steamer problem

[fbelec]

i don't know if anyone out here runs a steam dragon like i do. i'm having a problem after running it for 5 years. i usually clean it out once a week with clean water and a shake then dump. it's usually a few small chunks and were good to go. 5 years i've been running this and no problem till last night. pulled the head off to clean and fill and after the fill and shake then dump out comes this stuff that looked like a dark beer with foam at the end like a head on the beer. now i do make my own brew sometimes and thought wow what a cheap way to make beer. anyway after about 12 fill and shakes it was running clean water out of it. filled it up and back on the stove. tonight the same thing. the steam dragon is made out of aluminum. any ideas?
oh, and it smells kind of yeastish also. just like a beer without hops.

 

[logger]

-Add hops
-Drink down
-Keep phone nearby for emergency use
-Post what happens

 

[daveswoodhauler]

Just a wild guess...do you have well water? Maybe some sediment coming in the lines if the town/city has worked on the piping?
Again, probably not, but just a thought.
Been meaning to make a batch of beer myself.....probably going make a batch of Kolsch next month.
Good luck

 

[pen]

I've got an APA bottled up that should be about ready for consumption Sunday that I am looking forward to.

Oh yeah, the dragon.

Try putting a couple good shots of vinegar in there today and letting it run.

Some times when using my pressure canner I'll get something similar to this w/ a reaction w/ my water and the aluminum. Other times I don't. If I put a touch of vinegar in there it is never a problem and keeps my canner from turning black and keeps my jars clear.

I wonder if there was originally some sort of finish inside of the dragon that finally wore off? Or as another suggested, perhaps it's some change in your water.

pen

 

[fbelec]

I've got an APA bottled up that should be about ready for consumption Sunday that I am looking forward to.

Oh yeah, the dragon.

Try putting a couple good shots of vinegar in there today and letting it run.

Some times when using my pressure canner I'll get something similar to this w/ a reaction w/ my water and the aluminum. Other times I don't. If I put a touch of vinegar in there it is never a problem and keeps my canner from turning black and keeps my jars clear.

I wonder if there was originally some sort of finish inside of the dragon that finally wore off? Or as another suggested, perhaps it's some change in your water.

pen

i thought about the vinegar because i use it in the warm mist humidifier. how much do you use? i thought the vinegar would react with the aluminum that's why i didn't try it. our water comes from a fairly new water treatment plant that is suppose to be top notch. my water hasn't been brown or colored. it's just really strange to happen after all the years that i've been using it.
you know as funny as it sounds maybe i got some strange yeast floating around and it grew into a brew. maybe i should try a little cascade hops. and maybe a little honey and make a honey ale :bug:

 

[Shari]

The vinegar suggestion is what I would do. White (distilled) vinegar only.

Shari

 

[tiber]

Err if the problem is hard water, try salt.

You're a home brewer, salt is how you soften water!

 

[Highbeam]

I have my first ever batch of beer, an obsidian stout, bubbling away in the corner right now 6 days into it.

I get scale in my kettle but no brown stuff. Can you scrub it out or is it a rinse only deal?

 

[r_d_gard]

The vinegar suggestion is what I would do. White (distilled) vinegar only.

Shari

Don't forget to add the Bi-carbonate of Soda with the vinegar. Then your dragon will really froth at the mouth.

 

[tiber]

I get scale in my kettle but no brown stuff. Can you scrub it out or is it a rinse only deal?

At the risk of making this completely off topic...

It depends on what the scale is. If the scale is on the sides of the kettle it's usually leftovers from the hot break or bubbled up stuff. This means it's protien, not hard water scale. If you're talking the haze that accumulates all up the sides, that is hard water scale.

If it's on the bottom of the kettle, you're actually burning the wort. I had this problem in my old apartment (oh but god did they love us) - the coil from the crap stove we had in there would cause hot spots to form where the syrup would burn into the pot. It looks brown and it's feathery (like creosote) versus water scale which looks like sand. The solution to this is to make a heat spreader - usually a piece of steel or whatever you put between the pot and the burner.

That being said, yes, clean the pot by all means. Consider using CLR for water and a steel scrubber for burnt-on wort.

I've been brewing since 2004. When we bought the house I bought a freezer for the basement "to store food in...." (I make lagers in it. DON'T TELL MY WIFE).

 

[Highbeam]

Sorry tiber, in the quote you posted I was actually referring to my stovetop kettle and not to the big SS kettle I cooked the grain/hops/syrup in. The beer kettle came out totally clean since I sat there the whole time stirring and being sure not to burn any of that malt goop to the bottom. My stovetop kettle will accumulate white scale on the sides and on the bottom, it appears to be salts and minerals condensed in the water by constantly evaporating the pure water out of the kettle. When all of the water is boiled off, the remaining concentrated funk crystallizes.

The beer stunk up the house pretty well. I've got the bottles ready for the big bottling party.

 

[fbelec]

The vinegar suggestion is what I would do. White (distilled) vinegar only.

Shari

Don't forget to add the Bi-carbonate of Soda with the vinegar. Then your dragon will really froth at the mouth.

will i have to get a rabies shot
i thought of the salt also but wasn't sure what that would do in combo with vinegar and aluminum. i did get a chance to look inside through the 3/4 inch hole with a flashlight looks like a rusty bottom. doesn't make sense, it's aluminum.