Better bottle VS Glass??

[blowmax10]

so what is the difference in quality of the finished product?

is there an advantage to one VS the other??

 

[evandam]

so what is the difference in quality of the finished product?

is there an advantage to one VS the other??

There are probably a thousand threads on this and you are never going to get a strait answer, but I have a 2 glass a bucket and a better bottle and i would trade the 2 glass ones for better bottles any day. They call them better (safer, lighter) bottles for a reason. You don't want to have an accident with a glass carboy. I'm looking to sell mine on craigslists for 3/4ths of what it would cost me to buy BB's

 

[StickyWicket]

There are enormous threads on this very topic. But in short, I don't think anyone has suggested that either will matter in terms of the quality of the finished product. That is, both will make good beer. As for pros and cons . . . Glass is a bit easier to clean. And is generally known to be safe to your beer (no leaching or oxygen problems). Better Bottles burp and suck when you touch them. And while they're plastic, they're generally believed to have no leaching or oxygen issues. Also, they won't shatter into a million sharp deathly pieces if you handle them wrong.

In sum, use buckets and avoid the whole debate.

 

[Pelikan]

No difference in the quality of the finished product. I use buckets as primaries because they're easier to work with than either the Better Bottles or glass. For a secondary, I'm going with a 6 gallon better bottle and topping up with sterilized marbles. I had a 5 gallon glass, but it wasn't big enough for my brews (which tend toward 5.25ish, not including hops and other secondary additions). Glass, in my opinion, is a PITA to work with, and would be devastating in more ways than one if dropped.

 

[p4ck37p1mp]

I have both, beer is fine from both. Glass is easier to clean, BB are much lighter and easier to move around.

 

[Skins_Brew]

I have a 5 gallon glass carboy that i WAS using as a secondary until I noticed a 'bubble' in the glass. I immedialty ordered a better bottle. Here is a link to a whole page about people getting seriously messed up due to dropped glass carboys....

Broken Carboys - Lustreking Brewing

friend of mine also cut himself pretty bad. Cut 4 tendons and a nerve in 2 places back in July. Still in rehab and can almost make a fist. Damn thing was barley filled and the carboy was only a year old.I was a big fan of glass, but now use Better Bottles.

Yea I think I will pass on glass forever.

 

[harley03]

Well I am in the market to get a few more carboys and have decided to just go with the better bottles. Mostly due to the better bottles being half the price. If you use a better bottle one thing to remember is when you remove the beer from the primary or secondary was out the bottle right away that way it is very easy to clean.
If you are kind of lazy then I would probably go with glass because you could let the carboy sit and then scrub with a brush later without any issues.

 

[Revvy]

Gee I wonder if it's been covered so much that it maxes out the search feature?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/search.php?searchid=2819422


Yep it does (and these are just the ones where versus was spelled out)

 

[blowmax10]

Thanks for the info - i think i will go ahead and get one of the better bottles to try

 

[magickbottle]

ive never been tempted to try better bottles. i like glass because the gunk rinses out alot easier.

 

[Donner]

I've never had any issues with rinsing my better bottle. A little oxyclean and some hot water and a few few shakes and it's clean. I've also never worried about further injuring my back by lifting it and i've never thought twice about dropping it when it's empty.

Go to a home brew store, ask to lift a glass carboy and then ask to lift a better bottle. Then imagine an additional ~5 gallons of liquid.

 

[Pelikan]

I've never had any issues with rinsing my better bottle. A little oxyclean and some hot water and a few few shakes and it's clean. I've also never worried about further injuring my back by lifting it and i've never thought twice about dropping it when it's empty.

Go to a home brew store, ask to lift a glass carboy and then ask to lift a better bottle. Then imagine an additional ~5 gallons of liquid.

+1...When I bought my better bottle, I seriously thought there was nothing in the box. When I got it to the trunk of my car I was so uncertain that I had to open the box and verity something was in there.

I can lift a BB with one finger, whereas it took both hands to get a glass carboy up (not so much for the weigh, but to make sure it didn't fall out of my hands and grenade on me).

