Pros and Cons of glass carboys

[ilv4xn]

I currently have 4 8gal plastic bucket style fermenters as well as 5 glass carboys. I am thinking about selling my carboys but want opinions before I did anything drastic (like selling brew gear)

Pro’s
Can be sanitized after a sour batch
Can be sanitized after an infection

Con’s
Heavy
Risk of life and limb if dropped
A raging bastard it clean vs bucket
Not much room for foam
Air locks get plugged up
Can’t be stacked

 

[Dog House Brew]

I currently have 4 8gal plastic bucket style fermenters as well as 5 glass carboys. I am thinking about selling my carboys but want opinions before I did anything drastic (like selling brew gear)

Pro’s
Can be sanitized after a sour batch
Can be sanitized after an infection

Con’s
Heavy
Risk of life and limb if dropped
A raging bastard it clean vs bucket
Not much room for foam
Air locks get plugged up
Can’t be stacked

The pros, that is short list. I never sell anything. I have 4-6 and 3-5 gallon carboys. I only use 1 or 2 of them for oaking my RIS, or when I add anything for age. So keep a couple and sell some if you need the space or cash.

 

[Zimm9]

I think you got most of the pros and cons down. I'd add a pro of better for long term aging. Then again, many swear the plastic Better Bottles do just as well.

The cons are enough to convince me not to mess with them, even if someone gave me one for free.

 

[browning348]

The Big Mouth Bubblers by Northern Brewer look pretty nice. They make all the claims to the pro’s that glass carboys have.

 

[millsbrew]

Long term aging in glass limits O2 into the brew. I use my glass for aging and sours and SS Brewtech conical for primary.

 

[JohnSand]

Pro: You never have to replace them unless you break them.
You can see through them which is cool.

Con: You can't reach inside to clean them unless you have a really skinny arm.

 

[MrRogi]

Con’s
Air locks get plugged up

I have a few that I use for secondary fermentation for wine, but I haven’t used them for primary fermentation yet.

I recently made a mini fridge fermentation chamber. I have wine fermenting in it right now, and it’s bubbling like it’s going out of style. I have a blow off hose going into a small plastic bucket with sanitizer, and I have not had any issues.

 

[Amadeo38]

Pro - never worry about scratches. I’ve had the same 6 gal glass carboy since day one.
Con - dry-hopping in a muslin bag with more than an ounce of hops is a royal pain to pull out of a narrow neck prior to racking.

 

[radwizard]

I have 2 conicals and many carboys (better bottles) - I have never used a bucket style fermenter.

I use plastic carboys for sours and funky stuff. The opening on plastic is easier to deal with, and I don't have to worry about a carboy breaking and losing my beer. I have aged beers for over a year in plastic (always topped off) and have never had issues with O2 in an aging beer.

 

[RM-MN]

If your bucket are HDPE plastic they can be sanitized after any batch, sour or not. dump it a couple gallons of boiling water and put the lid on. The lid will reach temperature over 170, perfect for sanitizing. There are very few organisms that can survive that temp for an extended time.

Another con of the glass carboys it that the can break at any time without warning. I prefer to long-term age my beer in glass bottles.

I have and still use the original plastic bucked and it has survived for over 10 years. Scratches don't much matter if you heat sanitize them.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I don't use glass anymore. I do my long term aging in a corny keg. Easy to purge O2, easy to draw samples, easy to spund, easy to clean, unlikely to break.

Frankly I've been surprised everyone doesn't do it that way.

 

[springinloose1]

I'll never use a bucket ever again... I did a double batch in buckets and blew both lids clean off making an enormous mess... So now it's glass all the way with 1" blow off tubes.

Also, here's a tip to clean the glass because I used to list cleaning as a con too but if you loosely roll a kitchen hand towel corner to corner and feed into the carboy, and rubber band the other end of the towel to the inlet of the carboy to secure it with a little water in the bottom, you can shake the carboy; it reminds me of an automated car wash... never does a good job, but if it's mostly clean to start with, it'll remove any caked on crud like a charm. Also, get intimate with PBW, that stuff is amazing. A 24 hour soak always produces results 100% of the time. I bought the Mark keg washer... it's just ok... in a battle of battles, a caked up primary will win every time. It's better to sanitize vessels than clean them.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I don't use glass anymore. I do my long term aging in a corny keg. Easy to purge O2, easy to draw samples, easy to spund, easy to clean, unlikely to break.

Frankly I've been surprised everyone doesn't do it that way.

This.
I haven't used a carboy in years, and plastic is definitively inferior.
Stainless steel is the way to go.
It can be expensive, but you can always find used corny kegs on the cheap. I picked up four for $25 each from a beverage distributor that went out of business last year. Granted, they needed cleaning and refurb, but for a few dollars in parts, $100 got me four more kegs.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

This.
I haven't used a carboy in years, and plastic is definitively inferior.
Stainless steel is the way to go.
It can be expensive, but you can always find used corny kegs on the cheap. I picked up four for $25 each from a beverage distributor that went out of business last year. Granted, they needed cleaning and refurb, but for a few dollars in parts, $100 got me four more kegs.

