Glass carboys, real talk.

[fxdrider]

Gotta say, I really don't get why folks are getting offended in this thread. No one is saying anyone is "dumb" or "stupid". No one is saying you can't use glass, or has sponsored legislation banning glass carboys or requiring a background check for their purchase. (Have they?)
All that I and others here who've decided to use plastic are saying is that WE'VE decided to use plastic. You don't have to just because we do, just like we don't have to use glass just because you do. Use glass all you want. Odds are that if you're careful, you'll never have a problem, as many of you have proven by your successful use of glass for many years, incident-free. Just please don't be offended because we (plastic-users) choose not to use glass. We get to, just like you get to use glass if you want. It's a free country, right?

 

[kombat]

But why not avoid dangerous things if there's an alternative?

Because the "alternative" is not without drawbacks of its own.

If plastic buckets were strictly better than glass carboys in every possible way, this wouldn't be an argument. The whole discussion here is weighing the relative benefits and limitations of each vessel against each other, and how different brewers assess different value to each trait.

Plastic buckets are harder to seal, increase risk of oxidation, scratch easier, and obscure the beer from visible inspection. To some folks, none of those issues are important. To others, they are deal-breakers.

 

[Pappers_]

But why not avoid dangerous things if there's an alternative? I think that's all that us plastic people are saying. And I've stated several times, all the common sense in the world won't save you from an accident.

The one infection I've had was due to a scratched Better Bottle. I started brewing with an ale pail but grew tired of the lid not seating correctly. I've used glass carboys for years now, because they are best for me based on the above experiences. Buckets and BBs might be better choices for others. One size does not fit all, in this case.

 

[Pappers_]

Gotta say, I really don't get why folks are getting offended in this thread. No one is saying anyone is "dumb" or "stupid". No one is saying you can't use glass, or has sponsored legislation banning glass carboys or requiring a background check for their purchase. (Have they?)
All that I and others here who've decided to use plastic are saying is that WE'VE decided to use plastic. You don't have to just because we do, just like we don't have to use glass just because you do. Use glass all you want. Odds are that if you're careful, you'll never have a problem, as many of you have proven by your successful use of glass for many years, incident-free. Just please don't be offended because we (plastic-users) choose not to use glass. We get to, just like you get to use glass if you want. It's a free country, right?

You need to read back through the thread, there are several "why would any sane person use glass carboys?" posts.

 

[DrunkleJon]

to go back to the first post. My assumption is that the carboy may have been jarred when set down throughout its life. This could have happened several times before the OP got it, probably got set down less than feather light between then and the incident. I think that may be what weakens the bottom ring and the pressure of 5 gallons of delicious delicious beer was too much for it when he picked it up. I am glad though that no one got hurt.

As for the plastic/glass/fish tank debate. Use what you want. Be careful regardless of what you use as 5 gallons of beer being dropped on your foot hurts regardles of what it is in when it falls. So long as your way works for you, use it. Just if you use glass, please wear shoes and be extra careful to not shred yourself should one break. We do not need to be losing brewers. You guys and gals are some of the best people I know.

 

[Kolsch_Meister]

I've done one batch in glass. I can see the attraction of the glass. I will be doing more in the carboy in the future. Most batches well continue to get fermented in plastic buckets.

 

[AnOldUR]

I still go with the problem in the OP being that a room temperature carboy was set on the bottom coils of a freezer and it shocked the glass. It just didn’t fracture until lifted. Even if a freezer is temperature controlled, it’s an on-off thing. When it’s on the surface temperature is extremely cold.

 

[texcan2000]

I've got 3 of each and use whatever is empty. I understand people wanting to minimize risk. I'm careful when moving all my carboys. Both my 5 gallon carboys are glass though. I prefer to lager in glass. I suppose I could use cornies for lagering but I find quite a bit of trub in secondaries after lagering.

 

[logan3825]

Omg. It's an opinion people. Get over yourselves!

It's a joke dude.

 

[fxdrider]

I still go with the problem in the OP being that a room temperature carboy was set on the bottom coils of a freezer and it shocked the glass. It just didn’t fracture until lifted. Even if a freezer is temperature controlled, it’s an on-off thing. When it’s on the surface temperature is extremely cold.

That's an interesting point. Maybe we should be placing our carboys on something in the freezer, to avoid that sort of contact. Maybe something as simple as a towel or rubber mat?

