From: joseph@joebloe.maple-shade.nj.us (Joseph Nathan Hall)
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
Subject: Re: aluminum brew kettle
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 01:43:37 EDT
Organization: 5 Sigma Software
Reply-To: joseph@joebloe.maple-shade.nj.us
X-Mailer: uAccess - Macintosh Release: 1.5v5


In article <BuE4FE.Hvu@ddsw1.mcs.com> (rec.crafts.brewing), arf@ddsw1.mcs.com (Jack Schmidling) writes:
) In article <1308@tecsun1.etl.army.mil> blyler@tecsun1.etl.army.mil (Todd Blyler) writes:
) >What might be the effect of using an Aluminum stock pot for mashing and brewing
) >as opposed to stainless ? They are often much cheaper....
) >
) 
) You get four for the price of one.  You can ferment, mash, boil and clean up
) simultaneously.  Unfortunately, if Alsheimers get your first , you may forget 
) forget which is which.

Newton recovered from his year of insanity.  But that was a symptom
of heavy metal poisoning.  He was an alchemist.  I forget what all
of the symptoms of mercury poisoning are ...

In truth, I do not think that high-quality (as in restaurant grade)
aluminum pots are cheaper than stainless steel.  I do not know what
alloys are used in restaurant grade pots, but it appears that some pots
are impervious to pH's of at least 5 and up.  In fact I have seen
expensive (thick) aluminum pots of the type used by the Army that
exhibit corrosion resistance better than cheap stainless steel in
the cooking environment.  There are indeed folks in the restaurant
business who cook relatively acidic foods in aluminum and have no
problems.  I imagine that equipment catalogs will tout the virtues
of one alloy over another, too, but I have none at hand at present.

Those of you fortunate enough to possess a suitable aluminum pot will
also note that the wort absolutely will not burn on the bottom of
the pot.  Well, maybe if you whip out the Cajun cooker.  IMHO this
is a very nice feature of aluminum pots that could be duplicated in
stainless steel only by the very expen$ive addition of a thick copper
lozenge in the bottom of the pot.

(Doesn't this make one wonder about a cast iron brewkettle, sort of
a mega Dutch oven?  Perhaps carmelization could be kept to a bare
minimum.  Or maybe a large steam kettle--these are like big mixing
bowls with double jackets containing pressurized steam, giving
phenomenal heat transfer and easily controllable temperature.)

Note that I am talking about very heavy duty stuff here, the thickness
of Calphalon or better, but of the dull silvery sort that is never
seen in retail outlets.

My advice would be to avoid cheap aluminum like the plague.  But if you
have an opportunity to try out a nice aluminum pot, brew a batch in
it (preferably a dark beer, which will typically be more acidic).
If neither you nor your friends detect a metallic taste in the finished
beer (some tongues are more sensitive than others), then this is the
pot for you.

I certainly would not suggest a harsh cleaning ritual once you find
a suitable pot.

If you're worried about aluminum in your diet, well, you probably
get more of it from your favorite antacid.

uunet!joebloe!joseph   (609) 273-8200 day   joseph%joebloe@uunet.uu.net
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-----My employer isn't paying for this, and my opinions are my own-----
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