Aluminum boil kettle

[jim_reaper1066]

Just bought a 8 gallon aluminum pot from canadian tire last night, and tried to boil some water to build up a passive oxide layer. Although my poor stove can barely maintain a 7 gallon boil with the lid on (need to build a heat stick), when i took the kettle off and dumped the water I was surprised at the results. The inside of the pot is almost black everywhere except where the stove element contacted the bottom, and it has a faint metallic smell. Is this normal for breaking in a new pot? I want to put a hefeweizen on tomorrow but dont want it to taste like metal. Should I boil more water in it first?

 

[Clonefarmer]

Just bought a 8 gallon aluminum pot from canadian tire last night, and tried to boil some water to build up a passive oxide layer. Although my poor stove can barely maintain a 7 gallon boil with the lid on (need to build a heat stick), when i took the kettle off and dumped the water I was surprised at the results. The inside of the pot is almost black everywhere except where the stove element contacted the bottom, and it has a faint metallic smell. Is this normal for breaking in a new pot? I want to put a hefeweizen on tomorrow but dont want it to taste like metal. Should I boil more water in it first?

The black is exactly what you want. Rinse it out real good and it should be fine to brew in.