Aluminum Boiling Pot

[Morrey]

I am sure this is an opinion based question....Is a thick, heavy bottom aluminum pot suitable for boiling my wort?

At my local home brew store, the owner tells me absolutely NO aluminum pots. It can ruin the taste of your beer, tons of metallic flavor..NO NO NO. Of course he says this as he points to an extremely bright and shiny stainless boiling pot on his shelf. The price tag indicates that if he can sell one pot a week he covers his overhead, LOL.

I have a really nice, clean 5 gallon Aluminum stock pot that is quite heavy. It has a thick bottom and I know it won't scorch the wort as heavy as it is. Should I be concerned in using this pot to boil??

 

[1977Brewer]

As long as it's oxidized, you're fine. To make sure, just boil water in it, to your expected wort volume, for 30 minutes. Bam, totally off flavor free boil kettle.

 

[Foosier]

It is not a question at all actually. AL pots make great brew pots. I use one and love it..

As 1977Brewer said, just bring water to boil in it once before you use it. This advice is not be brewing specific either, it is just the proper way to prepare a new AL pot for cooking use.

Your LHBS guy has an agenda. Lots of us use AL pots and no one is reporting metallic tastes. Total myth.

 

[wolves63]

Below is an article I think is appropriate. The short answer is it doesn't matter. You will hear both sides of the argument, and this can be a touchy subject for many, but I have used both and can say it didn't give me off flavors.

http://beersmith.com/blog/2010/08/17/aluminum-vs-stainless-best-beer-brewing-pots/

 

[Sailingeric]

I have one and it has been no problems. Boil the water first time to oxidize. After my use I just hose it out real well, no deep scrubbing. Don't want to lose the oxidation layer

 

[Kee]

It's fine to use aluminum. There are advantages to using stainless steel, but aluminum is safe to use. I think that it's in John Palmer's book that he references studies that have been conducted showing this.

 

[Morrey]

It's fine to use aluminum. There are advantages to using stainless steel, but aluminum is safe to use. I think that it's in John Palmer's book that he references studies that have been conducted showing this.

I was thinking about Palmer's comments on aluminum (that you sourced, Kee) when the LHBS guy was pushing this SS pot. The LHBS guy firmly swore he could tell a beer boiled in aluminum a mile away. Maybe one day I'll simply blind taste test him and see how accurate he is. But, what difference does it really make...you guys have given me the truth w/o a sales pitch.

 

[1977Brewer]

I was thinking about Palmer's comments on aluminum (that you sourced, Kee) when the LHBS guy was pushing this SS pot. The LHBS guy firmly swore he could tell a beer boiled in aluminum a mile away. Maybe one day I'll simply blind taste test him and see how accurate he is. But, what difference does it really make...you guys have given me the truth w/o a sales pitch.

Pm me his address. My beers have had their share of issues, but metallic flavors have never been among them.

 

[lumpher]

I use a stainless keggle 90% of the time, but sometimes i do a boil in a 28 qt aluminum pot. No difference in flavor at all. You're correct in suspecting he just wants to sell you the $$$$$ SS pot.

 

[broadbill]

It is not a question at all actually. AL pots make great brew pots. I use one and love it..

As 1977Brewer said, just bring water to boil in it once before you use it. This advice is not be brewing specific either, it is just the proper way to prepare a new AL pot for cooking use.

Your LHBS guy has an agenda. Lots of us use AL pots and no one is reporting metallic tastes. Total myth.

I have one and it has been no problems. Boil the water first time to oxidize. After my use I just hose it out real well, no deep scrubbing. Don't want to lose the oxidation layer

Not to belabor this topic, but where are you guys getting this whole idea of needing to boil water first to prepare new AL cookware? I've seen this come up many times here, and I just can't find any reference to it outside of brewing-related sites (but mostly just this site).

No cooking sites mention having to do this; and John Palmer's metallurgy for homebrewers article makes no mention of the practice as far as I can tell:

http://byo.com/malt/item/1144-metallurgy-for-homebrewers

Aluminum oxidizes rapidly in air all on its own. I think someone, somewhere on the internet said it once and it stuck.

 

[eadavis80]

If you still feel the need to get a SS pot, this is very affordable: http://www.homebrewing.org/5-Gallon-Stainless-Steel-Brew-Pot_p_272.html

 

[1977Brewer]

Not to belabor this topic, but where are you guys getting this whole idea of needing to boil water first to prepare new AL cookware? I've seen this come up many times here, and I just can't find any reference to it outside of brewing-related sites (but mostly just this site).



