Noob questions on my brew Kettle

[Skunkmere]

Hi, Im Skunkmere,


Im a super noobie. I bought a few thing to begin my new brewing hobby. I can't wait until i got my first brew done but i got to get the equipment right first. This is a pot i have and i wanted to ask everyone if it would work out. I think is steel, its not shiny and magnets dont stick to it. It seems too heavy to be aluminum. the demensions are 13" wide, 17" deep and 1/8" thick wall. I dont have a lid should i get one, and where would i find one amazon? I was thinking if it did work i could drill out and weld a brass or SS valve and possibly a built in wort chiller, since this pot is pretty heavy by itself and if i could chill the wort down and transfer the wort without picking up the pot, it would make it really easy. Im in chicago and i think there is a pretty good homebrew scene around here, im looking forward to learning how to make my own beer and being good at it. Thanks in advance for any help. Thanks

 

[dozer5454]

It appears to be a pretty solid pot. I would boil in it first with just water to see how it reacts or if it melts. Welcome to your new addiction. If you have a homebrew shop in the area you live in you could go there to locate home brew clubs in the area. They may end up not only helping you determine if the pot is correct but also assist you with building your setup. All the best of luck.

 

[naga77777]

Howdy from NC

go to www.howtobrew.com and read the free version of Palmer's book. Or, at least the first chapter where it gives you a crash course in your first extract brewday.

i dunno if the pot would be OK to brew in, to be honest. you can purchase an aluminum pot very cheaply off craigslist. Heck, i think i've seen turkey fryers (propane burner with aluminum pot) go for like 30 bucks there. at least then you know you've got something that's good for brewing.

i don't bother with a top on my kettle once i'm at the boiling stage.

good luck, and welcome to the obsession.

 

[Mozart]

That bottom looks pretty thin to me. I don't think it would heat very evenly. Also, it has a flange on the bottom. I have never seen any kind of cookpot with one of those, which tells me your pot wasn't made to cook in. I personally wouldn't use it for boiling water for those reasons.

Also, those metal handles are going to get *very* hot since metal conducts heat so well. Yet another thing that leads me to believe that whatever that vessel was made for, it wasn't made to cook anything in.

Without knowing what kind of metal it's made of, there's no way to tell if it could possibly leach something harmful into your brew.

It's your pot and your call, but were it me, I'd acquire a pot that was specifically made for cooking.

Cheers!

 

[Skunkmere]

Thanks for responding guys. I think this will work, i was worried about the lid, but since it i seen some people dont use on, im more confident in it. I thought aluminum was bad to use for homebrew due to acidity of the wort. Thanks for the link, im halfway through the online book.

My mom gave me this pot is was used for menudo and barbacoa a few years ago but she started using a smaller pot the last few years. ill do some test boils in it to see if i get any discoloration.

Thanks again guys.

 

[Skunkmere]

i asked my dad where he got the pot and apparently its probably 30 years+ old. it was used to hold milk or ice cream back in the day. i found this on ebay. Im going to give it a shot.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-gallon-Stainless-Steel-Milk-or-Cream-storage-and-transport-can-/390565926971?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5aef8b183b

 

[naga77777]

^whoa, what fer?

Stainless kettles-- even those designed for brewing-- are MUCH cheaper than that, brand new even.

 

[Skunkmere]

i dont know why ther're so expensive, mine was free.