 

[Homercidal]

For me, the benefits of glass carboys aren't enough to make me want to switch back. I did a few batches in a glass carboy when I first started out back in '90-91. Worked fine.

At some point I brewed a batch while the first one was still fermenting. So I bought a cheap plastic fermenting bucket and it worked fine. Now I use bucket pretty much exclusively for all primaries, and the glass carboy for anything that is going to sit for like 6 weeks or more, which is mostly the rare batch of wine.

The small things like scratches (which are pretty easy to avoid if you are even slightly careful from the start), oxidation from opening the lid (I don't open the lid to check the beer, I can peek in through the airlock bung), etc. do not affect the final beer enough to make me concerned. The fact is, most batches of beer will do just fine even with a small opening.

In that same thought, I often use an S shaped airlock with the proper amount of fluid and don't worry about the small amount of air that might get in during suckback.

IMO there is way too much worry about a small amount of air getting into a primary. I only worry about O2 during a long secondary, which I don't do very often. In that event I DO prefer a carboy purged with CO2 and with minimal headspace. But even then, a Better Bottle or similar vessel is as good in most ways. One thing that helps is that I secondary in a keg. Sometimes it's the serving keg, and sometimes I transfer the cleared beer into a sanitized serving vessel using a jumper hose.

So much more could go wrong with other parts of the brewing process, such as temperature, yeast health and pitch rate, recipe formulation, freshness of ingredients, etc. I'm not going to worry about the very tiny potential difference plastic has compared to glass. Not for the length of time in the average fermentation, anyway.

 

[progmac]

Another question...if you;re going to use plastic, why get so hung up on the carboy form, like a Better Bottle? What is it about that form you prefer? Personally, I find that the larger opening of buckets makes them easier to clean, and you can stack them for storage so they take up less room. So, what's the fascination with the carboy form?

Denny, ive really been soaking in your comments in this thread..hopefully you're still following it...

I'm wondering what type of vessel do you use for lagering and/or secondary? Im mostly interested in this discussion of the carboy form moreso than the discussion of material used. The lagering/2ndary is the stage where i always use my carboys. I always assumed the carboy form was meaningful at that point. What do you think?

 

[kombat]

a room temperature carboy was set on the bottom coils of a freezer

Freezers have coils in the floor? Are you sure? I was under the impression that the coils were only in the sides.

 

[Denny]

Denny, ive really been soaking in your comments in this thread..hopefully you're still following it...

I'm wondering what type of vessel do you use for lagering and/or secondary? Im mostly interested in this discussion of the carboy form moreso than the discussion of material used. The lagering/2ndary is the stage where i always use my carboys. I always assumed the carboy form was meaningful at that point. What do you think?

I almost never use a secondary, although I'm going back to it more for batches I dry hop. Stan Hieronymous wrote a great Zymurgy article about the interaction between hops and yeast and after reading it I found I prefer to get the beer off the yeast before dry hopping. So, for that I xfer the beer to a corny. I do the same thing for lagering because a keg takes up less room in my fridge than a carboy. The actual form/shape of the container doesn't matter for that. I still have a dozen+ carboys and I may use one once or twice a year if I have no other options, or if I make a batch of wine (seldom).

 

[gometz]

Slightly on topic: does anyone know of a better carboy hauler than is normally available? I get scared by the snap that connects it around the sides. I feel like it wouldn't be too hard to get one that just goes around the whole carboy.

For reference this is the one I am using now:
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=10995

 

[Beernik]

The snap on mine is quite sturdy. I worry less about it than making sure all the leg straps are equally spaced around the carboy.

I only use my glass carboys for wines, meads, and Brett beers. Basically anything I'm worried about possibly staining, leaving odors, or resulting in an infection in a plastic bucket.

I hardly used them last year. But this year I've done a wine, a melomel, a cyser, and a Brett beer.

 

[Homercidal]

Slightly on topic: does anyone know of a better carboy hauler than is normally available? I get scared by the snap that connects it around the sides. I feel like it wouldn't be too hard to get one that just goes around the whole carboy.

For reference this is the one I am using now:
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=10995

I have a brew hauler and the snap that attaches to the side is not really weight bearing. It just helps keep the lifting straps in position.

They are really way overkill for the amount of tension they receive.

 

[Mordhaus]

If it helps anyone who uses a Brewhauler, I wrap a bungee cord around my carboy and it not only keeps the straps of the hauler where I want them, I also use it to hold the styrofoam shielded temperature probe of my A419 in place during fermentation.