pale vs. carboy

[titletowngirl]

Is there any significant difference between using a plastic pale vs a carboy for a primary?

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

As long as your sanitation is on par, either way is fine. I prefer a 6.5 gal carboy for primary. I feel more comfortable using glass, easier to clean, won't scratch easily, and you can see everything that's going on in the fermenter. But food grade buckets work just fine and are easier to handle.

 

[ajf]

^ +1

Carboys cost a lot more, and they last longer (if you don't break them).
But they are much heavier, can be dangerous if dropped, and are very slippery when wet.
I prefer carboys because SWMBO doesn't try using them as buckets in the garden.

-a.

 

[unionrdr]

I like my pales,& my cooper's micro brew FV. Easier to handle,soak clean with paper towel light scrubbing. Not to mention,lighter. And less light can get in. But I do cover them with old,dark colored tee shirts.

 

[ArcaneXor]

I use both buckets and PET carboys. Buckets are much more oxygen permeable, you can't see what's going on inside, and they often seal poorly. PET carboys don't have those problems, but they cost about twice as much and are slightly smaller (6 gallons vs. 6.5). I usually use buckets for sour beers and PET carboys for everything else.

Glass carboys are heavier, more expensive, and should really only be carried in a milk crate or using a Brew Hauler when full. I only use glass for small batches in 1-gallon jugs.

 

[Ace_Club]

I've used both carboys and buckets. I much prefer the buckets for my 10 gallon batches of beer. Much easier to transport from the driveway to the basement.

I still use my carboys, but for things like apfelwein and mead where I don't have to transport the containers as far.

 

[Revvy]

It doesn't matter, they both make beer. You have to realize that if the question can be phrased as a -vs- the answers going to be the same. It's whatever you prefer. There is very little "better or worse" in brewing, just what works best for me.

 

[unionrdr]

I get good seals on all my pales,removed some molding flash from the cooper's micro brew FV,& all is well. Never once got any oxidation issues with any of them. Not very o2 permeable in my experience.

 

[ArcaneXor]

I get good seals on all my pales,removed some molding flash from the cooper's micro brew FV,& all is well. Never once got any oxidation issues with any of them. Not very o2 permeable in my experience.

According to data cited in Wild Brews, they are between 13 and 170 times as permeable as glass carboys (depending on the glass carboys are stoppered). Nothing that is noticeable if you only leave the beer in the buckets for a couple of weeks, but you usually wouldn't want to bulk age in them - it'll shorten the lifetime of the beer.

 

[bambam190]

I use both interchangeably, However I do try to do primary in bucket and secondary in glass as its easier to clean and save the yeast cake. I also have a dedicated bucket for my hard lemonade just incase a sour taste ever permiates the plastic (at which I should thow it away anyway).

One thing I've done is starting only buying 6.5 GAL glass, saves some overflow issues having the extra few inches on the top of the bucket and they arn't that much heavier.

 

[unionrdr]

My ales usually only see 3weeks in the pales,4 weeks if I'm dry hopping. A week or so if I'm using one as a secondary for oaking or something. 13-170 times more likely to leach o2 right through them? Idk,but those figures sound higher than they may actually be. Idc who wrote. They've been wrong before. If they leached o2 that bad,it seems to me,it'd be far easier to notice.

 

[Vance71975]

Is there any significant difference between using a plastic pale vs a carboy for a primary?

They both work well, the only issue is if you have the carboy setting where it has too much light on it, you can end up with skunk beer.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

You can just keep a carboy covered to avoid light. I think Revvy nailed it when he said it's really a matter of preference.