Better Bottles vs. glass carboys

[slnies]

I dont think I could ever use those plastic water bottles, I just prefer good Ol glass. I have never broke one and I cannot scratch the glass from my brush. I did make and upgrade this year to a conical so I do not use the carboy as much now.

You don't need a brush in a better bottle. The great part is that the mouth is wide enough to slide a wash cloth inside, then you swirl, baby swirl! When its clean you tip it over and pull the cloth out. No brush, and the cloth has more surface area. Not that that matters.

 

[Dr Vorlauf]

You don't even need the wash cloth if you choose the proper cleaning compounds. Just soak and rinse.

 

[slnies]

You don't even need the wash cloth if you choose the proper cleaning compounds. Just soak and rinse.

I like that even better.

 

[paranode]

Better Bottles seem like a good idea, I just can't bring myself to get rid of the glass carboys I already have. I don't use glass for primary fermentation and never raise a glass carboy above waist's height (like on a counter or anything) so I mitigated most of the risk I suppose. They are damn heavy though.

 

[Jumbo82]

I've never used a BB, but I'm all for glass:

I don't worry about scratching glass,

It's easy to get clean, and remove odors (ale pales are PITA to remove odors, not sure about BB's),

I don't like my carboy to flex when lifted (full),

I don't worry about what's in glass, because it can ALWAYS be cleaned,

It will last 10 lifetimes if taken care of,

It won't break down, or cloud if left in the sun,

It looks more professional/sanitary,

And I don't like plastics. I will by food products in a glass jar, over plastic every time. There's too many articles about all the chemicals that can be imparted into food from plastic containers.

+1 we appear to be in the minority, but I use glass for all the same reasons

 

[SomedumbJerk]

i just bought two better bottles because they had free shipping, and the carboys didn't. i made Edworts apfelwien in it last week, and i didn't even need a funnel, which was nice, and it was easier to pick up and swirl around. my girlfriend (who is rediculously supportive about my brewing habit) was busting my balls:
"didn't we just get rid of the buckets you bought becuase they where plastic?"
"yeah, but these ones are better!"
"*******! it's still plastic! i could have gotten you empty water bottles for nothing!"
i go on to explain the difference, and she goes on to ignore me.
but the wieght thing is a huge benefit, i ferment in a coset in an unused room, and it has shelving just above my waist, and the less 10+ lbs is huge when you're exhausted after riding a bike all day, or drinking all day...

 

[Bytor1100]

I have 7 carboys, but imagine I will migrate to BB's if i need more(unless I go bigger all together). I love my carboys, but do worry sometimes. I'm always extra carful when working with them.

 

[GrantK]

I've gone from glass to B.B.'s myself and couldn't be happier. Don't get me wrong, I liked glass when I was using it but once I had the chance to go to the B.B's I jumped at it. After fermentation of my last glass batch I noticed a small crack on the bottom of the carboy, don't know how it came to be but I couldn't use it again, that was on the 24 liter carboy. Now I still have a couple of 40 liter, that's right, 40 liter GLASS carboys that I'd like to unload in the IL/WI area if anyone’s interested, check out the classifieds section.

 

[Kevin Dean]

I'm sure everyone has or will give pros and con's for each.

I use a SINGLE glass carboy (because it was given to me), a half dozen BB's and two plastic plaes.

Glass is a no-no in Newspeak Brewery. Everything else is fair game.

 

[sause]

Started with glass and then bought a better bottle and will from now on use glass again. I don't like the idea of not being able to fully clean the inside(i.e. soaking with oxi-clean...). Also you don't have to worry if you made a sour beer in it or not(which I do). And weight is not really a huge thing when the liquid inside of it is ~8 times heavier than the carboy.

 

[nugget]

I was wondering about the 5 gallon water jugs I seen at walmart... I did not have time to stop and look at them but I figured I'd go back to see what they were made of but also I could ask too. They seem to have been for water dispensers (think talking around the water cooler at work idea)

 

[Bytor1100]

They are probably made out of #7 reyclables

 

[nugget]

Ok, I'll make sure I take a look at them sometime to see what they are made of, but since they are only about 7 bucks I'm gonna guess not the best for brewing beer.

 

[BlackRob]

I picked up the BB on my LHBS's recommondation. I was told they made a Flemish beer with live, active bacteria in a BB, cleaned it up and out, then made a pale ale in the same BB which came out amazing.
I use my BB for apfelwein, and my glass carboy for dry hopping, the plastic buckets work great for the primary.

