First ever brew, did I ruin my stock pot?

[Kurtis]

Hello everyone, this is my first post here and Ive just finished my first boil. I am doing extract since its my first time and I'm shooting for a Dogfish Head style IPA, my fingers are crossed that it turns out good.

That said, I am not sure what is going on with my stock pot. After I finished cleaning up everything I left the pot filled with some b-brite in the sink for about an hour and a half or so. I came back and emptied it out to see that there was a very distinct line where the water line was. The top off the waterline is very smooth and glossy while the below the waterline it is much more matte and has lost the polished, slick feeling.

So my questions are, what could have caused this? Was this caused by having a poor quality pot? Did the b-brite damage the finish? Most importantly, will I still be able to use the pot in the future, as in, would anything like sanitation be an issue now? I have a picture of what I am talking about.

 

[PT Ray]

Try some vinegar or Bar Keepers Friend. It looks like the typical residue left from alkaline cleaners. Usually it cleans up with something acidic.

 

[DeafSmith]

+1 to Bar Keepers Friend - should take it off. Vinegar should work, too - it's just stinkier.

 

[dfc]

It just looks like you have some residue on there. Find a way to get it off and your brew pot should be fine.

 

[dcott]

On the issue of sanitation, you have nothing to worry about since your boils effectively sanitize your boil kettle when you brew. I don't even use chemical sanitizer on my boil kettle, I just clean it thoroughly after each brew session, then give it a good rinse before running my wort in. (Everything post boil, however, is where strict sanitation comes into play)

 

[dcott]

Also, congrats on your first brew!

 

[MalFet]

The picture looks like residue, so +1 to those who have suggested some vinegar.

Just as an alternative explanation in case that doesn't work...Is it an aluminum pot? Alkaline cleaners like B-Brite and PBW will eat up the passive oxide later on aluminum. It is easy enough to fix...just fill with water and get a nice hard boil going for an hour or so.

 

[AnOldUR]

Aluminum or Stainless?
(or did I miss it somewhere?)

 

[Kurtis]

The picture looks like residue, so +1 to those who have suggested some vinegar.

Just as an alternative explanation in case that doesn't work...Is it an aluminum pot? Alkaline cleaners like B-Brite and PBW will eat up the passive oxide later on aluminum. It is easy enough to fix...just fill with water and get a nice hard boil going for an hour or so.

To clarify, should I do that boil with B-brite mixed in or is that a straight water boil?

Aluminum or Stainless?
(or did I miss it somewhere?)

I'm sorry I don't know how I omitted that. It is a stainless pot.

 

[Kurtis]

Wow! I dumped some vinegar in there and it cleaned the residue off perfectly. What a relief, I was so worried I had done something stupid and ruined a brand new pot. Thank you so much everyone for your help!

 

[pvtschultz]

It was probably a mineral deposit then, vinegar breaks down the precipitated molecules so they can once again go back into solution.

 

[DeafSmith]

SS is pretty tough. Just don't ever use anything with chlorine to clean it - no bleach or chlorine scrubbing powder. Also not a good idea to let (chlorinated) tap water sit in the pot for a long time (more than a few hours).

More info on SS here:

http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixB.html

 

[logan3825]

I use Barkeepers Friend to clean my SS pot. It isn't expensive and almost everything wipes off within about 30 seconds. Miracle liquid.

 

[MalFet]

To clarify, should I do that boil with B-brite mixed in or is that a straight water boil?



I'm sorry I don't know how I omitted that. It is a stainless pot.

It looks like you've got this figured out, but just to specify in case others wander by...to passivize aluminum you should just boil it with water, not with water + B-Brite. But you've got a SS pot, so that's all irrelevant to you. Glad to hear the vinegar worked.