Big Mouth Bubbler - Who has one?

I'm talking about the plastic BMBs, not the glass ones.

I realize these have been out for about 9 months, but I only noticed them this past week. They look like they are exactly what I am looking for to replace my 30 year old fermenters. The hauler looks like a rip off at $20.

If you have one (or more), I'd like to know what you think of them. Good or bad.

A few things I'd like to know:

- Do you need a hauler for each one you have or can you use one for several?
- How flexible are they. If you move them, will they burp? And how much.
- Does anything discolor them? Beer, wine, or cleaning solutions?
- How good of a seal does the lid make.
- Do I need to use the hauler made for them, or do Carboy haulers work?
- Are they fragile at all? What will damage them.

What surprised you about them?
What do I need to know that I don't know about?

1. Need, no. Want? Probably.
2. Not very. I haven't had a burp out of one yet.
3. 3 stouts and a porter plus all the cleaning and sanitizing haven't discolored mine yet.
4. No leaks for mine yet.
5. Fragile no. I'd imagine running over one with a tank would pretty much wreck one.

Calder said:

I'm talking about the plastic BMBs, not the glass ones.

I realize these have been out for about 9 months, but I only noticed them this past week. They look like they are exactly what I am looking for to replace my 30 year old fermenters. The hauler looks like a rip off at $20.

If you have one (or more), I'd like to know what you think of them. Good or bad.

A few things I'd like to know:

- Do you need a hauler for each one you have or can you use one for several?
- How flexible are they. If you move them, will they burp? And how much.
- Does anything discolor them? Beer, wine, or cleaning solutions?
- How good of a seal does the lid make.
- Do I need to use the hauler made for them, or do Carboy haulers work?
- Are they fragile at all? What will damage them.

What surprised you about them?
What do I need to know that I don't know about?

Click to expand...

1. I consider the hauler to be a nice accessory. I already had one for my carboys so I tried it out and it's fine. if I had several of these things I'd think about having a hauler on it all the time (except when washing...)

2. They are only slightly flexible. The bottom is domed and as long as you don't squeeze the sides the amount of flex and intake is minimal. I could carry one of these around without worrying about sucking in too much air (but that's never been a concern for me in any case...)

3. I can't imagine anything staining them. They are the same material the pop bottles and better bottles are made from. If Faygo RedPop doesn't stain that stuff, beer surely won't!

4. I would say the lids tend to leak slightly. I had to crank mine down tight to get a perfect seal. I don't worry about it as I don't secondary for a really long time. I've heard of people making gaskets to help the seal.

5. Carboy haulers will work.

6. Fragile? Not as fragile as the glass ones! Actually I would not consider mine to be fragile. But it's a plastic jug, so don't be throwing it around.. Well, that would probably be fine... Don't be beating on it with a hammer!

Calder said:

A few things I'd like to know:

1. Do you need a hauler for each one you have or can you use one for several?
2. How flexible are they. If you move them, will they burp? And how much.
3. Does anything discolor them? Beer, wine, or cleaning solutions?
4. How good of a seal does the lid make.
5. Do I need to use the hauler made for them, or do Carboy haulers work?
6. Are they fragile at all? What will damage them.

What surprised you about them?
What do I need to know that I don't know about?

Click to expand...

1. I have a couple haulers, but I usually just move them around without the hauler. You don't need one for each, but they can be a pain to take off in a chest freezer and then put back on to take out.

2. I have four. The uniformity of plastic thickness varies on all of them. One is fairly rigid, but it does flex a little. Two have spots that flex a bit more due to thinner plastic. The fourth has a fairly large section (maybe medium pancake sized) of very thin, flimsy plastic. I always replace the airlock stopper with a solid stopper before moving, for all of them. Virtually every plastic carboy I have dealt with burps at least a tiny bit upon picking up and moving. Solid stoppers are cheap...

3. I don't know. I put beer in them and they stay clear upon cleaning. If you put some industrial dye maybe they will stain, but I cannot imagine normal beer or wine would be an issue.

4. It seems OK, but it is threaded, and I need to tighten the lid down once and a while. I don't plan on using these for extended aging.

5. Carboy hauler should work OK.

6. They are plastic, excessive heat, sharp edges, improper chemicals (super long soak times in PBW, etc.) will damage them, similar to Better Bottles. If you get some that have patches of thin plastic, make sure you don't bump it into a sharp table edge.