No cooking sites mention having to do this; and John Palmer's metallurgy for homebrewers article makes no mention of the practice as far as I can tell:



http://byo.com/malt/item/1144-metallurgy-for-homebrewers



Aluminum oxidizes rapidly in air all on its own. I think someone, somewhere on the internet said it once and it stuck.

Because mine was still shiny after 10+ years as a turkey fryer, and then I probably removed whatever had built up after scrubbing the bejeezus out of it.

Plus I read it here. Makes it true.

 

[Sailingeric]

I read it on here. It was new pot and new burner so I figured I could kill two birds, see how fast it got up to heat and how much propane I was using and do the boil thing.

 

[dstockwell]

Aluminum = no problem..

 

[Jim311]

A zillion people are using old aluminum kegs to boil beer in without any off flavors or problems, myself included. You don't need to "oxidize" anything either. The pot is sitting in an oxygen rich environment, putting water in it isn't going to do anything. Aluminum is tough and cheap, and heavily used in commercial restaurants.

 

[PADave]

I wouldn't even consider using one, and don't use aluminum for any cooking. Just got my new Spike Brewing 10 gallon kettle today.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

I wouldn't even consider using one, and don't use aluminum for any cooking. Just got my new Spike Brewing 10 gallon kettle today.

I wouldn't even consider using a Spike Brewing 10 gallon kettle today.

 

[masonsjax]

Boiling water puts a thick visible aluminum oxide layer on the pot that is very durable. Maybe it's not necessary, but it eased my mind to see the dark gray coating on my pot, assuring me that I'm protected from potential off flavors and pitting.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

It's called seasoning the pot, and yes, it's done for cooking too, but if the pot were to be used for cooking it's recommended to use oil not boiling water.

 

[pshankstar]

I've used an aluminum pot for several brews before I landed a keggle to do a full boil. No metallic flavors or anything. Just boiled a full pot of water for 60 minutes (probably overkill) before I brewed a batch. I still use it for smaller batches here and there.

 

[broadbill]

It's called seasoning the pot, and yes, it's done for cooking too, but if the pot were to be used for cooking it's recommended to use oil not boiling water.

I did see that bit about oil and it makes even less sense. The water works as an electrolyte in the oxidation reaction. The oil does what, and how???

 

[FloppyKnockers]

I did see that bit about oil and it makes even less sense. The water works as an electrolyte in the oxidation reaction. The oil does what, and how???

Honestly... I have no clue. Those are the instructions that I got too with my pots.

 

[broadbill]

Honestly... I have no clue. Those are the instructions that I got too with my pots.

Here is a thought....maybe its bullsh*t! (not to disparage the fine people who unknowingly peddle such excrement on forums such as this).

 

[tezcatlipoca]

Yeah, I used an aluminum pot when I started and some said that it would cause off-flavors. I presented my bock at a meeting and let them taste it. Afterwards, I revealed it was an aluminum pot. I have since upgraded to stainless but really only because of size constraints. Each one has pros and cons, but neither will cause any bad flavors to a beer when used properly.

Maybe if you brewed a really weak, sessionable beer in an aluminum pot, it MIGHT have a bit of a metallic taste, but who on Earth would brew a sessionable beer on purpose.

 

[tezcatlipoca]

A zillion people are using old aluminum kegs to boil beer in without any off flavors or problems, myself included. You don't need to "oxidize" anything either. The pot is sitting in an oxygen rich environment, putting water in it isn't going to do anything. Aluminum is tough and cheap, and heavily used in commercial restaurants.

Aluminum kegs? Tough? My kegs are steel. Did they used to be aluminum?

But still, I think aluminum should be fine. I do think aluminum is a bit more fragile than steel, but if you are putting a dent in a 1/4" thick aluminum pot, you gotta be brewing wrong.

 

[Terek]

i only use aluminum, mainly because of the price diff. I paid $22 ea for my hlt and my boil kettle. Same one in ss would be $60 ea. I have NEVER had any off flavors from it. The only problem is they dont make them much bigger than 8 gal. so if you are doing 10 gal batches down the road, than you will more than likely have to go with ss.

Your biggest problem is that your stock pot is only 5 gal. You will only be able to do 3 gal batches max with that. Break down, go to walmart, and get a 8 gal aluminum pot for $22

 

[Jim311]

Nah they make aluminum pots way bigger than 8 or 10 gallons, restaurant supply shops, Ebay, Amazon all have them.

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

ALuminum brewin here. No off flavors to report. Like others said, just boil some water in it and don't scrub it.

