Does anyone use an aluminum pot

for steeping grains and boiling wort?

I can get an aluminum 4 gallon pot for $8, whereas a stainless steel is going to cost me about $50.

I use aluminum, so do a lot of other people here. If you can get it for cheap, get a big one and go full boil (if you can).

I think I used to, but I can't remember anymore.


In case you didn't get the joke, there was/is a debate on aluminum contributing to alzheimer's. It's bunk, though.

Anyway, I used a 7 1/2 gal aluminum pot that came with my turkey fryer for quite a while. IMO, it's a good inexpensive way to go, especially if you want to move out of your kitchen and do full boils. Sometimes you can pick up a turkey fryer setup for < $30.

yup I've got 2

I use one as well (and won a Best Of Show with it). The advice I received about using it was to boil water in it before the first use (all the way to the top). This gives it this dark oxidation layer or something, which keeps your beer from getting the metallic off-flavors. When I clean it, I never use steel wool....just a clean sponge and hot water. If it needs more cleaning, you can use the steel wool or whatever...just redo the boil procedure before making beer again.

How long do I need to boil the water for on the first use??

Want to elimiate the aluminum consumption in your life?
Don't eat at restaurants.
Don't drink canned beverages.
Don't use deoderant.
Don't eat Rolaids.

RDWHAHB!

bbriscoe said:

How long do I need to boil the water for on the first use??

Click to expand...

Just enough to get the oxide layer....maybe 30 mins? Don't overthink it. If your aluminum pot has been in contact with oxygen for more than a few days, it will have the protective oxide layer. Just be sure not to scrub it off when cleaning!

Of the four pots I use when brewing (8 gallon, 5 gallon, 3 gallon, 2 gallon), the three gallon one is aluminum. I got it for free when a house was being cleaned out. Works fine by me for doing decoctions and holding sparge water.

RDWHAHB Aluminum is fine

I've got two.

Ah,
What was the question?

olllllo said:

Want to elimiate the aluminum consumption in your life?
Don't eat at restaurants.
Don't drink canned beverages.
Don't use deoderant.
Don't eat Rolaids.

RDWHAHB!

Click to expand...

Great point!

Aluminum is great, as long as you don't scrub off that passive oxide layer that builds up. I have a steel pot and an aluminum pot that I use on the stove for boils in the winter (too cold to do it outside on the keggle). Aluminum is a much better conductor of heat than SS, and I can get a rolling boil in the aluminum pot much faster than with the SS pot.

So....aluminum will work for you without problems. More importantly, don't buy a 4 gal pot. See if you can get one around 15gal/ 60 qts. Price should be reasonable when compared to SS. Get a cheap turkey fryer that can support the weight of said pot. Brew beer. Lather, rinse, and repeat.

Aluminum is cheaper than SS, and it's thermal heat capacity is like 20x times that of SS. Only thing better would be copper or silver as far as heat transfer goes.

There was a thread with real numbers and whatnot... I'll see if I can find it.

Found it: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=279001&postcount=12

gold is the best heat transfer but thats unrealistic

johnsmith098 said:

gold is the best heat transfer but thats unrealistic

Click to expand...

actually, no, silver and copper are much better for heat transfer.

http://www.engineersedge.com/properties_of_metals.htm