Aluminum Pot - First Full Boil - Question

[limprizol]

So yesterday i did my first full boil with an aluminum pot from a turkey fryer that i just purchased new. However i did not do anything to it besides rinse it before i used it was this a big mistake and will my beer not taste good now or will it be okay.

I am making a Pumpkin spice ale and i tasted the wort and it tasted very bitter but i didn't taste anything metallic. Hopefully everything will turn out fine and i was just looking for other peoples opinion.

Also is the best thing to clean this pot with just scrubbing with a sponge and hot water.

 

[GearBeer]

Cleaning the pot should be no more or less difficult than cleaning any other pot. Use hot water and a scentless detergent with a scrubbie or dish cloth.

Your beer should taste ok but you may notice some metallic notes. I boiled my first batch in an aluminum pot without pre-treating it and it was fantastic, but you never know. From what I understand you should boil an aluminum pot for ~30 mins before using it.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Boiling the pot for 30 mins creates an oxide layer on the aluminum that protects it. It looks kind of blackish. Don't worry, and DON'T scrub your pot. This layer is your friend. When cleaning, rinse well and sponge it clean with mild soap. Rinse again.

Aluminum pots get a bad rap, but there's a lot of advantages. They conduct heat better than SS, and are easily drilled for valves. They're WAY cheaper.

Try using your pot and taste the finished product. Form your own opinion, and don't let people psych you into "thinking" you taste metal. I was so paranoid I spent $250 on a SS pot when it wasn't necessary. My beer didn't change at all

 

[limprizol]

Thanks for the info guys i appreciate it hopefully it will come out really good. I used RichBrewer recipe for Richards Pumpkin ale and the OG was perfect and right on so hopefully i wont have any problems with a metallic taste.

So for future reference i just need to boil water for a 30 min dump and then start my brew

Cheers

 

[Rezilynt]

So for future reference i just need to boil water for a 30 min dump and then start my brew
Cheers

You should only need to do it once, not each time.

 

[limprizol]

ok cool sorry for the dumb questions thank you very much

 

[Rezilynt]

Not dumb questions at all!

 

[captainjay]

You should only need to do it once, not each time.

I just got a large aluminum pot as part of a turkey fryer set. Following the directions I've read here, I brought the pot full of water to a boil and let it boil for >30 mins (closer to an hour).

Aside from a ring around the top of the inital water level, it really didn't turn much darker at all. If anything, it looks lighter with mineral deposits left behind after I dumped the water out.

Do I need to boil it a few more times, or is this pot okay to go?

Thanks,
Jay

 

[GearBeer]

Jay,
I'd say your clear. There could have been other residues on the walls of the pot that got boiled off, making it appear lighter. When I boiled mine I got a significant amount of white or off-white plasticy crap. Be sure to clean it out before you brew in it.

 

[LooyvilleLarry]

Not to hijack this thread, but I am preparing for my first boil in an Al fryer pot. Should I put a valve on for transferring to my counterflow chiller?

 

[Germey]

All pre-treatment is a myth. You wash a new pot to get rid of any manufacturing/shipping gunk. Aluminum oxidizes very very quickly just by being out in the air. If you scratch aluminum, it will have already formed a protective skin of oxide before you can fill it for use. You probably don't want to scrub the pot with your strike water in it, but you wouldn't want to do that anyway.