Glass carboy or plastic Better Bottle

I'm sure this has been asked before...

Is there a downside to PET Better Bottles over glass carboys for primary or secondary fermentation?

The wiki has a nice pro/con article comparing the two. You need to make up your own mind really, you'll get people on both sides (I fall on the BB side).

If you go glass, just don't do this with it.

THere's a ton of threads in the search as well...

I have glass, wish I had Better bottles. If it works the same, is lighter and harder to crack, then spend the money on them.

As long as you clean the Better Bottle chemically so that the inside doesn't scratch and use StarSan or vodka/rum in the airlock, there are no real drawbacks. As long as you don't age stuff inside them for years, oxygen permeability is not a concern.

I prefer glass...easier to clean.

One tip though...never carry a wet or full carboy without it being in a milk crate. I have never broken a carboy in 14+ years of brewing. :rockin:

i prefer glass. if i wanted plastic i'd use a bucket.

I use 2 PET carboys for Apfelwein...but I really think I like the Glass better. I can't help but think that glass helps to clear a little better....Can't say for sure why though.

Like Ed said...>Don't throw the glass on the driveway.

I use both. I tend to use the glass more for wine though as I'm more concerned about oxidation with prolonged storage times. As I get older the BB definitely have an advantage in terms of weight. The one thing I would avoid with the BB is the port. As great an idea as it seems it just seems too high a risk for a place for unwanted bugs to grow and be difficult to eradicate.

GT

I have been using glass for secondary ...

difficult to lift out of a chest freezer when racking time comes ... so will be considering BB ..

Got Trub? said:

I use both. I tend to use the glass more for wine though as I'm more concerned about oxidation with prolonged storage times. As I get older the BB definitely have an advantage in terms of weight. The one thing I would avoid with the BB is the port. As great an idea as it seems it just seems too high a risk for a place for unwanted bugs to grow and be difficult to eradicate.

GT

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I see this as a great advantage. I have yet to have an infection with a BB. The plastic of the port is made of hydrophobic compounds that repel liquid meaning they clean and sanitize very well. If you plan on harvesting yeast and don't own a conical, the racking tube on the port is AWESOME!....

kappclark said:

I have been using glass for secondary ...

difficult to lift out of a chest freezer when racking time comes ... so will be considering BB ..

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Yep, my main reason for switching, plus I like my arteries intact!

I have both as well, and I like my BB much more! I won't be going back to glass anytime soon.

I have both and find that anytime I go to move the glass one (empty or full), I cringe. I don't hesitate one bit with the BB.

First time brewer here (bottling my first batch this Sunday). I picked up my BB after racking and the whole bottle flexed enough to suck some fluid out of the airlock. That's not going to happen with glass, or if you put the BB in a milkcrate, or just wait to put the airlock in when you put the carboy on the floor. I have read many useful tips here and other various places online and had never heard of that happening - just thought I'd pass it along.

I move my BB's by grabbing the neck with one hand and I put the other hand under the BB and never had it flex enough to cause a suckback.

EdWort said:

I move my BB's by grabbing the neck with one hand and I put the other hand under the BB and never had it flex enough to cause a suckback.

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Better bottles here. And I have pushed the limits on oxidation (like 4 months in secondary) with no problems. As has been said, the buckets are pretty great. I no longer consider secondary necessary, so Buckets are IT.

xamers said:

I see this as a great advantage. I have yet to have an infection with a BB. The plastic of the port is made of hydrophobic compounds that repel liquid meaning they clean and sanitize very well. If you plan on harvesting yeast and don't own a conical, the racking tube on the port is AWESOME!....

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You may be right. I condition and age beers for years in some cases and just don't want to take a chance.

GT

EdWort said:

I move my BB's by grabbing the neck with one hand and I put the other hand under the BB and never had it flex enough to cause a suckback.

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I'll have to try this. Usually I just remove the little white cap from the carboy hood so it vents to air while moving it. I have had them collapse on me when doing "closed" transfers using filtered air from an aquarium pump. The pump couldn't keep up with the outflow of beer into my bottling bucket!

GT

I hear that light(sunlight) is bad for brewing beer. If that is the case, why do so many people use clear carboys? Is there a colored carboy or BB? I apologize if this post is a bit off topic. I am looking to get a secondary fermenter and wonderd if I should go carboy or not.

Thanks!!

JBFURDOG said:

I hear that light(sunlight) is bad for brewing beer. If that is the case, why do so many people use clear carboys? Is there a colored carboy or BB? I apologize if this post is a bit off topic. I am looking to get a secondary fermenter and wonderd if I should go carboy or not.

Thanks!!

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Just put a dark t-shirt over your carboy or Better Bottle and life will be good.

This is one question that won't be getting asked much anymore, the price of glass carboys is about to skyrocket, $40-50 each according to Forrest (AHS), and many places are beginning to only carry Better Bottles.

Glad I have my glass ones now then! I'm a girl and don't have problems lifting my 6.5 gallon glass carboy so I don't expect to need a BB any time soon, plus I like that the carboys don't wear like plastic does.

Laurel said:

Glad I have my glass ones now then! I'm a girl and don't have problems lifting my 6.5 gallon glass carboy so I don't expect to need a BB any time soon, plus I like that the carboys don't wear like plastic does.

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All the guys who can't life carboys like you are sissies!

I have 5 6.5 gallon carboys and I like them. No point in turning back now!

Enjoy it while you can, young whipper snappers. Be sure to bend your knees and keep your back straight.

For me it wasn't about weight, it was about keeping my blood on the inside of my skin instead of all over the floor. I had a carboy suddenly crack for no reason and I decided immediately I was switching to better bottles.

EdWort said:

Enjoy it while you can, young whipper snappers. Be sure to bend your knees and keep your back straight.

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I'll be 31 forever! Or until a month from now. But really, as long as you're careful they're not that bad. But I am a really big guy and I can easily lift a 6.5 that's full with one hand.