Overall they are OK, but if they made 6.5 or 7 gallon Better Bottles, that would be the only carboys I would own. The Big Mouths are nice for batches I think will ferment more vigorously and highly hopped beers where the trub layer will be a bit thicker.

I just got two plastic 6.5 gallon 'bubblers'. They appear to be made well although I have read that many are having issues with sealing the two piece lid.

Skip the brew hauler, a milk crate works well and is more stable/rigid.

- Do you need a hauler for each one you have or can you use one for several?
I'd say you can use one for several but it depends on how you put your fermenter into whatever area you ferment in, such as a freezer. If you lower it then getting in there to get the hauler may be a task you don't wish to do.

- How flexible are they. If you move them, will they burp? And how much.
I bought one of the first ones and it seemed a bit flimsy. I was sent a replacement and it seems to be pretty much the same. It is not too flimsy, but it is not as thick as my Better Bottle.

- Does anything discolor them? Beer, wine, or cleaning solutions?
So far my darkest stout, a stout that I cannot see any light passing through, has not even stained it. It was in there for 4 weeks.

- How good of a seal does the lid make.
This is definitely an area of complaint on these things but for me, there have been zero issues. The issue makes sense, plastic to plastic cannot simply seal 100%, but even still, I am not having issues.

- Do I need to use the hauler made for them, or do Carboy haulers work?
I have not tried my carboy hauler but it seems as though they could work. Just with caution.

- Are they fragile at all? What will damage them.
I say sitting on them would do the trick.


I love mine and if I didn't have a handful of better bottles (or bubblers from Northern Brewer) then I would buy more. I love the wide mouth for sure.

pretty much everything everyone else has said. I'll add that I lift mine from thr floor to the counter with my fingers under the lid, it's never even creaked at me. I do wish they'd nix the bubble design on them, it would be so much easier to clean.

I agree with pretty much everything already written out, but will add that I do like the domed bottom. There is a recess at the top of the dome that your autosiphon rests quite nicely in, with most of the trub settling just below. That, of course, depends on the style, I've sucked up a little trub from some and left a little clear wort behind on others.

I have one. When it first arrived, it was a little bit misshapen on the bottom and would not sit flat. I filled it with 140F water and the heat and pressure kinda "reformed" it and that's not a problem now.

Standard brewhaulers are fine, you don't need to buy the "special" ones. Agreed that mine seems A LOT more flimsy than my Better Bottles, and unlike the BB, I can't just pick it up with one hand around the neck. But I can't say it "burps" or sucks back any worse than the BB...at least when carried with a brewhauler.

I have not had any issue with the lid sealing yet, but I've only used it 3 times. I have cold-crashed in it, it just takes a bigger piece of sanitized foil and a much larger rubber band than a carboy or BB.

I've never really had any issue cleaning out my Better Bottles using the wet paper towel / swish around method, so to me the "Big Mouth makes it easier to clean" thing really has not been that big a deal. I think I got it believing it would be easier to add dry hops into that fat mouth. But since I dry-hop with pellets free (no bag), that hasn't really been that big a plus for me, either (so easy to just make a disposable paper funnel).

And if I ever change to some other transfer method than an autosiphon--like a carboy cap and CO2, or whatever--the BMB might be more limited in that regard...especially if the lid decides to stop sealing (like it seems they do for so many folks).

So would I buy one again? Certainly not unless they come up with a more positive (gasketed?) way of ensuring a good seal with that cap. And for me I just haven't seen much advantage over a Better Bottle. I guess if you dry-hopped with a big fat sack or with leaf hops free, or you wanted to put some big fruit or wood chunks in your beer, the big mouth would be useful. I do agree with the guy who said that the slightly bigger volume over the biggest current Better Bottle is a plus.

I've got one. I use a milk crate to haul it around. It does burp if you squeeze the sides too much. My lid has leaked at one point or another during all of the beers I've made in it and I'm still trying to figure out the best way to stop that.

I've got several plastic BMB and really like them. Yes, I've had leaky seals from the lid. Found that if I use a gasket cut from the glass BMB lid, I can get a good seal. Also worth noting that I spray the screw cap, top plate, gasket, stopper, etc with StarSan when installing - get great seal (I think the moist/wet surface helps with the seal).

