aluminum pot

[jkd3624]

Someone told me not to brew in an aluminum pot is there any truth to this??

 

[marsbike]

Yes, kinda, not really.

The theroy is that the aluminum will give you alzhimers. In reality, the ppm of al taken up by your wort is neglible.

Boil plain water in the pot to "season" it and you will be just fine.

Iirc, the term is passofication.

 

[Bubba]

I been doing full boils with a 40 qt Aluminum pot for years with no problems at all. If you use the search function this has been discussed extensively.

 

[beninan]

Aluminum is all I have used. I don't remember why you shouldn't....maybe it's the Alzheimer's talking, or maybe the excessive beer ingestion. Ok, I'm kidding about the Alzheimer's. there's nothing wrong with using aluminum. Ask yourself this: Would they sell aluminum for cookware if it resulted in bad heath effects?

 

[ayoungrad]

Aluminum and has a dubious at best association with Alzheimer's.

As far as brewing, there is a concern about the flavor imparted by aluminum. I have personally read in published material that it is to be avoided. However, I have also read online from user's personal experiences that it has no affect on flavor.

I'm not sure where the truth lies. For me, I would love to use an aluminum pot if there is no effect on flavor because aluminum pots are so easy to heat. However, I have a ceramic stove top and it's my understanding that I therefore cannot use an aluminum pot.

Having said all of this... stainless steel is a no brainer if you have no set-up related issues.

 

[WCD]

The only other point I have heard is the aluminum doesn't hold the heat as well. Heat loss is probably more an issue in doing AG batches where you are trying to keep the grains at a certain temperature for a period of time. Although if your doing an extract batch on a stove that doesnt heat up that fast it could take longer since youll be batting heat loss and heat additions. When doing extracts on my electric stove I have allot of downtime due to this, that is one reason why Im happy with my SS/aluminum core stock pot. But youll have to answer that for your stove.

If none of the above is an issue in your setup or you are doing extract or Batch sparge AG's. I think you would be fine with the Aluminum pot and save some money since they tend be cheaper.

The Alzheimer's thing, I think is an old wives tale but really haven't researched it extensively.

 

[avidhomebrewer]

There have been may posts on this forum over the years debating aluminum and stainless. Some go either way, some a certain way. I'm in the former camp. I've been using both a 40 qt aluminum and 40 qt stainless pot for years and see/taste no difference between the beers brewed in them.

If you have questions about if you should use aluminum, grab a pot (at least a 10 gallon), brew with it, see if you like it. If you don't drop me a line and I'll take it off your hands.

 

[brewmcq]

Look at it this way.. if aluminum pots were even potentially dangerous, there wouldn't be any available...

 

[jd3]

Look at it this way.. if aluminum pots were even potentially dangerous, there wouldn't be any available...

Well lets not go THAT far. This is a BEER forum... which, in the wrong hands, is easily dangerous. Hell, I just intubated someone tonight secondary to alcohol poisoning.

LOTS of "dangerous" things are available, even for our normal consumption.

I don't think aluminum pots are "dangerous" though.

The biggest downfall for me is their heat loss.

 

[brewmcq]

Apples and oranges, really...

The EPA has been pretty good about getting overtly unsafe stuff out of kitchens and whatnot... I'm thinking about the thousands and thousands of restaurants around the US (at least) that use aluminum everything (pots, pans, utensils, etc.), and that if it was dangerous, they'd have already put a ban on it, since there is a wide enough group to build an indepth study upon.

Congrats on the tube. I've only had to do three this year so far, so things are off to a good start (and I just jinxed myself).. ;-)

 

[jd3]

Congrats on the tube. I've only had to do three this year so far, so things are off to a good start (and I just jinxed myself).. ;-)

I've had around 4 this month! 2 RSI's in 3 days....

Can't complain though, I'm working now!

 

[brewmcq]

Yeah.. Maine doesn't let us do RSIs, but I'm totally fine with that... we don't need more ways to kill patients. ;-)

 

[DrHops]

I've been working in restaurants for 26 years and most of them use aluminum pots and pans due to their durability and cost. If aluminum was bad to cook in, these restaurants would have injured 100's of thousands of people throughout the years, which of course, they didn't. I brew in both, I have an 8 gallon stainless steel pot with a ball valve for 5 gallons extract batches and a 20 gallon aluminum with site tube, thermometer and ball valve for 10 gallon and all grain BIAB batches. Sure, the stainless steel is easier to clean, but for the cost difference, I would go with aluminum any day of the week.

 

[tbel]

If your concern is safety, there is no worry. If it is about how it may affect your beer, well there is some debate but I think most would tell you that your not likely to notice anything.
Here is a small bit from John Palmer's How To Brew

Metallic
Metallic flavors are usually caused by unprotected metals dissolving into the wort but can also be caused by the hydrolysis of lipids in poorly stored malts. Iron and aluminum can cause metallic flavors leaching into the wort during the boil. The small amount could be considered to be nutritional if it weren't for the bad taste. Nicks and cracks ceramic coated steel pots are a common cause as are high iron levels in well water. Stainless steel pots will not contribute any metallic flavors. Aluminum pots usually won't cause metallic flavors unless the brewing water is alkaline with a pH level greater than 9. Shiny new aluminum pots will sometimes turn black when boiling water due to chlorine and carbonates in the water.

The protective (grayish) oxides of aluminum can be enhanced by heating the clean pot in a dry oven at 250°F for about 6 hours.