Does anyone know where I could pick up some cheap glass carboys in NYC? There are a couple places in brooklyn but at $35.00 for a 5 gallon I'm not too enthused. Anyone know of a glass distributor in the area maybe?
Carboys in New York City
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conpewter
Well-Known Member
I don't know about NYC, but around here you'll see them up on craigslist every now and then.
You can go to Karp's on Long Island and get a 5 gal. carboy for $31.95, NorthernBrewer charges the same. But then you're paying for gas to drive to LI or the LIRR plus your time. If you order it off the internet you're paying for shipping.
To me, $35 is not that bad, plus you get to support your LHBS and they are nice people.
To me, $35 is not that bad, plus you get to support your LHBS and they are nice people.
Brooklyn Homebrew. 5 gallon carboys are $35, 6.5 gallon are $45. The owners are extremely helpful and down to earth. Their website is http://www.brooklyn-homebrew.com. There's also Brooklyn Brew Shop. They only sell kits, but for $125 you get EVERYTHING you need to make your first batch, including grain, hops, and yeast. http://www.brooklynbrewshop.com
Your price seems pretty good. A Mexican 5 gallon was about $25 when I started, 20 years ago! Since Mexico stopped making them, the price has gone up.
Otherwise, Craigslist is probably not a bad place to find a good used one.
Otherwise, Craigslist is probably not a bad place to find a good used one.
thedude00
Well-Known Member
I live in staten island and i need to go check brooklyn brew shop out this weekend i heard good things about it and i dont think there is any other around the SI area. I get most of my stuff online but there has been times that i needed something last min
WilliamWS
Well-Known Member
There is also the Brooklyn Kitchen in Williamsburg/Greenpoint on Meeker and Frost. It is a few blocks off the Lorimer L stop or the Nassau G. They have a decent little brewshop. Their prices aren't always the best but they're not too outrageous and those are definitely some folks I don't mind supporting.
Pivzavod
Well-Known Member
As a fellow New Yawker who is looking to upgrade to glass I did my research. I could goto Brooklyn HBS and pay $80 + tax (~$7) = $87. Getting them shipped from Midwest $80.61 but saves the trek to the store and the hassle of carrying 2 carboys on the train. I recently bought a 5g carboy from someone locally and it was major pita to carry it on the train, imagine how it would be with 2 of them. If you buy additional stuff for the carboys such as accessories and maybe even a kit or two from Midwest your s/h cost breakdown is even better.
Does it have to be glass? You can find a Better Bottle for much cheaper than that and IMO the benefits of the Better Bottle outweigh those of the glass carboy anyway... I have a few Better Bottles and love them.
steveo929
Well-Known Member
I agree with Kingmatt, I used to think that glass was the only way...then I found out that even guys like Jamil and Palmer use better bottles and love them! That's all I use now. I just picked up another 6 gallon from Brooklyn Homebrew for $28 and it's super easy to bring on the train.
Still get lots of looks on the Subway though...gotta love it .
Still get lots of looks on the Subway though...gotta love it .
Pivzavod
Well-Known Member
My reason for partially switching to glass is to try to do more complex recipes. I want to age stuff for 6+ months and do some recipes that use wild yeast. BB is actually good for wild yeast brewing since it allows some oxygen in and lets the bugs grow. I wouldnt want to use that BB for anything else tho.
I would use glass for long term aging. Plastic would be fine for a while, but supposedly (I have no data to support this claim) plastic can allow O2 to pass through, though at a very slow rate.
steveo929
Well-Known Member
Ok, for long term aging I do feel differently about the BB....and I don't even know why! I think it's just a mental thing b/c even when looking on the BB website you don't find any mention of permeability in the specs.
From the website. Basssically, yes they do allow more than glass, but it is an insignigicant source compared to stoppers, airlocks, racking.
