Plastic or glass?

So, I've had my plastic fermenters for a while. I think they need to be replaced. Should I stick with plastic or go to glass? If I go to glass should I go to a larger size? I use glass now but only for secondary. Can anyone lend some info?

There are so many arguments on this it's not even funny. Glass is better but it's dangerous. that's it.

Stainless kicks ass over glass... There, I said it...

If you're talking carboy's, either Better Bottle or glass is fine... I primary in them all the time. I also primary in a 5 gallon corny keg. I don't secondary with beers, and only rack to another vessel when I need to get off of one flavor element and onto another. Otherwise, it's on the yeast for the duration (until being bottled).

What you use, at this point, is more personal preference/choice than anything else... Personally, I'm trying to work my way over to all SS fermenters. I've stopped using the bucket after the second time... It's now destined to be my grain catch bucket (for the mill)...

Why is this question in introductions??

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Should be a sticky about this in the beginners section...

I still think it's really just personal preference... Ask a dozen home brewers what they use for fermenting, chances are you'll have them using almost as many different things. Composed either from PET, glass, stainless, or any of the above... I'm actually using glass, PET and stainless for fermenting, or as vessels for things I'm making now... I have mead in glass, and beer in PET and stainless...

How do you use the corny kegs? I have a ton of these things but never though of using them for my primary. Sorry about posting this in introductions using this app on my phone and need to figure the layout.

Whatever floats your boat is fine. It's your beer afterall. Neither is any worse or better than the other. They both make beer, so it's up to you to decide.

pavs said:

How do you use the corny kegs? I have a ton of these things but never though of using them for my primary. Sorry about posting this in introductions using this app on my phone and need to figure the layout.

Click to expand...

It's easy...

Depending on the corny, either pull the relief valve from the lid (use a small stopper/bung there with an airlock hole), or the lock from the dip tube... If the dip tube, also remove the dip tube. Fit a short piece of tubing over the inner part of the lock (threaded part) that you can fit an airlock into. Install airlock and you now have a fermenter. I used foamcap in the boil for the batch sitting in the corny right now. NO foaming through the airlock, was burping nicely for the normal amount of time. Placed a stickie thermometer onto the side to be able to tell what the wort temp was. Wrapped it in a thick towel in order to better insulate it from temp loss/changes.

Here's a shot of mine, as it stands...


Next time I convert one, I'll leave the lid intact and just pull the liquid tube lock and rig that up... That way, it will be easier to use the keg as a keg later.

That is so awesome! I would never have thought of that! Do you use that for all your brews? I assume that if I don't use that foam stuff it'll blow right out of the air lock.

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Got my first in there right now... Probably won't be pulling it off for another 1-2 weeks (it's been in there for just over 2 weeks now)...

There are conversion kits available for fermenting in corny kegs too... They usually include a bottle of fermcap as well as a different lid to use with a blow-off tube...

I do plan on using this method as much as possible moving forward... I'm trying to connect with a local person selling some 1/6 barrel Sanke kegs. I want to get some of those (2-4 of them) to use as primaries and for aging... I'll probably still use carboy's for brews, but I like having the option of stainless... Especially if I'm at all concerned about light.

I doubt I'll make mead in the kegs, but I can see using them for aging there too. I actually need to get some 3 gallon corny kegs to age my mead in soon. Just need to wait until I'm working again so that I can spend the funds there. Until then, they'll stay in carboys.

Thats really great. Going forward I'm going to definatly investigate using my corny kegs. My buckets are so discolored and are starting to smell like a bunch of melded beers. Sounds great but I don't want to ruin any future beers.

I was wanting to use carboys so that I could see what was going on inside... I've gotten confident with my processes now, so I don't feel that need as much (still want to see what's going on before the airlock starts going spastic)... I see more benefits from using SS than glass or plastic... Not the least of which is light tight, and durability... If something hits the keg fermenter, chances are, what hits it will break. It would have to be something REALLY solid to do any damage to the keg. Only negative item I can see is the smaller footprint (also a plus in my book) means it might tip over more easily... But, that can be offset by either securing it to something, or placing it where it can't tip over. Once I have a couple more SS primaries, I intend to bungie/tie them together when in use, so that they will support each other (support group brewing?)...

I already have a corny keg cleaner item that you use with a drill... So I'm not concerned with cleaning them out either. :rockin:

Good to keep your options open... Plus, you can ferment in almost anything, as long as it's made of safe materials, and you can secure an airlock (or blow-off tube) to it...

What are you using to clean your kegs with? Curious to know about this drill set up. I wash them out and let them sit with oxy clean inside. Wash that out and then good to go. I also have a toilet brush (never used in a toilet of course) to scrub out the inside.

"Keg Cleaner" oddly enough... Same people make the carboy cleaner... You lock it into your drill chuck, and it has two pads that spin and clean the sides... I got it from my LHBS a few weeks back... See if your LHBS has them too (they list vendors on their site here)... Pretty easy to use... I would just say to remove the gas and liquid tubes before you go to use it...