CW Crate - Plastic crates?

Anyone ever buy any of these plastic beer case boxes from CW Crate? I saw an ad in the latest issue of BYO for them.

My cardboard boxes are near (or past ) end of life and am looking for a better solution.

 

I'd be interested too. I saw them and they look nice.

 

At that price I'll be looking at plastic storage boxes at a box store for around $15 less. I may not be able to find one the right size but I'll definitely look first.

They do look nice though! So maybe?!?!

 

I have a feeling the wife got me a couple for Christmas. If so, I'll report back.

 

Those specialty crates are pricey. Money is much better spent on kegs.

 

It's hard to gift beer to friends and family in kegs.

 

not sure about you, but I've yet to gift 24 12oz or even 24 22oz bottles to any one person.

-=Jason=-

 

I gave (4) 24 cnt cases and (3) 12cnt 12oz of assorted Irish Ale, Brown Porter, Oatmeal Stout, Pale Ale and Barley Wine to family, friends and co-workers this Christmas season. Been doing this for years. I always get the bottles and boxes back as they are emptied. I am hoping the plastic crates would be more durable and add a touch of class

 

I need to find a solution also, as most of my boxes are getting pretty hammered.

Those look pretty cool, but they are quite pricey !

 

I have two of the 12oz crates. They are durable and look pretty nice. They're similar to the old style flip top beer case...love those old cases.
I used to tote my beer in plastic milk crates, but these look a lot nicer. On my last outing, I spilled some beer in one of the crates...hosed it out when I got home and it's good to go.
The wife also doesn't mind these hanging around as much as the milk crates.
I might buy two of the 22oz crates as well...those don't fit nicely in my milk crate and my cardboard cases are reaching the end of their life.

My only negative comment is that the CW logo sticker is a real pain to get off. I like the crates, but CW can keep the logo sticker.

 

Thanks storrance!!!

 

seems I need to brew more so I can gift it. if I gave out that much I'd have nothing left for me.


-=Jason=-

 

For gifting I bought some Kraft carriers. I bought a small quantity for about a buck a piece. You can get 140 for $50.

I need to find some milk crates to use for other storage though. These look like they'd break the bank.

 

I also have some of the CW crates. They are VERY sturdy. A bit of a PITA to put together, but not too bad. The material is like a plastic version of corrugated cardboard. It's very stiff, so when you are first building the boxes you have a bit of work just flexing the stuff where it's supposed to fold. That being said, once the boxes are together they are quite strong and no worries about spilling liquids on them or anything. In fact you could probably throw some ice in there to keep the beers cool, and use it as a temporary cooler of sorts.

 

I brew 10 gal batches and have 1/2 keg each of the porter and Irish, full keg of the Stout and about a case of the barley wine left. All of my brew sessions in Oct. were for Christmas gifts except the barley wine which I brewed Dec 2010.

 

I posted in the Reviews section - I like mine!

 

Where did you get the 4 pack holder and how did you print on it?

 

I bought 8 of the 12oz crates and 4 of the 22oz ones for my grolsh bottles from CW. They are great! They're like a 'plastic cardboard'. I like how the top folds over for dust protections and good stack-ability. My bottle collection was getting out of hand and CW crates have really dressed up my brewshed and helped with organization.

With my order, it worked out to about $12 per crate. Heck, i was looking for cheap alternatives also but really couldn't find anything much cheaper that would work this well.

One con, most of my grolsh are old brown ones that are a little to big. I can fit them but have to leave 3 or 4 blank spots. The owner of CW warned me that some flip tops don't fit, but he mentioned the flare bottles and i didn't think mine flared. The newer green bottles fit fine.

 

Thanks to all the HBT'ers for their comments and reviews of the product. I placed an order with CW Crate. The final tipping point for me, Made in the USA!!!

 

I use milk crates which stack and each can hold one case of beers in half the footprint of any beercase plastic or cardboard.

 

Rev, I agree the plastic crates are an awesome option. My prob before I found CW was that good, heavy ones are very expensive everywhere I looked a couple months ago. I agree they have advantages. I do like the divided bottles of the CW crates...less clanking.

On another note, I need to give you kudos for your bottling thread. I've copied your setup and have really streamlined my bottling process. 1st batch was a 4 hour ordeal...got it down to a science now!

 

I know this is an old thread, but anyone know of any CW crate alternatives? They closed up shop.

 

I bought 6 white plastic file folder crates at Walmart online for something like 24 bucks. I put 25 bottles or so in each. No brainer.