Is a glass carboy a must?

[JVD_X]

If you want to secondary you can pick get used kegs. They are a better option than glass carboys because:

a) You can use them once you decide to start kegging.

b) You can serve directly from the secondary, which means one less transfer

c) No light can reach the beer

d) You cannot break it

e) You can fit more beer in a smaller footprint.

f) No chance of scratches.

g) Handle any temp and easy to clean.

h) You can evacuate the 02 on top and replace with nitrogen or CO2

i) You can force carb and have the beer ready 3 weeks sooner than bottling. You can still bottle from the keg if that is your goal.

With that said... I do use glass but only because I have had them sitting around for 15 years.

 

[mrcoldone]

Well, I purchased one of those 5 gal better bottles for a secondary. I also got a drilled stopper and another airlock. I hope thats right by the way. Thanks for everyone's input, if it wasn't for all of you I would have gotten a 6.5 gallon for a secondary.

 

[flyerwire]

Apocryphal? Don't come around here trying to confuse us with your big words.. It's much more efficient to confuse us with short words, and we're just as easily confused.

Actually better bottles claim 1ppm/yr oxygen permeability. I'm pretty sure that is negligeable. So nothing to be concerned about there.

i never even noticed that number anywhere before, great to know though, i figured they would be somewhere around the plastic buckets permeability, i was way off

 

[apologeticus]

I use these $15 Winpak fermentors... they will never scratch, lightweight, can handle 200+F temps. and come with a sturdy hinged handle. What more could you ask for?

very interested. thanks for the tip. but how can you say they don't scratch? they're plastic, right?

 

[The Pol]

very interested. thanks for the tip. but how can you say they don't scratch? they're plastic, right?

Of course they are plastic, but you dont have to brush them to clean them. Just use Oxi, I have not scrubbed a fermentor once this year.

 

[apologeticus]

Of course they are plastic, but you dont have to brush them to clean them. Just use Oxi, I have not scrubbed a fermentor once this year.

that makes sense, but saying there's a way to clean them w/out scrubbing them is entirely different than saying they don't scratch.

 

[JVD_X]

that makes sense, but saying there's a way to clean them w/out scrubbing them is entirely different than saying they don't scratch.

Well - you can't really get anything IN them that could scratch them... except maybe a metal racking cane without the end on.

 

[ibbones]

I don't know about scratches but I got two of them after reading the "No-Chill" thread.
I like'em and will probably get a few more to do all my fermenting in.
The handles seem weak/strong at the same time. I guess I trust them since I use them but I do wonder about the weight.
I found a couple of the 11 1/2 drilled stoppers and use them with the air lock.

 

[david_42]

I don't secondary and don't own any carboys.

Haven't had any problems with oxidation, even after months in the pail.
Haven't had problems sanitizing and buckets are much, much easier to clean.
And never heard of bacteria digging into the plastic.

People buy glass carboys because they like to watch the yeast.

 

[Montanaandy]

"People buy glass carboys because they like to watch the yeast".

Guilty as charged. I love the look of glass and I do enjoy watching the "process". However, I find myself changining over to BB's because of the weight issue (no fun lugging 40 lbs up and down 2 flights of stairs). I also can watch things in the BB but it is not as pretty as the glass. Montanaandy

 

[mummasan]

I love to watch the yeast. I open my fermentation refrigerator every day to see what is going on in there. It's cool to see the different stages of fermentation.

I have a 5 gallon carboy and when it is full I carry it only about four feet.

 

[wildwest450]

I use these $15 Winpak fermentors... they will never scratch, lightweight, can handle 200+F temps. and come with a sturdy hinged handle. What more could you ask for?

A big glass window on the side.

 

[JVD_X]

People buy glass carboys because they like to watch the yeast.

This is very very true... with the exception of wine. You need to be able to apply a vacuum to degas the wine. This DOES NOT work with buckets. I always switch to glass when I need to degas but I have had a lot of luck with the Winexpert Wine Wand as far as degassing goes.

Plastic is actually the preferred material for bulk aging wine because it allows JUST ENOUGH air through over a year so the wine matures very nicely.

I use these $15 Winpak fermentors... they will never scratch, lightweight, can handle 200+F temps. and come with a sturdy hinged handle. What more could you ask for?

I am wondering how much pressure those could take.

 

[Zen_Brew]

I've never heard of anyone scratching the inside of their glass carboy; you'd have to dig around in there with a spear.

I remember once I had a Spears in a carboy. Now I know some friends said something about.... was it a scratch, no.... I think people said I could ruin my beer from the snatch.

 

[Effington]

I remember once I had a Spears in a carboy. Now I know some friends said something about.... was it a scratch, no.... I think people said I could ruin my beer from the snatch.

