Vintage Carboy Find

I just wanted to share this. I picked it up at a yard sale for $10 last weekend. I didn't really need another carboy, but I couldn't turn this one down. I have no idea how old it is. It's in great shape. Looks just like the usual glass carboys, but the bottom has a very rough pattern.

cant be too old. shows the area code.good find though!
That area code was made in 1947. Graphics are in good shape. Keep them on there

Very good point! I don't think that area codes were used until the late 1940s. Hmm, now to figure out how long the American Bottled Water Association has been around to get an idea of the age. Of course, I could just call the company since they are still around, but that would be too easy...

well technically its not a carboy its an old school water cooler bottle. at some point they changed from glass to plastic for obvious reason. but still very cool and will serve its purpose very awesomely. perhaps this is why we all make 5 gallon batches. people would use these as carboys. i agree with robbon keep the labels on there.

might not be a bad idea to try to find out when they switched from glass to plastic. it would give you an upper limit on the date. you already know it was made after 1947.

Oh, the label is definitely staying. I just called the company to find out when they stopped using the 5 gallon glass bottles. They said that they are going to call me back...

TipsyDragon said:

well technically its not a carboy its an old school water cooler bottle.

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Umm, thats a carboy in my book. Just because it was designed to hold water doesn't mean its not "technically a carboy."

Zip codes were introduced in 1963 (02187) so you know the bottle would have had to get the label applied after that date.

If you call them tell them you have a "Bub-lah Bottle". That's what them yankees call a water dispenser. I guess cause it makes bubbles when you take a glass.

I am guessing 1980's

Just an FYI back in the day (40's) phone numbers were like 742 M2 (where the M people would say Mary)

I scored a carboy from my grandma, way back before she passed on. It held a dry flower arrangement in her house, likely for decades. Anyway, it has a date stamped into the glass on the bottom. Did you look there? The one I have was stamped pre-prohibition, I think 1914 or something? I've brewed a few batches in it. I love using old stuff like that.

Mateo said:

If you call them tell them you have a "Bub-lah Bottle". That's what them yankees call a water dispenser. I guess cause it makes bubbles when you take a glass.

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That name is clearly someone who's from away trying and failing to understand the lingo. A bubbler's the part of a drinking fountain that the water comes out of:



It's actually the original (trademarked) name for Kohler's original modern-style drinking fountain; "drinking fountain" was a generic term coined later. It's not just a Yankee thing; I've heard it in Wisconsin, too (and if you think Wisconsin--or New York, for that matter--is Yankee, you're not one).

mad_scientist - interesting... I didn't know that about the zip codes.

Mateo - good guess. The company said that they stopped distributing the glass bottles in the 80s.

RegionalChaos - Unfortunately, no date on the bottom.

Thanks everyone for all the info.