Ribbed Better Bottles

[geoffny25]

Does anyone else have their yeast rafts stick to the sides of their better bottles, or collect on the ribs? Just wondering if this was normal.

Thanks,

Geoff

 

[mojotele]

Heck, I have yeast rafts stuck to the side of my carboy.

Better bottles - ribbed for yeast pleasure.

 

[DrinkNoH2O]

yep. I just had an ESB in a better bottle for secondary and the S-04 yeast actually packed down into a firm little yeast ring around every ridge of the bottle.

 

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

Yes it happens to me all the time. I saw these at the supplier so I went ahead and tried it out. I like it better than the Better Bottle, but that is just 1 man's opinion.

Ed

 

[geoffny25]

Cool, just checking to make sure that my yeast wasn't trying to escape from the bottle. Thanks for the responses.

Geoff

 

[azscoob]

I get yeast piled up on the ribs, and the krausen tends to stick pretty good too. Any rib acts as a shelf for yeast fallout. I havent noticed any increase in yeast clinging to the sides any more than on glass, just on the ribs

 

[azscoob]

I may have to try one of those bottles myself!

 

[nealf]

Yes it happens to me all the time. I saw these at the supplier so I went ahead and tried it out. I like it better than the Better Bottle, but that is just 1 man's opinion.

Ed

I've got one too, I love it!

 

[brewagentjay]

Nice bottle Ed, I might have to get one too.

 

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

Nice bottle Ed, I might have to get one too.

Thanks man. I had Nealf also be a tester on them, and based on his and my experiences I went ahead and started carrying them.

 

[jalgayer]

Yes it happens to me all the time. I saw these at the supplier so I went ahead and tried it out. I like it better than the Better Bottle, but that is just 1 man's opinion.

Ed

I have tried that one as well. While the inside is smooth - the quality is not even close to that of th better bottle.

There is a reason it is lighter... thinner plastic.

Just soak the better bottle with liquid dish detergent/water or oxyclean/water

 

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

I have tried that one as well. While the inside is smooth - the quality is not even close to that of th better bottle.

There is a reason it is lighter... thinner plastic.

Just soak the better bottle with liquid dish detergent/water or oxyclean/water

I like mine, but I can certainly see where you would prefer the BB to the PET Carboy. You struck my curiosity so I looked them both a little closer side by side. Both are made from #1 PET Plastic. The Better Bottle weighs 1.5 lbs and the PET Carboy weighs 1.58 lbs. The PET feels more rigid than the Better Bottle but that is just me, and anyone could easily disagree, and I would be fine with that. As far as quality, I have used a BB for a couple of years, and the PET Carboy for a month or so. I like using them both over glass carboys, but that is just my preference. Will I like the PET Carboy more than the Better Bottle in 2 years from now, I do not know. As of right now I liked it enough to carry it in my store.

I have never had a problem cleaning the yeast caked on the ridges of my Better Bottle with a PBW soak. It works everytime, and is easy to rinse off.

Thanks,

Ed

 

[Montanaandy]

I always get the hop pellet scum surrounding the neck of the BB when I dry hop. I try to blast off as much as I can with a stream of water before I fill the BB up all the way and add one cup Oxy and allow it to soak overnight. If junk is really stuck on there I add a second cup of Oxy and allow it to soak longer. This has always removed even the most caked on crud and I have never have had to brush or clean the inside of any of my BB's. I have also begun to use more leaf hops and that cuts down substantially on the scum ring around the top. Montanaandy

 

[masonsjax]

I have several Better Bottles and like them a lot. I actually had the PET carboy in my cart at BMW just now when I saw this thread. It got me thinking about the ribs on the BBs and how they're actually pretty nice for adding a little grip when wet. I removed the PET bottle and chose to go with another BB instead. I know I like those.

I appreciate you adding another option to the menu though Ed, it's always good to have choices.

 

[Yooper]

I really like the ribbed ones better. Wait. What?

Seriously, I think the next time I'm in the market, I'll buy a smooth one from BMW but I love my BBs. I noticed that on my wines I get quite a bit of sediment on the "ribs" on my glass carboys too, but not with my beers. I think it's because my beer isn't in a glass carboy nearly as long as my wines are.

 

[azscoob]

I really like the ribbed ones better. Wait. What?

Aah Yoop, any bets on if this makes it to someones sig?

I may get one of those PET bottles just to try, I need another fermenter anyway, then I can keep track of the brews by the different bottles/buckets!

 

[KayaBrew]

Yes it happens to me all the time. I saw these at the supplier so I went ahead and tried it out. I like it better than the Better Bottle, but that is just 1 man's opinion.

Ed

Sold! I'll pick one up from you in my next order. The price seems nice, too!

 

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

I appreciate you adding another option to the menu though Ed, it's always good to have choices.

Thank you. I am all about giving customers different options. If you get a PET Carboy please post your feedback. I would be interested in how you guys like it.

Thanks,

Ed

 

[ArcaneXor]

Yes it happens to me all the time. I saw these at the supplier so I went ahead and tried it out. I like it better than the Better Bottle, but that is just 1 man's opinion.

Ed

Have you done (or are you aware of) any O2 ingress tests comparing the Better Bottles with these new PET carboys? Also, it would be interesting to know if the most common Better Bottle failure mode (overloading the bottom edge when filling with water or shaking, resulting in cracks/leaks) has been resolved with the new models by reinforcing the vulnerable areas.

Especially the O2 permeability is very important for beer quality during extended conditioning and lagering, so some data on this would be very helpful.

Hm... how about sending a couple of bottles over to James at Basic Brewing? He always has scientist-listeners who have access to O2 probes and could do this sort of comparison. A split batch of barleywine stored in the bottles for a couple of months should yield a nice comparison.

 

[nealf]

They both use PET plastic, how could the O2 permeability be any different? Sorry if this is a dumb question, I just don't see how there would be a difference. Yooper, good point about aging wines for long periods of times in these PET carboys, I never thought of that.

 

[ArcaneXor]

They both use PET plastic, how could the O2 permeability be any different? Sorry if this is a dumb question, I just don't see how there would be a difference.

Could be different depending on the thickness and manufacturing standards - amount of impurities, type of barrier treatment, etc. For example, to minimize gas permeability, the PET needs to be treated with polyvinyl alcohol.

 

[geoffny25]

So it is apparent that rings of yeast sediment is quite common along the sides of the BB, but what about the yeast clinging to the side? Is this normal? This is the first time that I haven't fermented in a bucket and seeing that scum clinging to the side is weird to look at.

Thanks,
Geoff

 

[DeafSmith]

Also, it would be interesting to know if the most common Better Bottle failure mode (overloading the bottom edge when filling with water or shaking, resulting in cracks/leaks) has been resolved with the new models by reinforcing the vulnerable areas.

I suspect that most of the BB failures are from rocking the BB's on the edge while aerating. On the BB web site is a specific warning against doing this - use a tennis ball under the BB instead.
http://www.better-bottle.com/products_master.html
Click the "How-To Tips" tab and scroll down to the Mixing/Degassing section.