Oops you did it again, that's Hoo-Ha Pale Ale!

That's hilarious

 

[mordantly]

Im already loving this new hobbie and figure if im in, im in!QUOTE]

whoa pal. wait till your wallet hears you talkin like that. im pro glass for secondaries. primary would be a lot of gunk to clean out. im lazy. use a 6.5 ale pail. then 5 gal glass. then bottle or keg. then drink! "oh yeah.. im duffman!"

 

[BrianTheBrewer]

I love to watch the yeast. I open my fermentation refrigerator every day to see what is going on in there. It's cool to see the different stages of fermentation.

I have a 5 gallon carboy and when it is full I carry it only about four feet.

I to love to see whats going on in there. Much prefer using glass.
Just got a great deal today on a few nice carboys.

 

[mordantly]

perverts!

 

[12packabs]

i only use my 6.5 gallon glass carboy for secondary when making wine. primary wine & beer in plastic buckets. i don't generally secondary beer because i generally do wheat beer

 

[Effington]

Im already loving this new hobbie and figure if im in, im in!QUOTE]

whoa pal. wait till your wallet hears you talkin like that. im pro glass for secondaries. primary would be a lot of gunk to clean out. im lazy. use a 6.5 ale pail. then 5 gal glass. then bottle or keg. then drink! "oh yeah.. im duffman!"

"Duffman is thrusting in the direction of the problem... oh yeah!"

 

[mordantly]

there he is.

 

[Omnihility]

It is a matter of preference. My good friend only uses glass while I use both glass and buckets. I have had some bad experiences with glass cracking and compared to the buckets, they are not cheap to replace.

 

[ecojack]

plastic Better Bottles all the way! cheaper and they dont break!

 

[hercher]

I'll testify to the dangers of glass carboys -- I cut my finger pretty badly when one slipped out of my hand while I was cleaning it. It would have required stitches, but the location of the cut was not feasible to stitch, according to my doctor.

 

[mrcoldone]

plastic Better Bottles all the way! cheaper and they dont break!

Are the 6 gallon ones Ok to use as a primary? I picked up a 5 gallon one for a secondary, but I'm to impatient and ready for another primary.

 

[adc123]

Are the 6 gallon ones Ok to use as a primary? I picked up a 5 gallon one for a secondary, but I'm to impatient and ready for another primary.

Sounds fine to me. I used plastic buckets for a few brews, those were 6.5. You really want 6 gal for the primary of a 5 because of the krausen. I am currently trying to figure out why my beer has a plastic taste, thinking about getting a 6 gal BB for this very reason.

 

[starrfish]

long aging yes... standard stuff no... I have a hopless old ale w/ yarrow, mug wort, heather, & juniper berries with a true secondary of an addition of a brett culture working for 7 months... henry the VIII style. only reason to use glass LOOONG ferment. or a mead with LOOONG ferment!

 

[subliminalurge]

It's like this...

Let's say you're a first-time homeowner, and you need a cordless drill. You wonder if that $12 drill from Harbor Freight will work. Or do you need to go to Wal-Mart and get the $50 Black & Decker? Or should you just go to Home Depot and get the $250 DeWalt?

The answer is that any of them are just fine. It's only a question of how often you want to have to replace them (which depends on the conditions they're subjected to).

The plastic bucket is like the cheap drill from Harbor Freight. It'll do the job just fine, but if you're not really careful with it, you'll be buying another one really soon. You could, in theory, make it last a lifetime, but you would have to be freakishly anal about how well you cared for it.

The glass carboy is like the Black & Decker. For normal use, it just might last a lifetime, but you can still screw them up beyond repair.

A stainless conical is like a contractor grade DeWalt. You can beat the crap out of it, leave it out in the weather for a year or two, and it'll still never let you down.

Honestly, this question comes up all the time and it's not a question of what will work. They will all work. It's a question of how careful can you be in handling it, and how often are you comfortable throwing the old one away and buying a new one?

 

[ABrewingApe]

Don't forget that "really soon", as regards the bucket, can still be years away. I've been using my 6-gal bucket steadily for a year and change now and it still works fine; there's not even any appreciable wear and tear. I expect it to keep incubating solid brews for a good long time.

It's not quite as simple as less expensive = disposable. Sometimes less expensive just means less expensive. Honestly I'd recommend a bucket over a carboy unless you've got an active preference for the aesthetics of a glass brewing vessel (because they sure do look classy, don't they?) and you're comfortable dealing with heavy, slippery, breakable objects.

 

[Hermit]

Let me throw in another variable. If you want to bulk age something, the bucket is out. It will let oxygen in. How long do you want to tie up a stainless steel fermenter? This also is determined by finances.