Agreed. Sell the glass, buy stainless steel.

It fits the "pros" listed for carboys with regards to sanitation, and it's not going to break and sever your appendages.

And I'm personally not sure why anyone would need 9 fermenting vessels. Get 1-2 stainless fermenters (SS Brew bucket works, conical if you want it, Sanke keg with this kit if you want to save $$), and then you can bulk age [secondary] if you want to in corny kegs which are pretty cheap, and use them for serving if you keg.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Agreed. Sell the glass, buy stainless steel.

It fits the "pros" listed for carboys with regards to sanitation, and it's not going to break and sever your appendages.

And SS equipment will outlive all of us.

 

[Kent88]

I typically just make 3-gallon batches. Not as big a risk when it comes to moving around something that big as opposed to a 5 or 6 gallon carboy.

I'm sure the day is coming when I drop a full carboy on my foot, but I find the 3-gallon variety fairly manageable.

 

[shoengine]

Your cons list is fairly complete. I am holistically embracing stainless in my process. I am willing to put up with glass now as overflow or long-term conditioning. For instance, I have a single brew bucket with a pilsner in it. Once I am ready to lager I am going to rack to a carboy to free up the bucket.

 

[mattdee1]

Plastic bucket primary, bulk age in corny keg. For the f'in win.

Dead simple, inexpensive, easy to clean, stackable, great durability-to-weight ratio, built-in handle to carry with one hand... I can't think of a single real drawback. I know there are claimed drawbacks, but claims don't concern me.

 

[doogie]

Another pro is that you can see your beer fermenting. I switched to stainless and I miss being able to watch my yeasties party, but the ease of cleanup and carrying a full fermenter downstairs tipped the scale for me.

 

[jalc6927]

Big mouth plastic fermenters with spigots is the only way to go, they have handles, they don’t shatter, easy to clean and much lighter

 

[browning348]

Big mouth plastic fermenters with spigots is the only way to go, they have handles, they don’t shatter, easy to clean and much lighter

I’m looking at these. Big mouth with the spigot is great, especially since I’m just doing bottle priming instead of batch priming

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Your cons list is fairly complete. I am holistically embracing stainless in my process. I am willing to put up with glass now as overflow or long-term conditioning. For instance, I have a single brew bucket with a pilsner in it. Once I am ready to lager I am going to rack to a carboy to free up the bucket.

Why not lager in a corny keg? Then you can serve right out of it or transfer to another if you want to leave any sediment behind.

 

[shoengine]

Why not lager in a corny keg? Then you can serve right out of it or transfer to another if you want to leave any sediment behind.

Assuming one has a corny keg or two, that would be an excellent plan.

 

[GPP33]

The big pro for me with going from glass to a fermonster is the ability to drain through a valve on the bottom and no longer fuss with siphons. I attach keg ball lock disconnects at the port and in the lid which makes it easy to drain (including start/stop) do an O2 free transfer (including pumping CO2 through the lines) and get every last drop of beer out, plus it keeps a clean environment should I want to reuse the yeast. You can do this in glass carboys with a pressure transfer but it's more of a pain and has the risk of pressurized glass and things being inserted into the beer.

 

[jleiii]

Since the pros and cons have been pretty we covered, I'll comment on experience with glass carboys.

My original carboys are glass, and 5 1/2 years later I still have the original 2, plus 2 more I bought the following year when they were on sale, a 6.5, 6 and 2 5's. I have never used a bucket, but I do have 4 plastic carboys (a 6 and 3 5's), and a FastFerment 7 gal Conical.
My go to primary for dry hopped (or any with bulky additives) beers it the conical, the glass 6.5 for bigger beers, glass 6 for not so bigger beers (unless the 6.5 is free), and plastic 6 on the rare occasion I need another primary. For secondaries I use the glass 5's if they will be aged, and plastic if no aging.
The #1 rule I have is they never leave the plastic milk crates, except to be cleaned or sanitized, and they return directly to the crate after draining in my deepsink. I have a keg/carboy washer, and for the rare occasion that is not enough, a long handle brush. From initial fill to final siphon I carry them around by the milk crate, and as little as possible.
The glass 5's are stored in the milk crates with a second crate on top (with the bottom removed) and the 6's in crates on top of them, with my various buckets upside down on top of them. The 6's are too tall for the double crate, so they have to be on top. The plastic carboys all lie on shelves.
I have a -very- old smooth sided 5 I got from another HB'er clearing out excess inventory that will be dedicated to lagering in my custom glycol fermentation cabinet, but I've not setup the jacket for it yet. It also lives in a crate. The newer ones with the ribbed sides don't do as well with the heat/cooling transfer. I also have a glass 3 that I've only used once to age a small batch barrel stout. It lives in a plastic bucket.
There are plenty of horror stories about glass carboys, but with diligent dedication to safe handling I'm pretty comfortable with glass. Now I'll go home and break one! I've got the glass 6.5 in a cooler (glycol is down) with a Baltic Porter in primary, and soon to me moved to the secondary.
Cheers!

