The Ultimate Question....Aluminum or Stainless Steel?

Prior to actually starting the process of getting all the equipment needed to start brewing, I spent countless hours researching what kind of boiling pot to get. I really didn't think there were so many factors in picking the right boiling pot; 3 gallon, 5 gallon, or 7 gallon? Stainless or Aluminum? Sealable or Non-sealable? Riveted or nonriveted? So many factors to consider!!! That was until I went on homebrewtalk.com and found a thread on one debate, Aluminum vs. Stainless. That is the main argument here, and what I came up with, It doesn't matter at all. Seriously? Hours and hours of research to find out that it really doesn't matter? Pretty much what it comes down to is preference of the brewer. Here are the pros and cons of each kind of pot, that I got off the homebrewtalk.com thread. (Thank you FlyGuy)

Aluminum Pots:

Pros:
- considerably less expensive than SS
- much better at conducting heat than SS, which means faster boils, faster cooling, and less chance of scorching
- not as heavy to lift as SS

Cons:
- oxidizes easily, meaning that oxygen-based cleaners (e.g., Oxyclean, One-step) cannot be used (Note: caustic or other similar clean-in-place solutions can definitely not be used, which is why the brewing industry generally does not use aluminum.)
- passive oxide layer must be built up before brewing (**see note below) with a new aluminum kettle, although it is very easy to maintain

Stainless Steel Pots:

Pros:
- can be cleaned by oxygenated/CIP cleaners without damaging the pot
- passive oxide layer that protects the pot is not as easy to remove as aluminum
- they are really shiny and look cool!

Cons:
- expensive
- not nearly as good at conducting heat as aluminum

Myths About Aluminum Pots:

- Aluminum pots will cause Alzheimer's disease.

FALSE. This myth was debunked years ago by the medical research community, and the US National Institutes of Health and Health Canada have long since ruled out a connection between Alzheimer’s disease and aluminum cookware. If you don’t believe me, see the following:http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=99http://alz.org/alzheimers_disease_myths_about_alzheimers.asphttp://www.ehso.com/ehshome/alzheimers.htm

- Boiling your wort in an aluminum pot will cause off-flavours in your beer.

FALSE. Simply boiling a batch of wort will not remove enough metal from your aluminum pot to get into your beer and cause metallic off flavours, particularly if you build up a passive oxide layer inside the pot first. For new pots, this is easily achieved by either boiling the pot full of water for 30 mins to one hour, or by putting it in your oven for 10 mins at 350 F.

- Aluminum pots have very thin walls, and are not suitable for a boil kettle, particularly if you want to install a ball valve.

FALSE. Thin- and thick-walled pots are made from both aluminum and stainless steel. The material they are made from is much less relevant that the thickness of the pot.

- Aluminum pots will react with very acidic materials, and wort is acidic.

NOT REALLY. Wort isn’t acidic enough to cause a problem with an aluminum pot. In fact, both SS and aluminum are quite resistant to acidic materials, and you need to be concerned more about highly alkaline (i.e. basic or high pH) materials with your pots.

- Aluminum pots are simply not as durable as SS pots, so why bother, plus they will scratch easily and harbor bacteria.

PERHAPS, BUT... Both aluminum and SS are durable enough for homebrewing if you are willing to invest just a small amount of care for your equipment. You simply aren’t going to wear out an aluminum pot in your brewing lifetime, so this is a moot argument. Furthermore, scratches aren’t really a concern with a kettle since the heat of the boil is going to sanitize it anyways.



So what did I chose after all this? I chose Aluminum. The main reason I chose Aluminum is that is conducts heat much easier than Stainless. As a beginning brewer I was told that it is crucial to cool down the boiled Wort ASAP, so I thought having aluminum and thinner walls, would allow me to cool down my Wort and cut down on boiling times, which I was correct. I got my 3 gallon pot of water to boil in 15 minutes on my stove at home in my kitchen. It normally takes my 15 minutes to get a gallon of water to boil in my Stainless kitchen pot to boil Pasta. Also, I was able to cool my Wort down from Boiling Temperature to the necessary 70-75 degrees in under 10 minutes, when I put it in the ice bath. The liquid was still warm but the sides of the pot were freezing! That was my choice, but as FlyGuy put it, its all the preference of the brewer.

Here is the link to the thread I got this off of.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/faq-aluminum-pots-boil-kettles-49449/

Also, a fellow member made a Wikipedia Page on this matter. Check it out at:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Is_aluminum_safe_for_brewing%3F


Up Next, recapping Brew Day!