Stainless pot

[Zippitydo]

Do I have to use stainless to boil in or can I use stoneware?

 

[milligan101]

Do you mean like an enameled pot?

 

[Zippitydo]

Yes.

 

[LuiInIdaho]

Some people have used enamel covered canning kettles. They work but you will not want to use it if the enamel is chipped. Anyway that is what I read.

 

[LandoLincoln]

If you really have no other option, then sure, use it. But you should consider upgrading to aluminum or stainless.

 

[Zippitydo]

I heard aluminum was bad because of the metal it was made with.

 

[LuiInIdaho]

I heard aluminum was bad because of the metal it was made with.

If you read Palmer's book, you will see that aluminum is fine for a kettle. The only thing is that you should not use Oxyclean on aluminum. Otherwise it is great. Mark.

 

[tone_s]

Aluminum works great.
Why not oxyclean?

 

[sjohnv3]

Stainless is sooo easy to clean! Aluminum will pit and burn through if you do not take care of it (I use mine for crab boils too). Choice will be dependent on price. I would get stainless if you are going to stick to the hobby for a long time.

 

[rklinck]

Aluminum works great.
Why not oxyclean?

As I understand it, you want an oxidation level on an aluminum pot (that is why folks suggest boiling a kettle full of water for at least 30 minutes when you first get it). Oxyclean will remove the oxidation, meaning you would have to boil water for 30 minutes and then toss it out before starting your brew each time. At least that is my understanding, but I could be wrong.

 

[Felixio]

...I use mine for crab boils too...

Do you boil or steam your crabs?

 

[sjohnv3]

I add about 1 cup salt to 2 gallons water or bring back salt water from the trip. Then I boil them alive.

 

[Golddiggie]

Stainless is sooo easy to clean! Aluminum will pit and burn through if you do not take care of it (I use mine for crab boils too). Choice will be dependent on price. I would get stainless if you are going to stick to the hobby for a long time.

The issue with aluminum pots comes from using cheap/thin aluminum pots. IF you get a good/thick one it will be fine for a looooong time. I'm talking about 4mm thick walls/bottom here, not the cheap ones you find at Wally world. Restaurant supply stores sell the better grade ones. You can also get them from Amazon without too much issue.

 

[flars]

A good stainless pot is a worthwhile purchase. I bought a 5.5 gallon ss stock pot at Walmart with an encapsulated 0.5 inch aluminum disc in the bottom. Price a few years ago was $62.00. I also do big soups, but the heavy bottom makes it great for holding a stable temperature for partial mashes.

 

[Cathedral]

Some good info:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/faq-aluminum-pots-boil-kettles-49449/

 

[Golddiggie]

A good stainless pot is a worthwhile purchase. I bought a 5.5 gallon ss stock pot at Walmart with an encapsulated 0.5 inch aluminum disc in the bottom. Price a few years ago was $62.00. I also do big soups, but the heavy bottom makes it great for holding a stable temperature for partial mashes.

While that's good for soups, stocks and maybe as a mash tun, it's been proven to have little (if any) value for a BK. Plus, for less than that you can get a 4mm thick 40qt (10 gallon) aluminum pot, with lid.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

you can use any of those.

use whatever you have in the house if you need to be careful with the funds.

if you go out to "invest" in a pot, then look at stainless or high quality aluminum pots.

btw... high quality boil pots aren't cheap... it's worth it to save your pennies and get good one, even if you need to wait a little longer or pay a little more.

and, for the record, i use stainless steel. it lasts forever

 

[F250]

While that's good for soups, stocks and maybe as a mash tun, it's been proven to have little (if any) value for a BK. Plus, for less than that you can get a 4mm thick 40qt (10 gallon) aluminum pot, with lid.

Proven?

I guess no one told Bayou Classic, as my 8 gallon kettle has tri-ply bottom.

Rick

 

[unionrdr]

+1. I found a set of 4 nested/polished SS stock pots on sale at Giant Eagle in Feb '11. With lids & steamer trays for some $25. They go from something like 1G up to 5 gallons. Easy to keep shiny too. Just some PBW & a dobie with a lil elbow grease. Rinse well,& shiny as new all over again. They still look great now. I love the look of shiny stainless when I go to brew up a batch. They're just better all around imo.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

+1. I found a set of 4 nested/polished SS stock pots on sale at Giant Eagle in Feb '11. With lids & steamer trays for some $25. They go from something like 1G up to 5 gallons. Easy to keep shiny too. Just some PBW & a dobie with a lil elbow grease. Rinse well,& shiny as new all over again. They still look great now. I love the look of shiny stainless when I go to brew up a batch. They're just better all around imo.

^^^^ and, if you take care of them, they will still be around for your great grandchildren to brew.

 

[unionrdr]

Yet another good point. The 5G pot I kept for a BK never sees anything but beer. My wife takes great pains to keep the other three slick as a hounds tooth.Good thing,since I use the 4G for a HLT when brewing partial mash. Since they're so easy to keep clean & in good shape with a little care,the grandkids may well see them. If we ever get any &*$^@W~##$%^%&%^&

 

[dadshomebrewing]

yeah... well there's that, last.

 

[unionrdr]

Speaking of which,I need to finish cleaning up after bottling quick to make a few runs before things closed yesterday. Dang,life gets in the way sometimes. But goin upstairs in the evening & seeing those 51 bottles conditioning makes it all better. I wish my fermenters were as easy to clean as my SSBK.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

hey union... just got back after a couple weeks on the road... i've actually got three batches to get bottled today.

that "working for a living" thing, gets in the way, too, doesn't it.

 

[unionrdr]

It sure did. Now it's the "Hey,guess where you're going!" bit It always seems to be when I'm in the middle of something,never when nothin's going on. My water for priming solution had just started to boil when I got that bomb dropped on me. I shouldn't have snapped,but dang. Brew/bottling day is the premier don't friggin bug me day.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

i heard that... brew day is hallowed ground... anybody is more than welcome to participate... but not to interrupt

 

[unionrdr]

Yea,verilly I say unto thee,thow shalt not interrupt the brewmaster at work...

 

[Golddiggie]

Proven?

I guess no one told Bayou Classic, as my 8 gallon kettle has tri-ply bottom.

Rick

Pretty much no actual benefit in the boil kettle (unless you're dumping in massive amounts of extract). For all grain brewing, especially, the thicker bottom provides no gain over a quality kettle/keggle that's of solid construction. Not talking about the 22 gauge pots here, but the ones that are 1mm thick (stainless) wall. If that Bayou has thin walls, then they basically had to provide a clad bottom to stop people from screaming at them.

This has been gone over in other threads.

IMO, if you're on a tight budget, you're much better off getting a thick walled aluminum pot over a thin wall stainless pot, to convert into a kettle. Not only will the thicker aluminum perform better, but it's several times easier to put holes into. I've done both, so I'm not talking out of my patoot.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Pretty much no actual benefit in the boil kettle

There's at least one benefit. Having a stainless steel screen attached to your dip tube. My tri-clad bottom pot works fine with one. My keggle scorches the living crap out of wort when the screen is in there.

 

[Golddiggie]

There's at least one benefit. Having a stainless steel screen attached to your dip tube. My tri-clad bottom pot works fine with one. My keggle scorches the living crap out of wort when the screen is in there.

Then why do you use the screen if it creates scorching?

If you're scorching that much, then either you're running the burner too high/hot, or something else is going on. I have minor heat marks on the bottom of my keggle after a batch. Easily removed. I also have the dip tube placed so that it's not on the bottom of the keggle.

Thick bottoms won't offset poor design choices.