 

[ilv4xn]

Well I am glad to hear I am not the only one. Thanks for all the input. I think the buck primary and keg secondary is the way way to go. As far as needing 7-9 fermentors goes. I may have made 4 10gal batches one day while the wife was out of town. I had to use my carboys as I only have 4 8gal fermentors. I am one corny keg short so I had to rack into a carboy. Till I drink one.

 

[ilv4xn]

Agreed. Sell the glass, buy stainless steel.

It fits the "pros" listed for carboys with regards to sanitation, and it's not going to break and sever your appendages.

And I'm personally not sure why anyone would need 9 fermenting vessels. Get 1-2 stainless fermenters (SS Brew bucket works, conical if you want it, Sanke keg with this kit if you want to save $$), and then you can bulk age [secondary] if you want to in corny kegs which are pretty cheap, and use them for serving if you keg.

When using the keg kit do you primary in a keg or only secondary? How do you get the 3” of true out?

 

[day_trippr]

[...]As far as needing 7-9 fermentors goes. I may have made 4 10gal batches one day while the wife was out of town.[...]

My Spousal Unit could up and leave me and I still couldn't pull that off

Cheers!

 

[Cavpilot2000]

When using the keg kit do you primary in a keg or only secondary? How do you get the 3” of true out?

I've done primary in kegs, but there are drawbacks.
1: You can only put just over 5 gallons into one, so by the time you lose blowoff and trub, you are looking at as little as 4 gallons into secondary. Not ideal when you are trying to make 5 gallons of beer.
2: You will suck up a fair amount of trub and yeast sediment when you rack to secondary.

I solved number 1 by getting a SS Brewbucket. It's stainless, which is better than plastic or glass, it has a bottom valve for racking (with a rotating racking arm), and I can put 6 gallons in it to ensure 5 go into the secondary corny keg.

When I was still doing primary in a keg, you mitigate number 2 by cutting an inch or two off the keg's dip tube. That way it isn't sucking off the very bottom. It reduces trub transfer by a lot.

 

[seatazzz]

I've got three plastic bucket fermenters (all 6.5 gallon) and one 7.5 gallon glass carboy. I will only use the carboy if I've brewed something that I don't need to dry hop and have overshot the volume. It's hell to clean and heavy as heck. It was free so I will use it about once every few months. If you take care of your plastic buckets correctly (use nothing scratchy to clean and sanitize properly, and store the spigots separately when not in use) they'll last a long time. All of my spigots are stored in a big mason jar of starsan until I need them.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

When using the keg kit do you primary in a keg or only secondary? How do you get the 3” of true out?

So I ferment 10 gallon batches in a 15.5 gal Sanke. I generally calculate my recipes for a little overshoot on volume so I am assured to get 2 completely full cornies, so my recipes are generally for 10.5-11 gal final volume. I'd rather leave a little leftover than miss a full keg, especially since I don't brew as often as I'd like to. Time>money.

I use it as a primary. I don't secondary. Since I serve out of kegs, the kegs will continue to clear in the fridge.

As for the 3" of trub [I assume you meant trub rather than true], basically I'm racking off the top like you would with a standard racking cane. The kit allows you to move the racking cane up and down so you can monitor the beer coming through the tube into the keg and you know whether you're pulling clear beer or trub. I can fill both corny kegs before I start getting down to the trub.

After transfer, I just pour out what's leftover in the Sanke. If I want to re-use yeast, I keep a sanitized vessel and pour some slurry into that while discarding the rest.

FYI the other advantage is that I have my blowoff tube rigged up to a MFL fitting, so I can hook up a CO2 tank directly to the tube. So I transfer under CO2 pressure rather than needing a siphon. This way I never have to lift the fermenting keg up high; I can just leave it in my fermentation fridge. As a result, I don't disturb the trub, resulting in clearer wort during transfer.

 

[norsk]

I have been using the same 7 gal plastic buckets with a tap on the bottom for close to 8 years. Also have a SS bucket, but usually have 2 or 3 beers going at the same time. Tried the glass carboy thing one time when I first began, never saw the attraction. Works for me...

 

[Sadu]

I have lost a couple of batches to critters hiding in the scratches of plastic, despite best efforts to sanitise. I ferment in kegs now. The size is definitely awkward if you want 5 gallons of beer, so I ferment a gallon in a glass demijohn and add it back to the keg when things slow down. Not ideal but seems to work well enough.