Better Bottles or Glass Carboys

looking at buying my first kit and was checking out midwestsupplies.com they seem to have a pretty nice kit with the option of better bottles or glass carboys.
just curious what is the advantage of each and what do you guys think is better.
thanks in advance, i tried to search first but couldn't really find any info.

jason

Better Bottles are lighter, won't break, and have a spigot option - they get my vote every time!

I just got their kit with the Better Bottles and have been very happy with them. I wish i would have got the spigot option but it wasnt avaliable with the kit or i didnt see it when i bought mine. I plan to add another 6 gal. to my brewing lineup in the near future. Better Bottles get my vote also. Glass carboys are heavy and hard to handle.

I love my Better Bottles....my back loves them more.

better bottles it is. thanks alot i am sure i will be asking alot of questions along the way with my first attemps at this.

jason

which kit are you looking at getting?

Brewing Intermediate Kit w/ Better Bottles
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.

i think this is the one i am going with.
you have a different idea? seemed like a good all around kit.

jason

linky no worky

XMRDJSHADOWX said:

Brewing Intermediate Kit w/ Better Bottles
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.

i think this is the one i am going with.
you have a different idea? seemed like a good all around kit.

jason

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i was deciding between that one and the starter kit. what is making you lean that way?

Better Bottles are good but don't use a brush or anything the least bit abrasive on them. I'm getting one next week.

Looks like this one...

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=3316

ehh... you old men and your light plastic fermentors! There is nothing like straining to pick up 50 pounds of brew in a heavy glass carboy!

Cregar said:

Looks like this one...

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=3316

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wow that looks like a great kit... much better than what i started out with...

aekdbbop said:

ehh... you old men and your light plastic fermentors! There is nothing like straining to pick up 50 pounds of brew in a heavy glass carboy!

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Had to do that this weekend... took my equipment to a buddies to brew... had to carry the damn glass carboy full of our new batch up a damn staircase... no fun at all!!!

aekdbbop said:

ehh... you old men and your light plastic fermentors! There is nothing like straining to pick up 50 pounds of brew in a heavy glass carboy!

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Until you drop it. I'm not old at all...just practical! Go ahead, install a spigot in your glass carboy.

Yuri_Rage said:

Go ahead, install a spigot in your glass carboy.

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haha, touche!

cnapierala said:

I just got their kit with the Better Bottles and have been very happy with them. I wish i would have got the spigot option but it wasnt avaliable with the kit or i didnt see it when i bought mine. I plan to add another 6 gal. to my brewing lineup in the near future. Better Bottles get my vote also. Glass carboys are heavy and hard to handle.

Click to expand...

When I ordered a year ago I just requested them ported with spigots in the special instructions, then called a day later to follow up to make sure they added it. They had!

The only downside to a BB is that it will flex a bit if you lift it from the sides or the bottom while full. This can make the trub shoot back up into suspention. One $5 carboy handle solves this. I have a 6 gal BB and a 5 gal glass. the BB wins in so many categories. And don't worry about the abrasive brush thing. I use a standard carboy brush 'lightly' on mine after a soak - no scratching or infections to speak of.

Wolf said:

When I ordered a year ago I just requested them ported with spigots in the special instructions, then called a day later to follow up to make sure they added it. They had!

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what was the added charge?

chillHayze said:

The only downside to a BB is that it will flex a bit if you lift it from the sides or the bottom while full. This can make the trub shoot back up into suspention. One $5 carboy handle solves this. I have a 6 gal BB and a 5 gal glass. the BB wins in so many categories. And don't worry about the abrasive brush thing. I use a standard carboy brush 'lightly' on mine after a soak - no scratching or infections to speak of.

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I had great success this weekend just soaking the carboy in hot water. I left it for a half hour and came back, rinsed it out and everything was nice and clean.

cnapierala said:

I had great success this weekend just soaking the carboy in hot water. I left it for a half hour and came back, rinsed it out and everything was nice and clean.

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likewise... I <3 my BBs :rockin:

Same kit I got, requested ported and called to make sure. No problems, glad I got them.

thanks everyone for the input. i am geeked to get this.

can someone explain the ported thing? thanks.

vamil93 said:

what was the added charge?

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Eh, I honestly can't remember anymore. You could probably call them and ask what your total would be each way.

vamil93 said:

can someone explain the ported thing? thanks.

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Ported just mean they have a hole in the bottom to install a valve and racking adapter. Without an adapter a ported Better Bottle is just a weird kind of funnel

I use glass carboys basically because I wanted something cheap so that if I decided I didn't want to brew I wouldn't lose money. Now that I am severely addicted I will replace them with the BB's once these break or I get my moneys worth out of them, whichever comes first.


Dan

I'm getting a BB this weekend, at my hbs they are cheaper than glass carboys, and would most definitely be cheaper in the long term, since I could pretty much guarantee that I would drop a *full* glass carboy... yeeeashh...

Getting it ported at my hbs doesn't cost any extra, but all the parts for the spigot push the price from £11.99 to around £30, not really worth it imho. Siphoning is goot enough for me *^_^* hmmm would a carboy cap fit on one of these?

You should never have to use a brush on your BB. Just fill with water, dump in a scoop of Oxyclean and let it sit for a couple of hours. You can actually see it working on the dried on Krausen to get it off. A quick rinse and a sanitize and you're all set. If you have an especially vigorous fermentation, you could put in a washcloth and swirl it around, but no sense in chancing a scratch with a bottle brush. The BB themselves are actually cheaper than carbory in my LHBS, it's all the porting & racking gear that drives up the price, but after using them, I really hate to use my glass ones. I just can't afford to replace 4 carboys with BB's right now.

Anyone want to buy some carboys???

aekdbbop said:

ehh... you old men and your light plastic fermentors! There is nothing like straining to pick up 50 pounds of brew in a heavy glass carboy!

Click to expand...

Cregar said:

Had to do that this weekend... took my equipment to a buddies to brew... had to carry the damn glass carboy full of our new batch up a damn staircase... no fun at all!!!

Click to expand...

I live in a third storey apartment, but I brew at my job. So every time I brew, I have to carry the full carboy out to my truck, and then when I get home, I have to carry it up two flights of stairs. Talk about a workout!

This last time, however, I found a milk crate and put the carboy in there. Wow, what a difference. I'll be doing that every time from now on.

I just don't like the way the better bottles look and feel. They seem chintzy to me, but to each their own.