Glass or Better Bottle?

I am trying to get into brewing and have posted a few questions. Right now I am looking for the best kit to start with but don't want to have to re-buy all new stuff should I start brewing all grain beers several years/batches from now.

Several have suggested kits from MidWest with the Better Bottle.
However, everything I have read has said glass is better than plastic.
The Better Bottle might be a different type of plastic but is it really better than glass?

Here is a link to the kits in MidWest.
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdBySubCat.aspx?SubCat=11166&fd=1

Thanks

The glass carboys give me the heebie-jeebies with just the thought of dropping one.

Some people have made a claim that Better Bottles are not as good as glass. I have seen no real evidence of this, no one has been able to prove that they aren't as good.

Many of the reasons people don't go with plastic (any plastic) may be over played for the amount of time you actually use them (effects may show up in years).

There have been posts of people using BBs for months with no off tastes.

With all this in mind, I think BBs are fine. I went with them because the benefits outlay the risks.

I have both Better Bottles and carboys, the only advantage to the
BB is that they are not as heavy when full and a lot less risk to move. Other than that they are the same. I have used them for several year and have noticed no differance in flavors or usage.

This comes up fairly often so we've compiled a pros and cons list on the wiki. I would give it a read and then you'll just have to decide for yourself.

The Wiki is great! I would suggest a change to one of the Pro's for glass though. While it is true that the glass carboy itself has zero oxygen permeability, the same cannot be said for the stopper or carboy cap that would be used. They are either gum rubber, vinyl or some other plastic. All of which are oxygen permeable to one degree or another. Also, gum rubber, and to a lesser degree vinyl, both have a noticeable odor.

So it cannot be said that using glass, as a system, has an oxygen permeability of zero. The Better-Bottles themselves are made of clear PET, and all the accesories are made of opaque PET, both of which have a negligible oxygen permeability, do not have any odor, will not impart any off flavors or odors, will not stain and clean easily.

It would be interesting to see a comparison in overall oxygen permeability between glass and Better-Bottles if you compared them as an entire system and not just by saying that glass is impervious to oxygen, which as we now know is not true if the stopper is taken into consideration.

johnsma22 said:

...I would suggest a change to one of the Pro's for glass though...

Click to expand...

Anyone can edit the wiki, just sign up and go nuts. The more people we have helping the better it will get!