What's at the bottom of my kettle?

[mhochman]

I'm pretty sure I've read about this somewhere, and I know (think) it's not harmful. So, what is it? How do I remove it? Or should I forget about it? And I doing something in my process that's causing this? In the picture the kettle has been cleaned.

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[Flomaster]

barkeepers friend, hot water, green scrubby, and elbow grease. Should take care of that fairly easily

-=Jason=-

 

[Golddiggie]

Or a nice long soak in some hot (tap water, or in the 140-180F range) PBW solution... Hit it with a scrubby the next day and go from there. Minimum use of elbow grease should be required.

 

[shutupjojo]

Vinegar soak for 10 min and a little scrub.

 

[OneHoppyGuy]

In your photo it appears you are using a street elbow for the pick-up tube. Don't the threads inside get kinda dirty?

 

[wyzazz]

In your photo it appears you are using a street elbow for the pick-up tube. Don't the threads inside get kinda dirty?

Does it really matter if it gets "kinda dirty" since it goes through a 60min boil? I wouldn't think so.

 

[wyzazz]

I'm pretty sure I've read about this somewhere, and I know (think) it's not harmful. So, what is it? How do I remove it? Or should I forget about it? And I doing something in my process that's causing this? In the picture the kettle has been cleaned.

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Are you doing Extract or All Grain brews? It almost looks like you've got a bit of caramelization on the bottom there. Either way a little PBW or Oxiclean and a scrubby should take care of that. If you're using an Aluminum Brew Kettle don't let it soak too long or you'll get pitting.

 

[jpc]

It's proteins from the boil... Not a big deal. It's harmless, but I like to remove it every few brews or so. Like others have said, a bit of BKF with a non-scratch scrubbie (I don't like to use the green, since they scratch) and a little elbow grease is all that is needed.

 

[mhochman]

In your photo it appears you are using a street elbow for the pick-up tube. Don't the threads inside get kinda dirty?

Actually, they don't. Because of the way the valve is set, the threads don't allow for the elbow to tighten and stay pointed down. In other words, if I tighten it fully, it's pointing sideways. This means it's super easy to get on and off, so every other batch I take it off and let it soak unattached. Looks as good as the day I got it.

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[mhochman]

Are you doing Extract or All Grain brews? It almost looks like you've got a bit of caramelization on the bottom there. Either way a little PBW or Oxiclean and a scrubby should take care of that. If you're using an Aluminum Brew Kettle don't let it soak too long or you'll get pitting.

I'm all grain. And it's stainless steal.

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