Hi from Canada

Hi guys,

Just found this forum tonight and decided to sign up.
I broke a carboy this afternoon and lost 23L (6 g) of red wine all over my basement floor. Fortunately there were no injuries. I'm now considering going all plastic, but I don't know much about it.

I'm a relatively new brewer. I've only brewed from kits so far. I hope to brew some beer from grain soon and possibly some wine from grapes.

Steve

sorry about the carboy..... happy brewing

how's the weather in the great white north?

Welcome from another fellow Canuck! I had a similar experience to yours and I switched to better bottles as well. I absolutely love them and will never go back to glass.

Hefeweizengeliebter said:

...how's the weather in the great white north?

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Very white.

Better Bottles are the way to go if you find the glass are not conducive to healthy living! I have a few PET bottles from the water machines at work, and a glass carboy. I like the bottles I have, but dislike the blue coloring. A Better Bottle will be clear, so no worries there.

With Better Bottles, they should be suitable for long-term storage (like for wine), but you have to be careful when cleaning. No scrubbing, or scratching!!

Welcome

Hefeweizengeliebter said:

how's the weather in the great white north?

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We got more than a foot of snow yesterday in Ottawa with temps around -25C, so I thought it would be a good day to stay in and enjoy some brewing.

I bottled a stout in the morning without incident, but cleaning the wine from the broken carboy took up most of my afternoon. Now my entire basement smells of wine. I actually enjoy the smell, but my girlfriend isn't amused....

bradsul said:

Welcome from another fellow Canuck! I had a similar experience to yours and I switched to better bottles as well. I absolutely love them and will never go back to glass.

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I suspect that I will be switching as well.
Where in Ontario are you located?

Homercidal said:

I have a few PET bottles from the water machines at work

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I was wondering if there are any issues using the plastic water cooler bottles? I have access to a couple of them. How can I tell if they are PET? Could they be made out of a plastic that I should avoid?

Thanks,
Steve

Welcome Steve! I am in Calgary now, but used to live in Ottawa. In fact, that's where I started brewing, and I still buy supplies from Todd and Tracy at Skinaney Brewing in Dunrobin now and then. Anyways, hope you get a lot out of this wonderful community.

Cheers

Brewer_Steve said:

Where in Ontario are you located?

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Good old Guelph for me!

I have some car guys from my other forum from Guelph

Brewer_Steve said:

I was wondering if there are any issues using the plastic water cooler bottles? I have access to a couple of them. How can I tell if they are PET? Could they be made out of a plastic that I should avoid?

Thanks,
Steve

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The bottles we get here are usually one of two types, PET, or something else. I only keep the PET bottles. There will be a mark on the bottom describing what it's made from. Mine say PET with the recycle arrows surrounding it. I'm not sure what other types are good for. Maybe HDPE is ok for very short-term, but I'd just stick to PET.

You can also buy Better Bottles, which are made of the right stuff, and aren't very expensive. I use the ones from work because they only charge me $4 each for the deposit. They should be available from any home brew supply store.

bradsul said:

Good old Guelph for me!

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Ah, I went to school just down the road in Waterloo, but I got to frequent quite a few barn parties in Guelf. SWMBO is actually from Guelf


Well, I'm off to the local brew store to pick up a few plastic carboys and pick up whatever I need to try my first brew from grain. Any suggestions for an easy beginner's recipe??

BTW, this forum is great. So much information... What a great resource.

Ok, it's obvious that my fellow friends to the north didn't read the fine print before registering....... You must provide me the home addresses of Alex, Geddy, Neil and the location of the Orbit Room. :rockin:

Stile said:

Ok, it's obvious that my fellow friends to the north didn't read the fine print before registering....... You must provide me the home addresses of Alex, Geddy, Neil and the location of the Orbit Room. :rockin:

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LOL. I'm a good 5 hours from the Orbit Room. I'm not a big fan of Toronto, but to see that band, I'd happily put up with that city.

Brewer_Steve said:

I was wondering if there are any issues using the plastic water cooler bottles? I have access to a couple of them. How can I tell if they are PET? Could they be made out of a plastic that I should avoid?

Thanks,
Steve

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There's a bit of a controversy surrounding whether or not you can use water cooler bottles. Some do it and seem to have no problem but I think you'll find that the bulk of the brewing Illuminati say that they are too susceptible to oxygen permeability. Check the recycle symbol on the bottom. The good bottles will have a 1 in them. Water bottles usually have a much higher number up to 7. Better Bottles are a 1.

Personally, I wouldn't use anything other than 1. It's worth the extra money to use quality equipment.

By the way, you should put your location in your profile. It's easier to hook up with people in your area that way.

Brewer_Steve said:

LOL. I'm a good 5 hours from the Orbit Room. I'm not a big fan of Toronto, but to see that band, I'd happily put up with that city.

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You my friend.... are a good man