Busted my Better Bottle

I ran out of CO2 the other day right when I was ready to keg my Hefe. I haven't been able to make it by the place for a refill, so today I decided I better go ahead and bottle. I placed the better bottle on my kitchen table, the wife loves when I do that, and put a telephone book underneath it to wedge it up. I sanitized the bottling bucket, sanitized the bottles and was ready to go. My 2 1/2 year old then decided she wanted to see something on the counter so she started to move a chair from the table. When she moved the chair she somehow moved the better bottle a little and it tumbled to the floor. I saw some beer on the floor so I ran over to rescue my brew. When I picked up the better bottle beer starting flowing out the bottom and onto my shorts. I ran to the sink while my wife ran to find a fermenting bucket. By the time she made it back, with no clean bucket, very little remained of the beer. Not wanting anymore beer on me and wanting to vent I walked out outside and tossed the better bottle into the grass. Now my 5 gallon better bottle has a complete bottom hole about the size of a gallon of milk.

My kitchen table sits 4 foot off of the ground and my floor is linoleum (spelling). I called better bottle and they didn't offer any clues. This happen to anybody else?

Ummm, yeah. Heavy carboys, be it glass or plastic will break when dropped from a height of 4' or so....

I hate you broke the bottle and lost all the beer. Chalk it up to lessons learned and secure your area better next time!!

Brutal. I'll play taps as I hoist a pint.

I've dropped a 5 gal water bottle before, did a very similar thing to your better bottle. They aren't indestructible, they just won't shatter into a million death-shards when you drop them. Sad you had to lose the beer though

Especially with a child around, be glad it was a BB, as others have said. I watched five gallons of goodness crash down to a concrete floor years ago, but was glad that it fell away from me rather than towards me.

Hmmm, take the BB, flip it over.

Now, add a lid to the hole in the bottom, with a hole the size of an airlock stem.

You now have a conical.

I have been considering trying something like that with a 5 gallon water bottle.

Something to play with, now that you have the hole in it. Be a shame to let it go to waste.

Called the Better Bottle folks last night and they told me that they drop BB's off a table at a height of 6 foot onto a cement floor. They claim that they don't break. They went on to ask me about how hot I put water or wort into the BB, and asked what I clean with. The website says unbreakable. I was upset all night about the beer and the bb. The wife didn't seem to mind, wait till I buy another bb and see what she says then.

1234 said:

Called the Better Bottle folks last night and they told me that they drop BB's off a table at a height of 6 foot onto a cement floor. They claim that they don't break. They went on to ask me about how hot I put water or wort into the BB, and asked what I clean with. The website says unbreakable. I was upset all night about the beer and the bb. The wife didn't seem to mind, wait till I buy another bb and see what she says then.

Click to expand...

You may want to send an email..or pm flyangler and ask who he talked to at BB...

They had a different tune about "unbreakability" in his case.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/better-bottle-failure-things-learned-97078/

They can't claim un breakability when they acknowlege it is possible for them to break.

Oh if you look at the thread I posted, flyangler got an email from "Walter" there...HE admits that sometimes they do break....

Honestly...just be glad your 2.5 year old broke a BB and not a glass carboy. Next to that happy fact, every other issue here is completely insignificant.

BB was on track when they asked you the temp of the wort and what you clean with.
Plastic is not unbreakable and like glass ages and weakens, especially when subjected to thermal and mechanical shock. High temperatures, repeated droppings and certain chemicals can all gang up on you.
It would be wise for BB to change their unbreakable status because its just not true.

Cpt_Kirks said:

Hmmm, take the BB, flip it over.

Now, add a lid to the hole in the bottom, with a hole the size of an airlock stem.

You now have a conical.

I have been considering trying something like that with a 5 gallon water bottle.

Something to play with, now that you have the hole in it. Be a shame to let it go to waste.

Click to expand...

Or at the very least a larger hopper for your malt mill.

My condolences on your loss.