said:

I would not. there is a clear coat on "aluminium" that protects the pot from leaching into what ever is put into it. Aluminum is a very pore's and soft metal. when you heat it up it will transfer bits of aluminum into into your beer and will stick in your upper intestine.

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Source?

good recent article:

http://www.planetthoughts.org/?pg=pt/Whole&qid=3023

barnyard said:

I would not. there is a clear coat on "aluminium" that protects the pot from leaching into what ever is put into it. Aluminum is a very pore's and soft metal. when you heat it up it will transfer bits of aluminum into into your beer and will stick in your upper intestine.

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have you ever drank from a beer can, soda can? ate some canned beans? what do you think it's all made of? you just went against your own advice.

i think the aluminum debate is redundant. to each his own. someone will always come up with something to say it's the greatest thing ever, and someone will always say it's the worst thing ever. pick your poison. We're all born for dying! :rockin:

MetallHed said:

have you ever drank from a beer can, soda can? ate some canned beans? what do you think it's all made of? you just went against your own advice.

i think the aluminum debate is redundant. to each his own. someone will always come up with something to say it's the greatest thing ever, and someone will always say it's the worst thing ever. pick your poison. We're all born for dying! :rockin:

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A guy who I bumped into at the brew store was adamant that Aluminum and PET where the devil and would ruin my beer and leach carcinogens into my body, all the same while he was smoking while telling me about it.

Search for the pro/con thread and then it's really up to preference. A full aluminum pot is a little lighter, little faster to heat and a hell of a lot cheaper.

the_bird said:

I don't think that's a given. I've seen some REALLY high-gauge Al pots from the restaurant industry that look like they'll last forever.

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I have a "medium weight" inexpensive aluminum 60 qt stockpot. It is a little less than 1/8" thick. IMO, unless subject to extreme abuse, even the medium weight aluminum pots will last a helluva long time. Unless you plan on using your kettle daily for decades, the durability issue is moot IMHO.

I also have some SS kettles, and even after years of use, Bar Keepers Friend can have them looking like new.

barnyard said:

I would not. there is a clear coat on "aluminium" that protects the pot from leaching into what ever is put into it. Aluminum is a very pore's and soft metal. when you heat it up it will transfer bits of aluminum into into your beer and will stick in your upper intestine.

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According to everything I've read here and other places it's exactly the opposite. Things like aluminum cans for food or drinks have a lining on the inside to keep the aluminum from leaching into the food, but things like pots do not. They're bare aluminum. This is the reason why it's recommended to boil water in an aluminum pot before brewing beer in it. The oxygen in the boiling water will bond with the Aluminum and form a dull gray Aluminum oxide layer that separates the Aluminum from your wort.

In other words the dull gray oxidation on your pot is a good thing (at least according to other threads I've read here at homebrewtalk).