 

[Terek]

Nah they make aluminum pots way bigger than 8 or 10 gallons, restaurant supply shops, Ebay, Amazon all have them.

huh. i just have not seen them bigger. I assumed because as you get bigger, and more volume of liquid, the aluminum just isnt strong enough to support it. I guess they can just make em thicker.....
Id like a 10 gal because my 8 is just not big enough for 90 min. boils for 5 gallon batches

 

[Jim311]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001PZ7K7A/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


60 quarts, 67 dollars. I can assure you it can handle the weight.

 

[mabrungard]

A 60 qt AL Stock pot like shown above, is what I've used for a decade. Works great.

 

[leirbag]

What about the time it takes to boil? Any difference there between AL and SS?

 

[mabrungard]

If you are heating your kettle externally, Al will transfer heat more quickly and effectively into the wort. If you are heating internally (ie: electrical water heater element), then Al actually works against you. SST is better when heating internally. Of course, you could always insulate the exterior of a kettle to reduce heat loss when heating internally.

 

[OpenSights]

I’m glad I saw this thread. After buying a few setups to get started I ended up with three kettles, two ss and a short wide aluminum for frying fish. The aluminum one had never been. Not a good size for brewing, but I have made some super simple LEM kits where you only boil 2 or 3 gallons of water, add the boiling water and LEM to your fermenter then top off to 6 gallons.

All I’ve done is boil either distilled water or filtered water and it has started developing a white film at the level of the water along with what I would describe as scorch marks.

I just put the last batch I made in the keg and force carbed it out of the last gallon I bottle three 12oz bottles (I probably could have bottled a fourth... but don’t want to be greedy.) and added a carbonation tab to each bottle.

The beer in the keg is slightly off, can’t quite put my finger on it, but still drinkable. I opened one of the three bottles after two weeks because while capping it I discovered it was a twist top. Over carbed for a stout, but didn’t notice any obvious off flavor. The other two, about a month and a half later way over carbed and undrinkable. Everything was washed in PBW, rinsed very well and sanitized.

I was thinking maybe it’s the aluminum kettle. If anyone wants, when I get back in town tomorrow I’ll post a picture of it.

 

[NGD]

Looks like I get to be “that guy”.

My second brew I did on a stovetop with a thick aluminum pot. Got awful metallic flavors in that batch of beer. Ended up having to toss the batch. That was the last time I decided to sort my collection of loose change during the boil. No problems since!

 

[mabrungard]

If the Al kettles had a nice shiny surface, its possible that some of the metal could make it into the wort. I've never used a shiny aluminum part in brewing. I always oxidize the aluminum by boiling in hard water. The metal turns a dark gray color.

The other approach I use, is to almost never scrub my Al kettle to a shine. I flush out the kettle after the boil and wipe down all surfaces to make sure there is no trub left, but the surface isn't scrubbed. My kettle has a nice, tea-colored patina on its interior. My wort never contacts the aluminum.

PS: don't scorch your kettle if you're using my minimal cleaning approach. The patina would probably carbonize and could contribute burnt flavor and aroma to the beers. Now that I use an internal heating element, I don't have to worry about scorching the kettle surface. But the same thing applies to the element...be sure that you get all the trub and deposits off your element(s) after each boil or you will build up a layer that will burn.

 

[LittleRiver]

I use an aluminum kettle. Before using it the first time I cleaned it thoroughly and then oxidized it by boiling water in it. My cleaning process sounds similar to Martin's, I clean thoroughly but don't scrub so hard as to disturb the oxide layer. I've never had a problem with off flavors.

 

[rodwha]

I’ve been brewing in aluminum as well but never knew Oxiclean couldn’t be used. I use a nonabrasive plain sponge in hot water and then run it in the dishwasher with Oxiclean on the pots & pans setting and allow the normal wash to be an additional rinse. After several years I have thought my oxide layer seemed lighter.

 

[Wreck99]

When I switched to AG, I bought a Spike Brewing 13 gal aluminum pot. I also cleaned it with OxiClean and had no trouble with it for years... I have SS now, but FWIW there's that.

 

[smyrnaquince]

As long as it's oxidized, you're fine. To make sure, just boil water in it, to your expected wort volume, for 30 minutes. Bam, totally off flavor free boil kettle.

This, except boil for 60 minutes, then measure the amount of water left in the pot. You will then have a very good estimate of how much wort you will boil off in an hour. (Yes, you can double the 30 minute number, but the 60-minute number should've slightly more accurate.)