Any clue how to get this stuff off my BK?

[Gustatorian]

Not sure if it's beer stone, but a non-scratch scrub brush and barkeeper's friend isn't doing the trick. Maybe soak it in PBW for 24 hours?

 

[Smellyglove]

PWB in hot water should do the trick. Just leave it in there for an hour or two and it should come right off with a brush.

 

[day_trippr]

Looks like beer stone, and I agree with the hot PBW (one ounce by weight per gallon, btw).
Alternatively, Bar Keepers Friend (powder) on a stiff wet sponge really should work (it works on my ss kettles)...

Cheers!

 

[youngdh]

I don’t think PBW will get rid of beer stone (mineral deposits). You need an acid soak. 5 Star Chemical makes B.S. (beer stone) remover, but, household white vinegar will do the same thing. Use the vinegar the same way you would to de-scale a coffee maker. It needs to soak for a bit to soften the scale and then wash as usual.

 

[augiedoggy]

I always use a sponge and bar keepers friend which is found in powder or cream form in the cleaning supply isle at any grocery store... comes right off as its a super mild cleanser/polish for stainless.

Hot pbw of 140 degrees or more should break it up too though.

I see you kettle is missing a bunch of fittings. Just mentioning this in case you dont know.
You shouldnt have to remove them to clean inside them. I only mention this because some people arent aware that removing a sanitizing everything is unnecessary on the hot side and create a lot of headaches for themselves trying to diassemble and reassemble the weldless fittings over and over and find the seals dont like it and often develop leaks. That were a lot of the negative feedback on weldless fittings come from. ball valves should come apart to be cleaned without having to remove them. the "cool" looking multipiece designs are a pain in the ass to do this though vs the cheaper style which comes apart in seconds. I never understood the allure of the ones with all the bolts to have to remove.

truth is, if they are installed properly and the seal in the kettle works, theres nothing inside of them and they can properly be cleaned by cleaning the surface on the inside of the kettle.

 

[cubalz]

Mix some BKF with some water into a paste, spread it on the deposits and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Scrub it down and rinse off with hot water. It will all be gone. Works every time.

 

[augiedoggy]

The white non abrasive scrubby pad sponges work instantly with BKF too..

 

[homebrewer_99]

Vinegar and baking soda:



I know the video shows the bottom of a pot, but it'll work just the same on the inside.

Personally, I prefer to use a wire brush with my drill to do the scrubbing for me.

 

[augiedoggy]

I think a wire brush would do more damage than help here creating more deeper scratches for beerstone to cling to... might as well just wipe it out with a green scotchbrite if you want to clean it abrasively. not something you want to do if the inside is polished.

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

Magic Eraser

The Baking Soda and vinegar did not remove the beer stone build up. The wire brush did.

Just use something like PBW the run over it with a Magic Eraser.

That’s how I clean my brew kettles after every brew day.

 

[MrHopScotch]

Give it a pbw soak followed by an acid soak. citric acid or even vinegar should do the trick. If I get bad scale buildup that pbw alone doesn’t seem to touch, the stone peels right off after an acid soak.

 

[Saboral]

Vinegar generally will not break down beer stone if that is indeed what it is. Furthermore no single acid will accomplish this feat either. Beer stone is a very chemically complex and stable mineral precipitation that combines organic proteins from your wort with calcium oxalate. The problem is that you have to break down the organic proteins and the mineral deposits at the same time. So you use an acid consisting of nitric acid and phosphoric acid, do not rinse, and use a non-caustic alkaline wash.

 

[kevink]

Personally, I prefer to use a wire brush with my drill to do the scrubbing for me.

I hope you are using a SS wire brush. If steel, you are embedding ferrous particles into your stainless which can then rust not only themselves, but the stainless. Any wire brush is crazy overkill, though. You are beating up your vessels for no good reason. Let chemistry do most of the work.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I hope you are using a SS wire brush. If steel, you are embedding ferrous particles into your stainless which can then rust not only themselves, but the stainless. Any wire brush is crazy overkill, though. You are beating up your vessels for no good reason. Let chemistry do most of the work.

Yes, SS. But I'm not using a lot of elbow grease in the process. Just enough to get it off.

 

[day_trippr]

I don't get it, I've never had the "remains of the brew day" persist in my BK after a rather modest BKF cleaning regimen. Yes, the same tan-to-brownish deposits that resist a sponge and dishwashing liquid are totally removed with less than 5 minutes working a BKF slurry with the same sponge.

What kind of super-deposits are you folks creating here?

Cheers!

 

[afro_lou]

Is that kettle SS or Aluminum? It looks like stainless at first blush, but the stuff that won’t come off looks a lot like passivated aluminum...

 

[zlimfur]

I use lactol (milk acid) to get rid of beer stone and it works great, my fermentor is shiny afterwards.

 

[augiedoggy]

I use lactol (milk acid) to get rid of beer stone and it works great, my fermentor is shiny afterwards.

You have beerstone in your fermentor? how are you guys cleaning them between normal uses ? Just rinsing them? Ive gotten it in my boil kettle, especially around my fittings where I dont always clean thoroughly and on my heating element but otherwise I havent gotten any in the 5 years ive been brewing. I assumed it had a lot to do with water quality and mineral content.

 

[brewbama]

I use lactol (milk acid) to get rid of beer stone and it works great, my fermentor is shiny afterwards.

+1. One oz in 6 gal for a warm hour soak and it will wipe out. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...sol-milkstone-remover-acid-rinse?cm_vc=-10005

 

[zlimfur]

Just rinsing with hot water and as soon as I can notice beer stone, I wash it with lactol solution.

Yes, we have very hard water here in bosnia, lots of minerals, calk especially.

 

[atoughram]

I've used oven cleaner (Lye) on my propane fired kettle to get the caramelized sugars removed. But ever since I went electric, I don't have that problem any more.

 

[ancientmariner52]

I've used oven cleaner (Lye) on my propane fired kettle to get the caramelized sugars removed. But ever since I went electric, I don't have that problem any more.

Lye is good on stainless, don't use lye or oven cleaner on aluminum! I used to use oven cleaner to etch polished aluminum motorcycle parts for painting. You really wouldn't like what it does to surfaces.

 

[atoughram]

Yes - it was a keggle. We use a hot lye mixture at work to chemically mill aluminum.