Pots? Stainless Steel V Aluminium

[dmcke109]

Hey folks,

Just wondering what everyone's opinion was with regards to using a stainless steel or aluminium pot for mashing purposes?

Obviously, aluminium is significantly cheaper so that's a plus. On the minus side, I have done some research that suggests aluminium can be affected by the wort and produce bad flavours in the brew.

Any comments / advice?

Cheers,
Dan

 

[goatherder]

Heaps of people use aluminium for brewing, it's perfectly good for the task. The arguments for and against go something like:

Aluminium: For - Cheaper, lighter, easier to drill, better heat transfer. Against - you can't use caustic to clean it like the big breweries.
Steel: For - shinier, you can use caustic if you are comfortable handling it. Against: opposite of the "for" argument for aluminium.

 

[The King of Spain]

Alloy from any good catering shop will deliver you the goods (beer).

 

[Batz]

Heaps of people use aluminium for brewing, it's perfectly good for the task. The arguments for and against go something like:

Aluminium: For - Cheaper, lighter, easier to drill, better heat transfer. Against - you can't use caustic to clean it like the big breweries.
Steel: For - shinier, you can use caustic if you are comfortable handling it. Against: opposite of the "for" argument for aluminium.

I use aluminum,half the cost and .......mmm....something or other,you know that score
Go ally and spend the other bucks on.......I don't know...socks??


Batz

 

[T.D.]

I use an s/s boiler but I'm thinking of getting a small ali pot for caramelising wort as it has better heat conductivity so no scortching.

If I set my brewery up again now I would go for ali all round I reckon. Stainless is great, but is expensive...

By the way, does anybody know of any reasons why you couldn't use ali for a mash tun (other than being potentially "too good" a heat conductor to hold temp effectively)???

 

[browndog]

I made my mash tun with an aluminium inner liner, it is 42L capacity and it looses bugger all heat. The aluminium has a nice shiny oxidised surface which I am careful not to scratch when cleaning it, so I say go for it, just don't attack it with scouring pads when cleaning.

cheers

Browndog

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Going on what I seen happening.We had Micro here in WA that was using ally conditioning tanks and they spent thousands to line the tanks with a barrier coating due to the fact that the pH and ally doesnt mix.May be all right in the kettle but in the long run go Stainless right from the word go.Save your self the worry and be happy you will still remember your brewing days 20 years down the track.Old-timers affect :icon_drool2: .I could well be just a little cautious here.
GB

 

[PostModern]

Old-timers

<rant>
Did you you mean Alzheimers?

You know that the disease was named after the neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer, who first recorded the symptoms of the disease don't you? It's not just German for Old Timer?

This would be a close second to "Belgium Beer" in my pet hates for misuse of language.
</rant>

Nothing personal, GB.

In any case, the Aluminium theory of Altzheimer's has been discredited for some time now:
http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/...p?documentID=99

and more easily read (Dr Karl)
http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s1163941.htm

Aluminium is (after oxygen and silicon) the third most common element (at 8%) in the Earth's crust. As a result, you cannot avoid being exposed to aluminium. You'll find aluminium in drinking water, foods, pharmaceuticals, anti-perspirants, and printing inks. It's used to dye fabrics, preserve wood, crack petroleum, and to make rubber, paint, explosives and glass.

...

On average, we each take in about 10 - 50 mg of aluminium per day. But even people who take antacids and buffered aspirin, which bumps up their aluminium intake to 1,000 mg of aluminium per day, have no increased incidence of Alzheimer's Disease.

Dr. Charles DeCarli, the director of the Alzheimer's Disease Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center says, "In my opinion, the supposed relation between aluminum and Alzheimer's Disease is a simple case of neuromythology".

Aluminium may cause dementia if pumped straight into your blood when your kidneys don't work, but since when has that been a problem for beer drinkers?

 

[Lobsta]

<rant>
Did you you mean Alzheimers?

You know that the disease was named after the neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer, who first recorded the symptoms of the disease don't you? It's not just German for Old Timer?

This would be a close second to "Belgium Beer" in my pet hates for misuse of language.
</rant>

Nothing personal, GB.

In any case, the Aluminium theory of Altzheimer's has been discredited for some time now:
http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/...p?documentID=99

and more easily read (Dr Karl)
http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s1163941.htm


Aluminium may cause dementia if pumped straight into your blood when your kidneys don't work, but since when has that been a problem for beer drinkers?

science FTW!

 

[LethalCorpse]

PoMo, most people who use Old-Timers in place of Alzheimer's know the correct term, and are using it deliberately as a pun, which, objectively, is a fairly convenient one. The people who think that it's the actual name for the disease are likely to have far greater intellectual shortcomings to irritate you than mere linguistic abuse.