Also have 2 glass BMB's, brought to use for long term secondary ferments, because I'm not sure about plastic for 6+ months beer storage. I kept the shipping box for these glass BMBs, and, except for cleaning empty, I keep the glass BMB in the cardboard box during use. If I drop, bang or the BMB bursts, the box should keep the glass from inflicting injury.

I have one and I love it.

I don't have the hauler and have no problem carrying it around, down the stairs, alone or in pairs, etc.

You have to tighten it pretty thoroughly, but if you do it doesn't leak.

It will not stain.

I follow the Better-Bottle instructions for cleaning - I soak in 7th Generation enzyme dishwasher detergent (not PBW, I'm sure it works great but BB doesn't recommend it - also the detergent is cheaper by far) and then thanks to the wide opening you can reach down in there with your hose's jet attachment and "power wash" the gunk right off. Works like a treat.

I got the dual-port lid as well and it makes it SUPER easy to rack under CO2:

1. Put a stopper in each port. One with a hose barb sticking into it that connects to your CO2, the other with a racking cane through it.
2. Gently unscrew the lid ring and replace the single port lid (with airlock still in it) with the prepped dual-port lid. Easy to do it gently enough to avoid rousing up sediment.
3. Push the racking cane down to appropriate level and turn your CO2 all the way down, open the valve and slowly turn up the CO2 until the juice starts flowing (2-3 PSI).

I'll probably get another one when I have the production capacity to need it. My Better Bottles haven't been touched since I got the BMB. If they made a 3-gallon plastic BMB I would buy two immediately. It's a great concept.

The sides do flex but I've never had an issue.

The lid doesn't seal perfectly, so I made a gasket from the glass BMB foam gaskets. Those are cheap enough.

Super easy to clean.

I have the hauler for it and consider it needed.

All said, I won't by another. My next will be a Spiedel 30L fermenter. Bout the same price, bit bigger, and sturdier.


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The only thing I haven't seen mentioned that may be worth mentioning is if you do get a fairly vigorous fermentation with blow-off, it can make it nearly impossible to unscrew the band. A couple times I've had to soak mine upside down in the sink after racking the beer out just to get the lids off so I can clean it.

Happywanderer said:

All said, I won't by another. My next will be a Spiedel 30L fermenter. Bout the same price, bit bigger, and sturdier.

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You know somewhere to get one of those for 30 bucks or so?

I have 2 of the 30L Spiedel fermentors. Absolutely love them. By far one of the best investments I have made. They come with handles on the sides. They don't flex or burp when moved, I've never had a leak, and you can rack to keg, secondary or bottling bucket without a siphon. I run off about 1/2 pint of before connecting the racking hose to clear any trub from the valve. I get way cleaner transfers than when I used a racking cane.

Worth the extra money, I swear by them.

Happywanderer said:

My next will be a Spiedel 30L fermenter. Bout the same price, bit bigger, and sturdier.

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Where do you get Spiedel 30Ls for the same price?

Do all Spiedels come with taps at the bottom. That is something I don't want; just another place for potential contamination.

They come with a port that can have a tap or a screw top that plugs the hole. I have probably made over 40 batches with mine and use the tap every time. Have never had a batch contaminated or a leak. Makes taking samples for gravity readings really easy too. Its not any different than a plastic conical with a valve at the bottom.

They are 60 bucks. But the plastic BMB is nearly 50 after adding on dual port lid and the other goodies. So, nearly the same price. For me, my next fermenter is Spiedel.


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What about oxygen permeability of PET vs HDPE? That's why I went with Better Bottles / BMBs vs Spiedel, but maybe I'm misguided.

I've got one of the 6.5 gallon Plastic BMBs. Love it. Very easy to clean -- I just take it into the bathroom, and use the hand-held showerhead to get in there and spray around.
I have a carboy carrier. Works fine for my Plastic BMB. Yeah, the sides flex a bit, but no big deal. I've never worried about that, as I've pretty much only been making cider and oxygen doesn't seem to have much of an effect on hard cider.

-Do you need a hauler for each one you have or can you use one for several?
I'd recommend a hauler for each one you are using.
- How flexible are they. If you move them, will they burp? And how much.
Very flexible in my opinion. Just short of 2 liter coke bottle flexible.
- Does anything discolor them? Beer, wine, or cleaning solutions?
Nothing in my experience
- How good of a seal does the lid make.
Surprisingly good seal.
- Do I need to use the hauler made for them, or do Carboy haulers work?
Not sure, as my wife made all my haulers by sewing NRS straps together.
- Are they fragile at all? What will damage them.
Somewhat. If you dent them, they will form those white crease marks, like when you squeeze a plastic bottle of soda. I'm not sure what these crease marks do to the integrity of the fermenter.

