Aluminum vs stainless all grain

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virtualbrew

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I have been brewing extract with a turkey fryer for two years and the wort started to taste like metal.

Now I need help, anyone brewing with aluminum pots vs steel. I don't want to mess up my all grain boil.
 
How do you clean your kettle?

Have you scrubbed the inside of your aluminum kettle recently?
 
^ Yes, have you scrubbed it or cleaned it with a clean-in-place cleaner like PBW or OxiClean? These methods can/will remove the protective oxide layer inside the pot. The oxide layer on aluminum looks brown or grey and should be left as it is the barrier between the liquid and raw aluminum.
 
Just fill it up most of the way with water and get a rolling boil for 15 mins or so, it will restore the oxide layer.
 
virtualbrew said:
Should I go stainless or aluminum then. I am undecided...
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with aluminum. How big is the one you have now? I would just keep that one.

If you want a new one, both aluminum and stainless have pros and cons. It doesn't really matter which one you use, they both make beer and the beer will likely be exactly the same with either. I like aluminum because it heats fast, it's light, and it's cheap. Stainless is good too though if you don't mind spending a little extra money. I got this one off of amazon and it's been perfect: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CHKL68/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20.
 
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Weezy said:
PBW and oxiclean will degrade aluminum. use only good old fashioned dish detergent and rinse it 45,000 times when your done to be sure the soap residue is gone.

good info in the pod cast with the pres of five star chemicals:
http://beersmith.com/blog/2013/08/0...ion-with-jon-herskovits-beersmith-podcast-62/
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Why bother with detergent in the brewkettle? Since the kettle only really touches the wort before/during the boil it only needs to be clean. All I really do is take a sponge and some of the runoff water from my IC and wipe down the inside/rinse all of the debris out. Safer for the oxide coating, no real need to clean it any more throroughly unless you are using the same pot for non beermaking applications.
 
DrunkleJon said:
Why bother with detergent in the brewkettle? Since the kettle only really touches the wort before/during the boil it only needs to be clean. All I really do is take a sponge and some of the runoff water from my IC and wipe down the inside/rinse all of the debris out. Safer for the oxide coating, no real need to clean it any more throroughly unless you are using the same pot for non beermaking applications.
Click to expand...

I could not possibly get all the pellet hop residue off my boil kettle (above the wort line) without either a strong brush or chemicals.
 
rklinck said:
I could not possibly get all the pellet hop residue off my boil kettle (above the wort line) without either a strong brush or chemicals.
Click to expand...

Really? Have you ever tried? I always use hop pellets with no bag and I've only ever used hot water and a paper towel. Don't even have to scrub that hard, and it only takes a minute or two. A lot of times I even use cold water.
 
Aluminum if you want to save money. Stainless if you can afford it.

I've brewed a bunch of batches on aluminum and never had a metallic taste problem that I could detect. I've always just used a bit of fresh water and a kitchen dish brush to clean the inside. I don't bother with detergent in the BK because there isn't anything that won't come off with water.
 
stainless costs more but it should last you a little longer. only real difference.

as for cleaning i always clean my metal stuff with oxiclean. kegs to kettles. beer lines get star san. i also just learned that star san will spit shine and immersion chiller given 2-3 hours of time.
 
Good stainless will last a life time but if your thinking of upgrading down the road to a larger setup or something I'd just do aluminum till then. I just upgraded to northern brews mega kettle 1.2-60 qt with ball valve and I'm really happy with it!
 
I've used both. I prefer stainless and just ordered one from Northern brewer. I love it. So easy to clean.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Home Brew mobile app
 
+1 for Aluminum. There realy is no difference except cost and let's be honest, that is a big difference.

My aluminum Winco 10gal aluminum pot and lid cost me about 65 total shipped from amazon. It is very heavy duty. I honestly think I could use it in place of a car jack in a pinch (not that I'd do that... I love my pot!)

A decent SS 10gal pot will cost you much more, usually around $200 or more. Keggles are cheaper, but usually require more parts due to their size which increases their cost.

For me, 60 versus 200+ was a no brainer. I can brew a lot of beer with the money saved on my pot. Plus it is not like I can't expand my system and still use the pot as an HLT, BK, MT whatever.

For me, cheap wins when all other criteria remain the same.
 
peterj said:
Nothing wrong with aluminum. How big is the one you have now? I would just keep that one.

If you want a new one, both aluminum and stainless have pros and cons. It doesn't really matter which one you use, they both make beer and the beer will likely be exactly the same with either. I like aluminum because it heats fast, it's light, and it's cheap. Stainless is good too though if you don't mind spending a little extra money. I got this one off of amazon and it's been perfect: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CHKL68/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20.
Click to expand...


