Aluminum causing my off flavor?

[dandw12786]

Place a new aluminum brew pot in an oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove the pot from oven and allow it to cool naturally. This will create a passive oxide layer inside your pot, which will prevent your pot from leaching any metals into your brew as you boil it.

2
Clean your pot with dish soap and a nonabrasive cleaning pad only. Do not scrub your aluminum pot with a metal scouring pad and do not use oxygen-based cleansers, as these can scratch your pot or they can break down the oxide layer you created in Step 1. Do not use harsh, caustic cleaners of any kind.



Read more: How to Care for Aluminum Brew Pots | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5776583_care-aluminum-brew-pots.html#ixzz1EBC5N9YC

Isn't dish soap bad to use on anything brewing-related?

 

[Peterock]

Would it be intelligent to maybe eliminate grain for one batch and just do a simple extract and hops recipe to see if that's the problem (maybe my steeping or crushing is off)? Will beer made without any grain taste pretty good? Was going to brew a wheat this weekend, so maybe just use the recipe I was going to go with and eliminate the grain?

Is the grain all from same batch? How are you crushing the grain? Using an electric drill? Don't want to be over cranking it(nothing over 300rpm ish) Have you opened and looked inside crushers? Everthing looks OK, no worn down parts in there. You've tried bottled water already. I know that alum. pots are fine but..........like I said about the numerous amounts of different types of stainless are out there, well there is about 1000 different coumpound types of aluminum. Do you know someone you can borrow a stainless pot from? That way you don't have to spend 40-50 bucks on a pot that you may not need.
Pete

 

[Daver77]

Isn't dish soap bad to use on anything brewing-related?

Better use non fragrance dish soap

 

[dandw12786]

Is the grain all from same batch? How are you crushing the grain? Using an electric drill? Don't want to be over cranking it(nothing over 300rpm ish) Have you opened and looked inside crushers? Everthing looks OK, no worn down parts in there. You've tried bottled water already. I know that alum. pots are fine but..........like I said about the numerous amounts of different types of stainless are out there, well there is about 1000 different coumpound types of aluminum. Do you know someone you can borrow a stainless pot from? That way you don't have to spend 40-50 bucks on a pot that you may not need.
Pete

The grains have come from various sources... some brewer's best kits, some crushed in store, some was crushed when the store got it, and some I crushed myself with varying methods (most recently picked up a victoria mill). Nobody I know brews... or cooks lots of chili. I think I'll try heating the pot in the oven or boiling water in it (or both), and brewing something with only extract and hops... only RO water, no distilled or tap... get the least amount of variables and see if this flavor goes away. Wish I knew someone with a stainless pot, would like to buy one, but if I can't figure this taste thing out, would be $80-100 more on a hobby I'm most likely going to give up on...

 

[KevinM]

Get a 1 gallon stainless steel pot and use that as a test? Plus you can use it for cooking later.

 

[aseg]

I am sensitive to "metallic" brews that I have decided was due to hops. Particularly hops used in traditional British pale ales. So, fuggles, galena, goldings . . . Are you brewing a consistent style? Does the flavor exist before bottling?

 

[dandw12786]

Styles have been different, first was a brown ale, then amber, pale, wheat, IPA, kind of a wheat style pale, and another pale. Hops have been mostly american style: cascade, amarillo, simcoe, but have used some chinook in the IPA, I think some cluster somewhere... don't even know what was in the Amber, but that one was awful. I think the flavor has been there before bottling, but not as much as after... the flavor seems to develop more in the bottles... Seems to get worse with time.

I really appreciate everyone's help with this.

 

[Ceej1978]

I'm having the same problem with my first ever batch. It's an APA brewed in an aluminum boil pot from 3.3 lbs LME and 2 lbs DME and tap water. I boiled a couple of gallons of tap water in the pot and discarded them before I started boiling my wort. I taste tested it before bottling and there was a hint of metallic taste but not as bad as it was after carbonating in bottles for 2 weeks. As far as hops I used 1oz. Nugget at 60 mins and 1 oz. Cascade at 15 mins. I've seen it suggested to heat the boil pot in the oven at 250F for 6 hrs to build up an oxidizing layer. I think I'll try that just in case. I'm also going to test my water and see if that needs adjusted. From reading several threads on this I think the water might be the culprit as it seems to be in most situations.

 

[Kaz]

I think the flavor has been there before bottling, but not as much as after... the flavor seems to develop more in the bottles... Seems to get worse with time.

I really appreciate everyone's help with this.

I think the off flavor worsening over time could be an indication of infection or oxidation.

 

[calvinJ]

if your planning on putting your stock pot in the oven you may need take the trays out and sit your stock pot on four tinfoil balls , make the tinfoil balls yourself, thats the only way i could fit my Aluminum stock pot in my oven and off the element , some sites said you only had to put it in for 10 mins at 350 f, i was extra cautious and boiled first then baked for 30 mins

 

[lgilmore]

Are you using metal untencils? Any abrasive scrubbers when cleaning your pot? How does your pot look appearance wise? any scapes inside?

 

[HopSong]

Disagreement Brewing.. there might be something to that..

Don't put pots in the oven that have plastic handles.. goes without saying.

Simply boiling a full pot of water on the stove or burner is more than sufficient. The inside will turn black below the water level = oxide layer

Clean with tap water and a dishcloth only.. no need to do more.. no soap, no nothing.. rinse well after making sure the hardened scum is removed.

Finally, we've talked about everything but what you use to separate the hop sludge and grain bits from the wort. What do you use if anything? If you are using a strainer of some sort and it's not stainless, that may be your problem. Lick the strainer. Does it taste metallic ? If so, that may be your problem. Also, do you use something for containing your hops other than a cheesecloth bag? Consider everything that touches the wort.

As a last note. You may well be overanalyzing your beer and your reactions may be affected by your friends comments. How about taking a cold bottle or two to your LHBS and asking them to critique it for you. I'm fortunate enough to have a couple of judges at my shop as well as a number of friends who are most excellent brewers. They can always find something to comment on.

Don't volunteer ANY information when asking them to critique it as even seasoned brewers who find something wrong may/will attribute it to extract brewing.. and that, my friend is a lot of whooy. I've won a club competition with extract brews after watching others with their elaborate grain systems creating the same beer.