I left a 5 gallon volume of dilluted starsan in my aluminum boil kettle over night. Yeah… I didn’t realize that was a bad move until this morning.
There is a very distinct line where the top of the starsan ended. Beneath that line, the aluminum has been stripped clean.
So is my kettle finished? Can I no longer use it for brewing? Palmer says that my protective oxide layer has been removed which can leave a metallic taste to my beer.
Have you guys found this to be true?
Boil some water in it. The oxidation will return.
So once the oxidization occurs it should be okay to boil in again?
Yup.
Yes.
You should have boiled water in the pot when it was new to put a layer of oxidation on it. The StarSan returned it to ‘new’ condition.
Try not to do this again. I think I’ve read where people have had pin hole leaks in AL from StarSan. My sister had an AL cake pan form a leak from leaving a tomato (acid) sauce in it.
Another question, is there a reason to use star san on your kettle? I’ve never sanitized mine, just cleaned it. I figure I’m boiling in it, so there’s no real point to sanitizing… am I missing something?
I agree. also not sure why you are using aluminum. 12 years or so ago i got 2 stainless steel stock post that were rather cheap that work great till this day.
Aluminum is lighter, cheaper, and it heats faster and more evenly. Basically the only downside is you have to be a little carefull with cleaning it so you don’t remove the oxide layer.
Everyone should use what they have or can afford. Hell, you could probably boil in a wooden bucket with an electric heating element and make good beer.
I should probably just not comment around here. people know that aluminum is not good for cooking and contributes to alzheimer’s and other nasties. I was just trying to be helpful. I do not have and could not afford a high tech stainless either; but the one i have is nice and works and lasted over a decade.
thanks!
I am not sure that everyone agrees with your beliefs about alum. Nearly every restaurant uses large alum stock pots to cook in and the use them 7 day per week.
I was using it as a temporary holding vessel for some starsan. Wasn’t trying to sanitize my kettle.
what was the ?
sorry too much aluminum…
:lol:
[quote=“K-9”]I should probably just not comment around here. people know that aluminum is not good for cooking and contributes to alzheimer’s and other nasties. I was just trying to be helpful. I do not have and could not afford a high tech stainless either; but the one i have is nice and works and lasted over a decade.
thanks![/quote]
As long as the aluminum is oxidized, like has been discussed earlier, it is perfectly safe for cooking and brewing. John Palmer is not only a brewing guru, but a metalurgist who works with medical implants. I would trust what he says on the issue over anyone who is neither.
Wouldn’t aluminum cans kill us also? :?:
I believe aluminum beer cans are lined.