I just got this exact pot for Christmas. I've brewed with it twice and I love it.

rklinck said:
I could not possibly get all the pellet hop residue off my boil kettle (above the wort line) without either a strong brush or chemicals.
Click to expand...

peterj said:
Really? Have you ever tried? I always use hop pellets with no bag and I've only ever used hot water and a paper towel. Don't even have to scrub that hard, and it only takes a minute or two. A lot of times I even use cold water.
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I agree with peterj. I used to try to scrub the hop residue off with my cold outside water, but lately I have taken to either bringing it inside and using the hot water from the sink or bringing a bowl of hot water outside. Residue comes right off with just a little pressure from a sponge.
 
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dogslapbrewery said:
Good stainless will last a life time but if your thinking of upgrading down the road to a larger setup or something I'd just do aluminum till then. I just upgraded to northern brews mega kettle 1.2-60 qt with ball valve and I'm really happy with it!
Click to expand...

Good aluminum will last a lifetime as well. :D

RonPopeil said:
stainless costs more but it should last you a little longer. only real difference.

as for cleaning i always clean my metal stuff with oxiclean. kegs to kettles. beer lines get star san. i also just learned that star san will spit shine and immersion chiller given 2-3 hours of time.
Click to expand...

I'd say more like 2-3 minutes. That's all it takes when my chiller is looking dirty. I don't think it's good for copper to let it soak in acid that long. I think I read that somewhere, but I could be wrong.
 
I used a 60qt aluminum kettle for years. I scrubbed it with water and a blue kitchen scrub pad and if things got bad I would use a little Dawn and once every now and then with some oxyclean to knock down beer stone. I did notice it tended to build up the beer stone more so than my stainless. My guess is that is a result of the finish not being as smooth as my stainless kettle though.

Here is what I don't like about aluminum, it is flimsy, scratches easily, and is easier to mess up the oxide layer. What I don't like about stainless is that it is harder to cut for weldless fittings and is much heavier which you tend to notice when you are getting into 40+qt sizes. They can both do the exact same thing though so if price is a major factor go aluminum. If you can swing a little extra coin, go stainless.
 
peterj said:
I'd say more like 2-3 minutes. That's all it takes when my chiller is looking dirty. I don't think it's good for copper to let it soak in acid that long. I think I read that somewhere, but I could be wrong.
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Due to extenuation circumstances my chiller wasn't used for ~6 months. During that time it was stored in a nearly outdoors environment. Was a dirty bird.
 
I find SS is a lot less fickle when it comes to cleaning compared to aluminum. Theirs a reason brewery's use stainless over aluminum but at a homebrew level it comes down to cost and taking the time for proper cleansing.
 
rklinck said:
I could not possibly get all the pellet hop residue off my boil kettle (above the wort line) without either a strong brush or chemicals.
Click to expand...

As those said between these posts, water and a sponge tend to get most of the hop crud (I also use pellets without any bag) off. Will turn it over to the scrubby side and give it a few passes without pressure if there are stubborn bits. Only tough place is around the handle rivets. I am not super concerned with getting it all off because honestly, with the pot being heated for strike water, sparge water, and at least a 1 hour boil I am fairly convinced that I have pasteurized whatever may have been left on it.

As for Aluminum or SS, I got myself a thick walled aluminum pot and love it. I might invest in a good keggle later, but for now I love my pot.
I have one of these http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001PZ7K7A/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 Wow, back to the prices I bought mine at. Currently a 60 Qt (15 gallon) is $49 and a 100 Qt is $67. Only problem is that lids cost extra, though I only use a lid on heating the strike and sparge water, never on the boil.

Hmmm... At those prices I think it may be time to buy the 100 qt one so that I can have a little less worry when it comes to the 10 gallon batches.
 
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DrunkleJon said:
As those said between these posts, water and a sponge tend to get most of the hop crud (I also use pellets without any bag) off. Will turn it over to the scrubby side and give it a few passes without pressure if there are stubborn bits. Only tough place is around the handle rivets. I am not super concerned with getting it all off because honestly, with the pot being heated for strike water, sparge water, and at least a 1 hour boil I am fairly convinced that I have pasteurized whatever may have been left on it.
Click to expand...

It will certainly get pasteurized, but I still don't really want months old crud in my next beer.

I did not say that I could not get the gunk off, just that it takes some elbow grease. There is no way it comes off with a paper towel and some water like someone suggested. It is certainly a cost benefit analysis. I have both kinds of pots. SS is just nice because I just put some PBW or Oxiclean in it, let it soak and then rinse. Once in a blue moon, I will have to rub something of the side, but it is as easy as running my finger over it after it has been soaking for a bit.

Aluminum is cheaper, but more work.
 
Hop residue will come off with a paper towel or spoft sponge if you fill the pot with hot water and let it soak for a half an hour. EZPZ... :)

Been brewing with the same aluminum pot for 3.5 years, and have yet to have a metallic flavor in my beers.

