is it safe to cook lobsters in my brew kettle

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2ned-up

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My wife is the demanding that we cook lobsters in my brew kettle because it will fit like 10 of them at once.... will this be detrimental to my beer?
 
Just wash it well after words ... I use mine for boiling large quantities of corn on the cob when family/friends are over. I just use some Oxiclean free to wash it very well and the rinse it very well
 
I'm no expert but I don't see why it would. A good scrub right after to limit any odors followed by standard cleaning- PBW & Starsan, etc will finish off any lingering odors I imagine...
 
I'm no expert but I don't see why it would. A good scrub right after to limit any odors followed by standard cleaning- PBW & Starsan, etc will finish off any lingering odors I imagine...

I'd say the Starsan would just be a waste, no need to sanitize a kettle. Just wash it like it's any other dish and it'll be fine.

The only pots/pans I have that carry over flavors from one meal to another are my cast iron skillets...

To directly answer the question in the title of the thread: no it's not safe, they can pinch you :p
 
I did it on Valentine's day. No ill effects, although it does take a good scrub to get the nasty brown stuff and any scalded seaweed off of the bottom.
 
As long as you are not boiling the lobsters in a batch of beer, you should be fine.
 
GilaMinumBeer said:
Be sure to set the gap preset on that thing to Lauren Hutton and you'll be good.

I may have to modify my mill to open'er up that wide!
 
"Is it safe to cook lobsters in my brew kettle"

Not for the lobsters!
 
Grill a lobster once and you'll never think about boiling them again. Mmmmm ... griiiillled shellfishhhhh ...
 
No it is not safe. Please put all lobsters you have in a package with dry ice and mail them to me before you ruin any more equipment. I am willing to sacrifice a pot at my house in your honor.
 
Thank you all for you input! I am going to use my kettle.... however the only thing that my homebrew will play a part in is.... washing down the big Maine lobsters!
 
I have cooked a number of things in my brew pot. From spaghetti to a giant batch of rice crispy treats. It's nice to have the large size around when entertaining people. Something I've notice I do more of now that there is beer on tap in my garage.
:drunk:
 
My wife ended up cooking a 3 gallon batch of baked beans in my brew kettle while J was on the road. Came home to my horror seeing my big shiny kettle covered from base to lid in dried beans. After making her scrub it out (or more like me scrubbing it out, just wanted to pretend for a second that I'm in charge) it still brews fine with no off flavors. Though if I drink too much of my home brew I get some gas. Might be a hold over from the beans.
 
I cooked crab legs in my kettle and I could never get the odor out. I tried starsan, bleach, and oxyclean. It would seem clean and even smell clean, but as soon as I boiled water, the smell would return. I finally gave up and got a new pot. Others seemed to have been successful cleaning it, but I sure did not.
 
nothreat said:
I cooked crab legs in my kettle and I could never get the odor out. I tried starsan, bleach, and oxyclean. It would seem clean and even smell clean, but as soon as I boiled water, the smell would return. I finally gave up and got a new pot. Others seemed to have been successful cleaning it, but I sure did not.

Was it aluminum or stainless steel?
 
I have done a turkey in my aluminum kettle (twice), and with some good scrubbing it was just fine for the next brew (both times). I've never actually done shellfish though...you would think though, that if you had a well conditioned aluminum kettle, it shouldn't hold odors... :confused:

As an aside, I will be at Dogfish on Friday, and I really hope they still have that Choc Lobster brew...definitely have to try that one, even if just for the h-e-double hockey sticks of it...
 
My brew kettle is my big stock pot that I have had for years. Have done shrimp/crawfish boils, lobster, steamed oysters, chili, and about anything else that requires a big pot. Have not noticed any off flavors in beer or food
 
I think I'm going to change the name of this thread to "What have you used your brew kettle 4 other than brewing beer?"
 
I used to brew in my great uncle's antique 60 qt aluminum stock pot (the old heavy gauge kind). It was used to boil lobsters in Maine for like 60 years and has the inside wear to prove it...then it made beer for 5 years with me before I switched to the sanke keg. I never did anything but scrub it out with some soap and water. I have boiled crawfish, shrimp, potatoes, and corn in it on a Saturday and brewed beer in it Sunday; no effects detected.
 
Boiling Lobsters secrete an oil that from what I hear you can never get out.

60 years worth of lobsters in my kettle and a couple hundred pounds of crawfish/heads0on shrimp; nary a hint of "lobster oil secretion".
 
As a guy from Downeast Maine (Lobstah country) I can vouch that lobsters don't secrete any perma oils or anything like that. If they made everything taste like lobster we'd all have separate cookware. Just give it a good soapy cleaning and rinse really well and the pot should be good as new.
 
As a guy from Downeast Maine (Lobstah country) I can vouch that lobsters don't secrete any perma oils or anything like that. If they made everything taste like lobster we'd all have separate cookware. Just give it a good soapy cleaning and rinse really well and the pot should be good as new.

I see you're in TN now, but where were you in ME? Our farm is just North of Warren on 131. I haven't been out in several years, but I want to start planning a trip soon....I miss the fresh lobsters!
 
I was raised in Eastport, Maine. It's not the end of the world there. But you can see it from there. A lil fishing island and eastern most city (of 1600 souls) in the US. I moved to TN after college because, quite frankly, there's no jobs in Maine.
 
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