Beer in plastic bottles...

Hello I'm new at this and recently I purchased a kit online. In the kit they sent me 32oz. plastic bottles( making 2 gallons of beer). For storage purposes in the long term, wouldn't this affect the flavor of the beer? I've always heard plastic has that effect on beverages but I would think anything with alcohol might be greatly affected. If it does have an adverse effect, please let me know and as well how I can get hold of bottles in glass. Thank You

You're fine....that plastic fear crap is overrated. Even commercial breweries are selling beer in plastic bottles these days...we ferment in plastic. I've had beer stored in plastic mr beer bottles that I tasted 2 years later and you couldn't taste anything.

Much appreciated. Bear with me, since I'm really new at making beer and would like to have a good turn out. Of course, if it flops, I'll do it again to do it right. So much for the issue on the plastic bottles. Is there a website where I can go to get a variety of mixtures to mak improvements to the quality of the beer?

Don't fear the plastic. I like putting beer in PET bottles. Easy to move around, bottle bomb worries are reduced. I've never had beer in plastic for two years but Revvy has and says it doesn't impart a "plastic" flavor. Revvy seems pretty knowledgeable about beer stuff. I would take his advice any day.

Thanks for th info... The votes are in that you are trusted and knowledgable on the subject, so I'll take your word for it.

rookiebrewmaker said:

Is there a website where I can go to get a variety of mixtures to mak improvements to the quality of the beer?

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you've already found it.
welcome to HBT

I've been brewing off and onn for 23 years - PET storage has come a long way. Start with those and then see where it takes you - capping recycled bottles, Grolsch type swing tops, kegging, etc. Experiment and see what you like and don't - just relax and keep on brewing.

Cheers!

Personally, I am switching over to all plastic bottles and getting rid of my glass. Just so much easier, safer and so many other good reasons to go to plastic. Maybe someday I'll think differently (I've only been brewing about a year), but plastic seems way better right now.

DJG

Hang Glider: Thanks. Sorry, I'm new on this and I realized this later Duh, me! LOL! Anyway I'm hoping to make a good first brew of beer. And then to advance myself as I go along. I'm looking forward to making a good strong beer that I can appreciate with friends. Bottom's up!

Wait. So can I save a 20oz dr pepper bottle and use that? Seems SOOOO much safer!

sfrisby said:

Wait. So can I save a 20oz dr pepper bottle and use that? Seems SOOOO much safer!

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I'm sure they're food safe, but two things...

1) clear bottle lets UV light in
2) they lose pressure.
(I prefer my soda in cans for this very reason - I've bought a sixer of 20 oz bottles and in three or four weeks, some of the unopened bottles are "soft"

I started with plastic PET Coopers bottles and no, there is no flavor differential whatsoever.

That said though I moved away from plastic bottles. I still have them and use them when all my glass bottle are in use but personally I prefer glass. Again nothing to do with the flavor but a couple of reasons are:

1. PET bottle are uber light and I find them to be a bit annoyingly so as even standing empty ones on a table several often fall over.

2. The caps are twist-on so I find I have to wear a glove or I rip my palm up screwing them on.

3. They can get really tight after carbing up so unscrewing them can be a real PITA.


Rev.

Rev2010:That's interesting to note on plastic bottles. I'll keep all that in mind when I bottle the brews I make. Rookie

I started using 16 oz. PET bottles that I got from my favorite LBHS/hardware store, $25.00 a case. Tried to find some cheaper on the internets with no success. Now I use a combination of brown PET bottles and empty plastic Coke bottles. I like the clear plastic for the same reason some people like carboys, I can see what's going on inside. I've been using (and re-using) the same bottles for about a year and a half with no problems. I did side by side taste comparisons with (brown PET, Brown Grolsch and clear plastic bottles) no difference in taste. Plus, a case of 16 oz PET bottles is much lighter than the 20 bottle case of Grolsch...

I have 104 Qt. Mr. Beer bottles, 24 pt. pet bottles and I used 20 oz. soft drink bottles until I purchased enough Qts so I didn't need the pop bottles. Never used glass of any kind. To old and clumsy to chance glass. No complaints with plastic.

Kent