Gary
 
Oh and by the way. I hope my first post in here didn't sound like I was making an accusation or being hostile or combative or what not. In my experience the hot water from the wort chiller outlet (I collect it in the grain bucket and my mash tun after emptying it during the boil, why waste water) when used to clean up has always been easy enough to get the majority off. Whatever works for you I guess. Cheers!
 
I use aluminum for my HLT but it used to be my brew kettle. I ended up making a keggle, didn't even realize when I decided to make one it was SS.

Never detected any metallic flavor when I brewed in the aluminum kettle.

I considered buying 2 - 10G SS kettles that were priced pretty nicely on Amazon, but that was just for the bling factor. Ended up not buying them.

One thing I like about aluminum is it seems to transfer heat quicker than SS. Both heating up and cooling down.

Some people say you have to be gentle with aluminum pots. I haven't found that the case, of course I don't abuse the Al pot either. Can't really think of a scenario that would be considered abuse during normal use and storage.
 
Someone said that they saved a bunch of money on an aluminum vs ss pot. I ended up getting a bayou classic 82 quart pot for $137. But the winware aluminum 15 gallon pot is $72 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CHKL68/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20). However, you can get a concord ss 15 gallon pot for $90 (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0085ZODVO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20). Now $18 is a difference but to me I'd go ss each and every single time.

For me the Bayou Classic is just about as good as the Concord I'd think? I'm really happy with my Bayou. Can't wait to add the weldless ball valve and sight glass. I was going to add a thermometer but throwing a candy thermometer in that I already owned works great.
 
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Dan said:
Some people say you have to be gentle with aluminum pots. I haven't found that the case, of course I don't abuse the Al pot either. Can't really think of a scenario that would be considered abuse during normal use and storage.
Click to expand...

The Winco AL pots I've purchased are pretty much indestrucible. They are really thick. It would take a lot to do any major damage to one. They scratch, but since everything in the pot is at 212F for an hour I don't really think it's an issue.
 
I have the 40qt winco aluminum and it usually only takes hot water and a smooth sponge to clean the hop debris. I nnever really let it dry out as soon as yeast is pitched its time to clean.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Home Brew mobile app
 
The problem is the taste.
Pay NO attention to people stating they use this or that - it is off-topic. They are assuming things that you have not stated. We need more information.

virtualbrew said:
I have been brewing extract with a turkey fryer for two years and the wort started to taste like metal.

Now I need help, anyone brewing with aluminum pots vs steel. I don't want to mess up my all grain boil.
Click to expand...

  1. What does your water taste like BEFORE you use it for brewing?
  2. Is it bottled water or from the tap? (Sometime tap water ca vary through the year)
  3. Do you use additives, like calcium chloride? If so, what and how much?
  4. What does the grain taste like? Crunch up a few.
  5. Have you changed your process?
  6. Has your equipment changed, any rust or pitting or corrosion?
  7. How do you clean the pot?
 
rklinck said:
I did not say that I could not get the gunk off, just that it takes some elbow grease. There is no way it comes off with a paper towel and some water like someone suggested.
Click to expand...

I've never used anything besides a paper towel and water. Just get it wet and it will come right off with a few easy rubs. Not much elbow grease or extra work required, and it's spotless. And way cheaper, quicker, and less work than using PBW or oxyclean everytime you brew.
 
Epimetheus said:
The problem is the taste.
Pay NO attention to people stating they use this or that - it is off-topic. They are assuming things that you have not stated. We need more information.



  1. What does your water taste like BEFORE you use it for brewing?
  2. Is it bottled water or from the tap? (Sometime tap water ca vary through the year)
  3. Do you use additives, like calcium chloride? If so, what and how much?
  4. What does the grain taste like? Crunch up a few.
  5. Have you changed your process?
  6. Has your equipment changed, any rust or pitting or corrosion?
  7. How do you clean the pot?
Click to expand...

You do have a point there. Your starter water can have a big impact on the finished product. Not being a scientist and only working off of my personal experience and what research I have done I will say that even with the least flavorful cream ales, etc I have never experienced metallic flavors from aluminum.

Lucikly I have decent tap water, and with the use of a Campden tablet to assist with the chloramines all is well. If your water is the culprit (try making a batch with reverse osmosis (RO) water bought from the store to determine this) SS wouldn't be a solution.
 
Here's a suggestion. Try using the same water you use to brew. Boil about 1.5 gallons in your kettle for a good while, about 30 minutes, then let it cool naturally. Taste it. Either way, you have narrowed down the source of the off flavor. You can repeat with plain water, adding other parts of your brewery to try to narrow it down. If it's not your equipment, it's your ingredients, or your process. Metallic taste in beer is very off putting, so I would pay close attention to this.
 
Basic brewing just did two podcasts on brewing toxicology and they talk about aluminum pots and and how the oxidation layer protects your brew. You would have to scratch the layer off and then the amount of metal in your brew would be so insignificant to cause any harm to you or your brew. They have two episodes talking about all the different plastics and make shift brewing equipment we create.
 

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