Are Plastic Carboys A Problem??

[TwistedHalo]

When I purchased my equipment kit from Midwest Supplies I chose to go with the 5 gallon plastic carboy option. Since then I have read "How to Brew" by John Palmer. The immortal Mr. Palmer suggests, multiple times, in his book that plastic carboys are not good for secondary fermentation "because they are too oxygen permeable, causing staling." How much of a worry do you see this being? Obviously, a shorter amount of time in the carboy would allow for less chance of oxygenation. How long do you guys think it would take for a noticeable reaction to happen? I don't want stale or off tasting beer because of too much exposure to oxygen. Thanks for any answers!

The carboy in question http://www.midwestsupplies.com/the-bubbler-5-gallon-plastic-carboy.html

 

[Hopinista]

Fwiw, I've been using plastic for 5 years with zero problems.

 

[BryceL]

In my opinion, plastic carboys are just fine...and much safer to work with than glass carboys. If I was aging something in excess of a year, then I would either go with glass, or my favorite is to use a corny keg. There are some pretty gnarly stories on here about mishaps using glass carboys, so if you go that route, just be careful.

 

[garcia]

No.

 

[passedpawn]

They are great. Many brewers here, including me, have fermented beers for up to a year in plastic carboys without a problem.

 

[max384]

I used to use glass carboys until I found a big crack in the bottom of one after carrying it up a flight of stairs. I've seen many horror stories posted online of catastrophic (both injury and loss of beer) glass carboy failures. I always assumed they were being mishandled or not checked over carefully enough for cracks prior to filling. However, mine was handled gingerly and definitely crack-free before filling... So my new opinion is that glass carboys aren't worth the risk, even if they make slightly better beer, which I'm not convinced they do in an average beer that isn't aged for many months or years (and even then, I wonder how much of an affect on taste this has?).

But, instead I switched to the best of both worlds, Better Bottles. PET plastic is nearly impermeable to oxygen (though, not as much so as glass), and from what I've read the amount of oxygen that can permeate is negligible to brewers.

 

[alane1]

I use plastic exclusively for beer and reserve the glass for mead or wine.

 

[Yooper]

I'm a 135-pound weakling, and I find that the better bottles are just easier for me to handle, weight wise, as well as for safety reasons. While I rarely use them for beer anymore, I use them for wine constantly. The only time I have had any oxygen-related issues is when I used an orange "carboy cap" that was supposed to fit well- but it was a bit loose fitting. I didn't really notice that, and 6 months later had a slightly oxidized wine. The carboy next to it had a traditional stopper (same better bottle style, though) and was fine. So now I know to never use those carboy caps for long-term aging!

Anyway, if you really want to geek out with a bit of interesting reading on a study of oxygen permeability, those plastic carboys, and types of stoppers, here is a study I find very eye-opening;
http://www.better-bottle.com/pdf/CarboyPermeabilityStudy.pdf
and
http://www.mocon.com/pdf/optech/Closures - Oxygen Passage Study.pdf

If that's too much to want to read, the gist is that the stoppers (rubber, silicone, etc) are far more likely to cause gas permeability issues that the actual plastic carboy itself!

In other words, don't worry about a plastic carboy designed for brewing or winemaking. Water bottles from a water cooler may be quite different- a different kind of plastic and more gas permeable. But for the Better Bottles, there isn't any concern at all.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

They're fine. Just don't scratch the inside up when you clean them. Scrub them gently...

 

[kcmobrewer]

I prefer glass, but don't really have an aversion to plastic. Although I don't like buckets because they typically don't seal well. Better Bottles would be fine with me though.

I just bought big mouth bubbler wide mouth glass carboys which I love. Haven't had any trouble with them yet. *knocks on wood

 

[MaxStout]

The only time I have had any oxygen-related issues is when I used an orange "carboy cap" that was supposed to fit well- but it was a bit loose fitting.

I use those carboy caps for airlock and thermowell combinations, but I never trusted them to seal properly. So I use a ss hose clamp to hold it on tighter.

 

[Renoun]

They're fine. Just don't scratch the inside up when you clean them. Scrub them gently...

RTFM! One shouldn't be ever be scrubbing plastic carboys, definately not with a carboy brush. Soaks in appropriately diluted PBW, Oxiclean, or especially enzyme based deterrents are more appropriate. If necessary one can agitate them with a soft washcloth inside. Better Bottle publishes good detailed instructions for their carboys, I assume they are appropriate for other PET carboys.

One should be mindful of the type of plastic when choosing a fermentor/carboy. Stealing bottles from the office water cooler isn't necessary a good approach but the PET (polyethylene terephthalate copolymer) carboys sold for brewing seem to be working well for many people.

 

[HappiBrew]

They're supposedly better than buckets for long term fermentation because they aren't as oxygen permeable. This isn't an issue at all in primary (as it is under positive pressure). The only thing I have never liked about plastic is I struggle to get smells out. Even with PBW my buckets have always smelled like the hops I used in them.I ended up demoting the 2 buckets to grain milling and sanitizing and use glass exclusively now for fermentation with no issues.

 

[Thedutchtouch]

i use a bucket. it's cheap, blocks light, and beer tastes great out of it. YMMV.

 

[BigCypress]

Plastic carboys (I have 2.5 gallon Better Bottles) are just fine. The dimensions work better for me with my fermenting fridge and preferred batch size. No issues.


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[kappclark]

Plastic carboys (I have 2.5 gallon Better Bottles) are just fine. The dimensions work better for me with my fermenting fridge and preferred batch size. No issues.


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I use the 2.5 and 6 gal Better bottles ...

I don't think they make a 2.5 gal

 

[opiate82]

Something to remember when reading the books is that even by the authors own admission some of the info is outdated. Number #1 example I can think of is I think all the books *STILL* say you need to move your beer off the yeast and into a secondary ASAP or you'll get off flavors. We know with the higher quality yeasts we have access to now, that simply isn't true and I know Palmer has admitted as much.

When Palmer wrote that stuff about plastic buckets, it may have have been the case. But plastic buckets have gotten much better sealing lids (which I think is the real culprit of oxidation with plastic buckets, not the fact that plastic is "oxygen permeable") and plastic buckets/carboys are better designed specifically for homebrewing these days. With proper care plastic is fine.

 

[Reindeer]

I just bought big mouth bubbler wide mouth glass carboys which I love. Haven't had any trouble with them yet. *knocks on wood

I can tell you from experience that they work great until you drop one on the kitchen floor. Then it makes a huge jagged mess...

 

[BigCypress]

I use the 2.5 and 6 gal Better bottles ...



I don't think they make a 2.5 gal

You are correct. They are 3 gallons.


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