 

[Ton]

all this talk about BB's and has no one noticed how nice it is siphoning beer out of them? The cone indent on the bottom makes a nice place to trub and yeast to settle, and every time i've racked to bottle, I get more trub free beer than I have with buckets or glass carboys.

which is why I vote BB's (the weight things is nice too )

 

[Bender]

all this talk about BB's and has no one noticed how nice it is siphoning beer out of them? The cone indent on the bottom makes a nice place to trub and yeast to settle, and every time i've racked to bottle, I get more trub free beer than I have with buckets or glass carboys.

which is why I vote BB's (the weight things is nice too )

I haven't tossed my glass carboys, but I'm about to put them in the attic. With 3 buckets and 3 BBs I do all my my primary in buckets and all of my secondary in BBs. No more racking canes, not more siphoning. Life is good.

 

[flylock_jac]

I was wondering about the 5 gallon water jugs I seen at walmart... I did not have time to stop and look at them but I figured I'd go back to see what they were made of but also I could ask too. They seem to have been for water dispensers (think talking around the water cooler at work idea)

I just found a site that has 5 gallon PET bottles (same as B.B.)for dirt cheap.
They also have 3 gallon HDPE bottles (same stuff they make Ale pails from)
I bought 2 of the 3 gallon bottles (I brew small batches or can split a larger one.)
With shipping it was 17.56 for the pair.
The 5 gallon PET bottles are $8.95.

Welcome to our Company

 

[conpewter]

I bought two 4 gallon PET bottles at Menards today, 5.99 each. I'll probably end up splitting some batches to do some tests (these would be great for 3 gallon batches).

Also I was at woodman's today and saw an 8 gallon pot with lid for $25 which would be great to do AG in if I didn't have a keggle already.

 

[flylock_jac]

I just found a site that has 5 gallon PET bottles (same as B.B.)for dirt cheap.
They also have 3 gallon HDPE bottles (same stuff they make Ale pails from)
I bought 2 of the 3 gallon bottles (I brew small batches or can split a larger one.)
With shipping it was 17.56 for the pair.
The 5 gallon PET bottles are $8.95.

Welcome to our Company

Well I give these guys two thumbs up for customer service. Place my order on Sat and they are closed weekends.
Got a call yesterday from them explaining they were out of stock on the 3 gallon bottles.
I asked to speak with customer service , and was quickly switched over.
I explained to the Rep that I was somewhat upset as they had already taken the fees from my Debit account and I didn't want to wait two weeks for the new shipment.
She explained that they processed the billing because they were unaware that they were out of stock and offered to overnight me a cashiers check as a refund , or substitute other bottles.
I explained about the HDPE and PET bottles for brewing. Her reply was, no problem we will gladly send you the 5 gallon PET bottles for your trouble.
I agreed and thanked her for the upgrade.
They arrived this morning , She went the extra step and overnighted me the bottles.
so for less than 20 bucks I got two 5 gallon PET bottles and overnight shipping.
I sent her a thank you email.
This is the kind of customer service that makes a company stand out amongst the others.

 

[rico567]

Number me among those who is making the transition. I received two 5 gal. glass carboys with my original kit. I'd heard good things about the PETE Better Bottles, so when I needed a third carboy, I ordered one. It's lighter, but it seems much easier to handle than just the 10 pound difference. I suspect it's because it's also smaller in dimension than glass. The safety factor is undeniable. I could also say that I'd never had a problem with my glass carboys, and that would be true....until it isn't. I'm going to move to the Better Bottle, and never look back.

 

[Beau815]

Not sure about them PET bottles on the above site. I mean they are 20 bucks cheaper than BB's so im guessing the right lids are hard to find and regular ones dont fit or maybe the plastic is alot cheaper than BB's. Somethings up right? BB's are made from something more durable or thicker? Any ideas?

 

[jpc]

Not sure about them PET bottles on the above site. I mean they are 20 bucks cheaper than BB's so im guessing the right lids are hard to find and regular ones dont fit or maybe the plastic is alot cheaper than BB's. Somethings up right? BB's are made from something more durable or thicker? Any ideas?

$20 cheaper than Better Bottles? Does that mean you can get them for $4 a piece?

Yo soy confusedo.

 

[maztec]

I prefer glass, for the reasons stated earlier - chemicals/cleaning/clearness/etc. I am not a fan of plastic.

That, and my cousin had a set of BB's that didn't do so well in a hot truck bed while being moved from one location to another. On the other hand, the glass ones were fine.

 

[beergutz]

After 1 + years they start to wear down. I have had 3 break from normal handling in the past 4 months. They tend to flex while being lifted and moved even when you are careful. This causes the bottoms to crack and well your out a bottle and what ever is in it. I am not sure if the milk create thing will work. I am going to give that a try on the remaining 3 bottles I have. I have moved to glass because they never age. The chemical and clean factor are huge too.