I'm glad I've gone better bottle. I'm not having a freak attack every time I have to fill/empty a carboy.

 

[Stile]

Wife got me a BB and it's under the tree now.. OMG OMG OMG!!! :rockin: :rockin:

 

[menschmaschine]

I use all Better Bottles (two 6 gallons for primary, two 5 gallons for secondary when necessary). I don't understand the posts on here stating glass is easier to clean than BBs. All I do is rinse out gunk, fill with water and about 2/3 scoop Oxyclean, let sit a couple days, rinse a few times, done. Never had to use a brush, dish cloth, etc.

 

[plumber]

Just lost a 6.5 glass to gravity today. It had 2.5 gal of Starsan in it and it was a mel of a hess. Enough water went all over that it came through into the basement celing and the sheet rock got wet. I am now switching to all Better Bottle because I do not need a shard of glass in one of my kids feet or another wet celing.

 

[cincimatt]

I just got a 6 Gal BB and am fermenting my first batch in it. I'm getting a little blowoff, but then again I may have got that with a 6.5 Gal carboy too. I was able to fit some ordinary racking tubing into my BB stopper for a blowoff tube.

 

[BlindLemonLars]

ive never been tempted to try better bottles. i like glass because the gunk rinses out alot easier.

If you had tried one, you'd find that wasn't true. In fact, I find the opposite is true...that better bottles are easier to soak clean.

 

[Donner]

swirling water around a bb is much, much easier and safer than a glass carboy. You can really get the water spinning since it's so light and if you drop it, well, you might get wet but that is about it.

 

[EdWort]

I love my Better Bottles. Light, easy to carry, easy to clean and you can do this and still ferment in one.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP6ZEenvRho]YouTube - Better Bottle Experiment[/ame]

 

[Pelikan]

Well, I think that pretty much seals it.

 

[BlindLemonLars]

I love my Better Bottles. Light, easy to carry, easy to clean and you can do this and still ferment in one.

So where is the corresponding video, with a glass carboy?

Another BB benefit that video demonstrates is that you wouldn't even lose much beer! Had you picked it up immediately, you'd have only lost a few quarts of water.

 

[Stile]

I have a 5 gallon glass carboy that i WAS using as a secondary until I noticed a 'bubble' in the glass. I immedialty ordered a better bottle. Here is a link to a whole page about people getting seriously messed up due to dropped glass carboys....

Broken Carboys - Lustreking Brewing



Yea I think I will pass on glass forever.

If the above link about people who have cut tendons, had surgery or other really bad things happen don't convince you........ then more power to you. We've all used glass in the past so nothing no harm no foul. I for one am getting to open my first BB on a few hours and it will be the first of several to come.

 

[Brewer_Steve]

I just bought my first better bottle.
Quick question...
I make beers and wines. I've heard that a plastic container should be dedicated to either wine or beer so that tastes from one won't get transfered to the other. If I use my plastic carboy for beer and then wine, will the wine get weird flavors from the beer???

 

[BlindLemonLars]

I make beers and wines. I've heard that a plastic container should be dedicated to either wine or beer so that tastes from one won't get transfered to the other. If I use my plastic carboy for beer and then wine, will the wine get weird flavors from the beer???

I wouldn't worry about it, that might be an issue with buckets, but not with Better Bottles which are made of a superior grade of PET plastic. Just soak it in PBW or Oxiclean after each batch, and it won't retain any smell at all.

 

[Brew-boy]

This is like beating a dead horse issue there is a big line in the sand on this issue. For me I would never own a plastic water jug, I prefer glass. Many people do like them so for them have at it. I would say buy one and see if YOU like it or not.

 

[BeerCanuck]

I use the glass 6 gallon bottles for primary along with a milk crate for portability/safety concerns. I do have 1 six gallon better bottle but I am apprehensive in using it when I recently got turned on to the technique of reusing the yeast and fermenter from a previous batch of beer.

Merry Christmas
BeerCanuck