-What surprised you about them?
How flexible they were.
How much I loved an easy to clean fermenter.
-What do I need to know that I don't know about?
Pretty much everything has been covered in this thread.

YMMV. Mine is the 6.5gal one that NB sells. There may be other brands that are more sturdy. Besides a conical or stainless brewing fermenter, i'll probably never switch back to buckets, better bottles, or glass. The ease of dry hopping & cleaning outweighs any negative thing about them.

chocotaco said:

What about oxygen permeability of PET vs HDPE? That's why I went with Better Bottles / BMBs vs Spiedel, but maybe I'm misguided.

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Not an issue. If you are going to bulk age, rack into a glass secondary (my 5-gallon glass BMB is perfect for this).

Morebeer.com has 15% off all Speidel Fermentors and free shipping. SPF15 is the promo code.

+ Clear so you can watch what's going on, see differences in color (clarity) when cold crashing, see the bottom of your siphon, etc.
+ Wide enough to put your arm into when cleaning
+ Don't have to worry about it breaking like glass
+ The lid screws on so you're not fighting with prying like you do with bucket lids

- No handles to carry it or hold for extra stability when cleaning/dumping (like the ones that fit around the carboy neck)
- The lid is two pieces...there's a flat piece that is interchangeable so you can buy lids with multiple or single port holes, and there's a collar that screws it down into place. If you want to remove the lid for something like dry-hopping you will have to use one hand to unscrew the collar and then pick up the other piece with another hand. This means you could be getting your fingers on the side or bottom of the lid if you're not careful, so I just hold the airlock (which is wedged into the lid with a bung) and lift it via the airlock...then I let the collar hang from the 2nd piece...it's a bit hard to describe but it can be a bit annoying removing a lid that is two pieces.

For what it's worth, I've used everything from glass carboys to stainless carboys/conicals/corneys and obviously plastic buckets and after getting two BigMouth B's (plastic 6.5's) can't consider using anything again. They are just WAY too easy to clean, lift and siphon out of. Also, I can instantly tell when my fermentation has kicked off, and simply tape my temp probe onto it for my Ranco. I have a bad back, but can easily lift it just from the rim with both hands into my temp controlled fridge. Like moving any carboy, just don't put any liquid in the airlock until it is set in the fridge. My only regret is spending money on all those fermenters, especially all the stainless ones. Stainless just simply isn't better......but I guess that is another topic for another day.

They are a smart design except the lid which is terrible. I have never gotten mine to seal for more than a few days. I used a 5 gallon BMB for 2.5 gallon batches and it always tried to suck the airlock liquid into the chamber. Now I just use it to transport RO water. Will be looking at other options in the future.

I have a couple. They move good with a hauler. I even left the airlock in and it didn't suck water back. Pretty easy to tilt the BMB and install or remove the hauler.

I don't know if the lid sealed perfectly or not. I was getting airlock activity so probably good enough. I'd guess you could use keg lube to get a better seal if it was giving you trouble.

Very light. Very easy to clean.

So far I like them. The only reason to use my glass carboy would be if these two are full.

aprichman said:

They are a smart design except the lid which is terrible. I have never gotten mine to seal for more than a few days. I used a 5 gallon BMB for 2.5 gallon batches and it always tried to suck the airlock liquid into the chamber. Now I just use it to transport RO water. Will be looking at other options in the future.

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They work well for normal fermentation where having a good seal isn't an issue, but I would not recommend long-term aging beer in one. I use the Big Mouths for pretty much all my primary ale fermentations, use traditional PET carboys for lagers and bulk aging.

I recently got one and found it very easy to work with. Mine also seemed to seal just fine but I've only used it a few times. Perhaps after many uses that will change.
Easy to clean and I got the straps which makes it easy for me to both put in and pick up the fermenter into my fermentation chamber.

I have two 6.5g and I like the wide mouth. They clean easy, and I like that they are clear. I think the seal could be a lot better and will probably try to solve that before I use them again. For now 2 is all I need and when it is time to buy another fermentor I will probably consider some type of conical.