stained aluminum pot

[ivanbrewer]

I use a aluminum pot for my boil but lately its staring to get really dirty and its seems that warm pbw don’t do de job quite well, so what do you suggest for cleaning?

[Ozwald]

You should never use PBW on aluminum. Or Barkeepers Friend either. When I was using aluminum I never had a problem with dish soap & a green scrubby. I've heard people having good results with cream of tarter (2 Tablespoons to a quart of water, boil for 10 minutes) but you'll have to re-oxidize the inside of the kettle.

Check out the new users section of the forum as well.

[mabrungard]

That brown patina is an important barrier between your wort and the aluminum. I strongly recommend you restrain your impulse to make the pot shiny and leave it to enjoy better beer.

I use an aluminum pot and it has developed a nice brown 'tea stain' on its interior from all the brews. I do thoroughly scrub the interior to remove all trub and deposits, but I don't scrub hard enough to remove the staining. That staining is inert and does not affect beer flavor...even in pale beers.

Enjoy!

[Ozwald]

That brown patina is an important barrier between your wort and the aluminum. I strongly recommend you restrain your impulse to make the pot shiny and leave it to enjoy better beer.

I use an aluminum pot and it has developed a nice brown 'tea stain' on its interior from all the brews. I do thoroughly scrub the interior to remove all trub and deposits, but I don't scrub hard enough to remove the staining. That staining is inert and does not affect beer flavor...even in pale beers.

Enjoy!

I assumed when he said 'dirty' he just wasn't cleaning it well. If this is the case +1, leave it alone.

[ivanbrewer]

thanks guys !

[Bugeater]

That brown patina is aluminum oxide (in other words aluminum rust). This stuff is much harder than aluminum and serves to protect it. If you scrub it until you start seeing black stuff coming off, you have cut through that layer and run the risk of getting a metallic taste in your beer until the surface is passivated again. Letting it sit in the open air for a few days or boiling some water in it will take care of passivating it.

[adamK]

That brown patina is aluminum oxide (in other words aluminum rust). This stuff is much harder than aluminum and serves to protect it. If you scrub it until you start seeing black stuff coming off, you have cut through that layer and run the risk of getting a metallic taste in your beer until the surface is passivated again. Letting it sit in the open air for a few days or boiling some water in it will take care of passivating it.

And if you boil measured quantities of water, you can use the patina a volume markers, you can even cultivate slightly different colored patinas