Hop_alot, as has been suggested by numerous others before me there's no great reason (in terms of quality of the beer at least) why aluminium is better than stainless or vice versa. Stainless cops a bit more abuse cleaning-agent-wise, and aluminium is dramatically cheaper, but otherwise they're both very effective. Neither is particularly prone to corrosion, stainless is designed to be just that, and aluminium has surface oxidation which forms a skin, preventing further corrosion. Neither is going to dissolve at any perceivable rate into your beer.

I have to caution again, though, (as I have in other threads and will continue to do in a bunch more), that, whichever metal you use, you will be causing galvanic corrosion if you mix your metals - ie, you should use only one metal throughout the brewery, whichever metal you choose. It's not a huge effect in the scale of homebrewing, considering the solutions, surface areas and contact times involved, but it is a significant and measurable effect which means both corrosion of your fittings and metals dissolved in your beer. It's mitigated by the types of metals used - all metals have their own "potential", a level on a galvanic scale, and the further apart two metals are, the worse it is. Aluminium and brass isn't terrible, copper and brass is better. Stainless doesn't go very well with either. Aluminium fittings are extraordinarily hard to come by, so with stainless you can ensure that they're all fairly similar metals (though not identical - there's a bunch of grades of stainless, all with their own galvanic potentials, and a lot of stainless stuff isn't sold as any particular grade). It's only an issue if the two metals are in contact with each other (either directly or connected via other metal like a brewstand) and with the beer at the same time.

If none of this bothers you much you can go ahead and use whatever metals you like, and to be honest, you might never notice the difference. If (like me) the thought of making a battery out of your fittings, gradually dissolving them into your beer and hence your bloodstream, does give you pause, you might be best to stick with stainless throughout.

 

[PostModern]

PoMo, most people who use Old-Timers in place of Alzheimer's know the correct term, and are using it deliberately as a pun, which, objectively, is a fairly convenient one. The people who think that it's the actual name for the disease are likely to have far greater intellectual shortcomings to irritate you than mere linguistic abuse.

Oh? Then, LOL.

 

[LethalCorpse]

I didn't say it was funny

 

[bugwan]

Stainless steel = shiny
Aluminium = less shiny

Both do the same thing for our small scale purposes, in my opinion.

 

[Aaron]

......
If none of this bothers you much you can go ahead and use whatever metals you like, and to be honest, you might never notice the difference. If (like me) the thought of making a battery out of your fittings, gradually dissolving them into your beer and hence your bloodstream, does give you pause, you might be best to stick with stainless throughout.

Thanks for that. Something I know about but had not considered in this context. Time to do some research and some risk assessment.

 

[dmcke109]

Thank you all very much for your posts and feedback. It certainly makes for interesting reading. Not too sure what I'll go - prob stainless (just have to hide that little purchase from the missus)......

 

[LethalCorpse]

Thanks for that. Something I know about but had not considered in this context. Time to do some research and some risk assessment.

Pleasure.

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

PoMo, most people who use Old-Timers in place of Alzheimer's know the correct term, and are using it deliberately as a pun, which, objectively, is a fairly convenient one. The people who think that it's the actual name for the disease are likely to have far greater intellectual shortcomings to irritate you than mere linguistic abuse.

Point well made, Yes I do know the correct term and it was a "play on words".Didnt think it would raise a comment, but made my point. In other places Brass/bronze and ally are all banned for the use in brewing and dispensing, for a good reason I would imagine.
GB

 

[PostModern]

for a good reason I would imagine.
GB

Really sorry, GB. I grew up in interesting places, so a lot of the people I knew back then actually thought the disease was called "Oldtimers". I just loath perpetuating boganism. As I said before it was not meant personally.

But, to take point on the quote of yours above, I think legislation lags science by quite a bit, and it ain't because our lawmakers are scientists.

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Really sorry, GB. I grew up in interesting places, so a lot of the people I knew back then actually thought the disease was called "Oldtimers". I just loath perpetuating boganism. As I said before it was not meant personally.

But, to take point on the quote of yours above, I think legislation lags science by quite a bit, and it ain't because our lawmakers are scientists.

No offence was taken. As far as bogans go we dont have any over here ! We have a state full of what I call "yobs" or as the police call them Hoons. Probably the same thing, just we are on the other side of the island. As far as dangerous metals go , I lived in Rockhampton QLD ( working for Queensland Health ) for years and they used lead pipes for water (old areas) and they had the highest rate of renal failure in the country. So some times it pays to take advise from those that have knowledge of the facts.Lead can also be found in Brass and Bronze. Not meaning to preach but this could save your kidneys. Ally is still an open argument.
GB