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Old 01-17-2011, 11:59 PM   #1
crosby8787
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Default Glass vs Plastic Secondary

Under the assumption that I am able to minimize the amount of oxygen in a plastic secondary close to as well as I would be in a glass carboy, are there any tangible benefits to using a much pricier glass carboy as opposed to a very affordable food grade bucket ( <$5). Also, I would be using gelatin and Irish Moss to help clarify and eliminate the yeast byproducts; so is the pricier glass really necessary?


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Old 01-18-2011, 12:03 AM   #2
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search would have come in handy. it comes up about 2 times a week here
it is more about personal preference. and glass does not scratch like plastic. therefore glass is better for cleaning and sanitizing


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Old 01-18-2011, 12:09 AM   #3
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Not sure what glass has to do with clearer beer.
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Old 01-18-2011, 12:47 AM   #4
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Plastic is cheap enough if you decide you want glass you can get both.I use to use my first 2 gal bucket which i turned into a botteling bucket. I found wide mouth 2 gallon jars which are not common pretty cheap. Down side to cleaning a glass carboy is the narrow mouth.There is a list on the sticky of pros and cons- check it out. Plastic is good to start out if you dont want to spend yet.
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Old 01-18-2011, 12:51 AM   #5
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In the 21st century it just doesn't matter. It's all about what works for you.....
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Old 01-18-2011, 01:58 AM   #6
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i have three buckets and one glass carboy. it is fun to watch the glass carboy but not easy to clean, bung can slip on glass, heavy, breakable, many other problems.

it sounds like yo ualready made up your mind.
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Old 01-18-2011, 02:01 AM   #7
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What's a secondary?
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Old 01-18-2011, 02:05 AM   #8
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Glass vs plastic doesn't matter. What DOES matter is the amount of headspace if you're doing secondary. I don't usually do secondary at all, unless I'm oaking or something, but racking into a bucket after fermentation is over means that the headspace is much too big.

In primary, it doesn't matter because the beer is producing co2 to fill the headspace. But if fermentation is over, and you rack the beer to a wide bucket, the headspace can oxidize the beer. You're better off not using a secondary at all rather than risk that.
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Old 01-18-2011, 02:09 AM   #9
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i last secondaried to oak an apa. before that, to get blueberry into a hefeweizen. otherwise, i don't secondary
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Old 01-18-2011, 02:38 AM   #10
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Any drawbacks to using 5 gallon water jugs (i.e. not better bottles) as secondaries?


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