Glass Versus Plastic fermenters

[rob171171]

Recommendations please for glass over plastic fermenters.

I’m getting a similiar taste when I ferment in my plastic fermenters and was thinking wouldn’t it be better to ferment in glass. I can see some cons however to doing so, i.e. bottling off

What’s the general consensus...???

 

[scinerd3000]

glass doesn't scratch, plastic does which can leave places for microbes to lie....I use both but prefer glass. Plus is is 100% non-oxygen permeable whereas plastic is almost 100% but not quite (ie. better bottle). Both work well

 

[ryandlf]

I never understood why people are so worried about scratching plastic. A brush never even touches my better bottles. I just soak them overnight in oxyclean and rinse real well and all the crud is gone.

Personally, plastic is the way to go for me. They are light, cleaning is so easy when it comes to shaking them up, turning upside down etc. The one thing I do not like is that when moving the vessel you need to remove the airlock otherwise picking it up will cause the thing to turn into somewhat of a vacuum. But ya, on this one plastic gets my vote.

 

[jsweet]

What’s the general consensus...???

There is no consensus. It seems like the majority is very slightly towards plastic, but it's pretty close to 50/50 I think.

If you feel you are getting smells in your beer from plastic, get a glass carboy and see how you like it. They are more expensive than plastic, but not THAT much more.

 

[rob171171]

great thnaks I see some similiar posts also. I presume you can get glass carboys with tap at bottom and if not it looks like the whole bottling experience may be much more difficult

 

[Revvy]

Geez, we don;t have this question for months, now it's like a blizzard.

Here's YESTERDAY's version of it. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/glass-vs-plastic-243640/

You'll find out that just about any question about brewing that can be phrased as a -vs- "argument" the answer is usually, "it doesn't matter, they all work, it's a matter of preference." The pro-con analysis thread is a good indication of it, you can see the reasoning behind it, but in reality, it's all about what will work for you. In brewing we talk about developing your own individual brewing process. You try different things, and figure out what works for you and what doesn't.

They all make beer, none is any better or worse than any other. It's simply a matter of preference. And that ultimately you will have to decide for yourself.

 

[rycov]

great thnaks I see some similiar posts also. I presume you can get glass carboys with tap at bottom and if not it looks like the whole bottling experience may be much more difficult

its not. auto siphon with a bottling wand has always worked just fine for me. or you can transfer to a bottling bucket, but either way it shouldn't be hard

 

[jbrookeiv]

Look below. Search next time.

 

[jsweet]

Hey Revvy, speaking of topics that have been done to death, I'm thinking about starting a "Secondary or no secondary" thread, but I swear it would actually be about an aspect of it that hasn't been talked about much, at least not that I can see. In fact, I'm really only interested in hearing opinions of people who endorse >4 week primaries, like yourself, because the question is moot otherwise. Will you kill me if I do?

 

[jsweet]

its not. auto siphon with a bottling wand has always worked just fine for me. or you can transfer to a bottling bucket, but either way it shouldn't be hard

Yeah, I use a plastic bottling bucket, but do all my fermenting in glass. There are other advantages to fermenting in plastic, but there's no reason you can't use plastic just for that one purpose.

 

[ryandlf]

its not. auto siphon with a bottling wand has always worked just fine for me. or you can transfer to a bottling bucket, but either way it shouldn't be hard

Auto siphon to a bottling bucket was always the best option for me as well. You don't want a carboy with a tap on the bottom because they are hard to clean, present a risk of leaking, and you can't really bottle off the yeast cake without getting all sorts of junk in there anyways. Bottling buckets are like $15.

 

[flagman]

I use both but tend to lean more toward glass. I like glass because you can scrub the heck out of it, but like ryandlf said a nice soak and you can just rinse away the nasties in plastic or glass. I am always in a hurry so I hit it with a brush rinse and im done with it rather than waitng for a soak. Seems to me like glass even rinses out a little easier. But it is a lot heavier and I have heard of people getting hurt pretty bad with glass. You have to be alot more careful with it.

If you plan to lager anytime soon glass gets +1 for me over plastic

For me they both have pros and cons, you will get about 1000 different opinions on this. I have a couple buddies that I brew with and this is one subject I avoid with them because it is always a two hour debate.

It all boils down to personnel preference and what you are comfortable with. Get one of each and try them out.

 

[supermoth]

Make a 10 gallon batch, ferment half in glass and half in plastic, then do a blind tasting and report back on this thread!