BetterBottle PET carboys are made of plastic; however, they are not like other plastic carboys. First of all, they are made of a special PETand secondly they are made in a manner that packs the plastic molecules very tightly and creates a delicate balance between microcrystaline and amorphous regions.1 They are especialy well suited for home winemaking and brewing. So, why do rumors that no plastic is acceptable persist here and there? In the first place, many people have experienced failures attempting to use carboys made from types of plastic that are known to be too permeable to oxygen and to scalp flavors (see Flavor Scalping). Secondly, the mistaken belief that all plastics are the same is occasionally reinforced by sporadic reports of failures involving BetterBottle carboys. Making a good wine or beer is an art and results do not always meet expectations, regardless of whether the winemaker or brewer uses a glass carboy or BetterBottle carboy.
Yes, BetterBottle PET carboys are slightly more permeable than glass; however, it would be a mistake to assume that using a glass carboy will guarantee superior results. The traces of oxygen that penetrate BetterBottle PET carboys are incredibly difficult to measure and insignificant when compared with the amounts of oxygen diffusing through, or leaking past, traditional, liquid-filled air locks, traditional rubber stoppers (especially silicone stoppers), and most common types of flexible tubing. Moreover, oxygen diffuses into, and reacts with, wine and beer so quickly that removing a closure from a carboy, even briefly, for testing and making adjustments can allow a relatively large amount of oxygen to enter the small volume. Wine and beer essentially suck up oxygen. And racking from one open carboy to another open carboy with a siphon, a pretty standard approach when glass carboys are used, will add a great deal of oxygen in an uncontrolled manner.
The uncontrolled, excessive entry of oxygen is the real problem, because the addition of the micro amounts of oxygen, depending on the wine or beer, is generally beneficial.2,3,4 Wineries that ferment many hundreds of gallons of wine in a single tank may actually prefer polyethylene tanks, because the volume of wine is so huge compared to the surface area of their tanks. Polyethylene, or other similarly permeable material, cannot be used to make fermenters for small batches of wine and beer, because the volumes are small compared to the surface area of the fermenters. Using a BetterBottle fermentation system, even a novice will find it easy to rack or bottle cleanly under conditions that control oxygen exposure (Use the Products tab at the top of page to access How-To Tips.
BetterBottle PET carboys are made of plastic; however, they are not like other plastic carboys. First of all, they are made of a special PETand secondly they are made in a manner that packs the plastic molecules very tightly and creates a delicate balance between microcrystaline and amorphous regions.1 They are especialy well suited for home winemaking and brewing. So, why do rumors that no plastic is acceptable persist here and there? In the first place, many people have experienced failures attempting to use carboys made from types of plastic that are known to be too permeable to oxygen and to scalp flavors (see Flavor Scalping). Secondly, the mistaken belief that all plastics are the same is occasionally reinforced by sporadic reports of failures involving BetterBottle carboys. Making a good wine or beer is an art and results do not always meet expectations, regardless of whether the winemaker or brewer uses a glass carboy or BetterBottle carboy.
Yes, BetterBottle PET carboys are slightly more permeable than glass; however, it would be a mistake to assume that using a glass carboy will guarantee superior results. The traces of oxygen that penetrate BetterBottle PET carboys are incredibly difficult to measure and insignificant when compared with the amounts of oxygen diffusing through, or leaking past, traditional, liquid-filled air locks, traditional rubber stoppers (especially silicone stoppers), and most common types of flexible tubing. Moreover, oxygen diffuses into, and reacts with, wine and beer so quickly that removing a closure from a carboy, even briefly, for testing and making adjustments can allow a relatively large amount of oxygen to enter the small volume. Wine and beer essentially suck up oxygen. And racking from one open carboy to another open carboy with a siphon, a pretty standard approach when glass carboys are used, will add a great deal of oxygen in an uncontrolled manner.
The uncontrolled, excessive entry of oxygen is the real problem, because the addition of the micro amounts of oxygen, depending on the wine or beer, is generally beneficial.2,3,4 Wineries that ferment many hundreds of gallons of wine in a single tank may actually prefer polyethylene tanks, because the volume of wine is so huge compared to the surface area of their tanks. Polyethylene, or other similarly permeable material, cannot be used to make fermenters for small batches of wine and beer, because the volumes are small compared to the surface area of the fermenters. Using a BetterBottle fermentation system, even a novice will find it easy to rack or bottle cleanly under conditions that control oxygen exposure (Use the Products tab at the top of page to access How-To Tips.
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