Beer Forum

Ok, I know I'm about to start a debate that is as controversial with brewers as immigration is among Californians, but, I feel that this is worth sharing.

For as long as I have been brewing, I've been using glass carboys as fermenting vessels. I've tried buckets a few times, but I really don’t like them as much as carboys. Not sure why either, lets chalk it up to “just because”.

A few months ago I bought a "Better Bottle" because my glass carboys make me nervous and I thought I'd try one out. I have to say, I'm happy I did. Allow me to share 10 reasons why I'll never go back.

1.) I love the shape of the bottle itself. One feature I've never seen mentioned is the concave shaped bottom (think champagne bottle). I don't filter and I've stopped using a secondary. The shape of the bottom allows the trub/ yeast to settle around the edges. I put my racking cane right down the center and I've noticed that I have LESS beer loss and noticeably better clarity.

2.) I like to push-transfer with CO2. Now I can crank the pressure a little and not have to worry about having any 5 gal beer bombs.

3.) I aged a few beers for 2-3 months...no oxygen transfer issues.

4.) I clean all of my fermenter as soon as I keg. Therefore, cleaning is not a problem for me with a little bit of PBW and my garden hose. Usually don't even need to use a brush. If I do, usually just to clean the dried kruesen around the top. No big deal. Not much of a chance of scratching and harboring bacteria.

5.) I am amazed about how much of a weight difference there is! I didn't think there would be, but trust me, there is.

6.) No chance of having to clean 5 gals of beer wort with exploded glass shards in my eye.

7.) Uses the same orange carboy cap that I'm in love with.

8.) I can watch my fermentation progress. I know it isn't necessary, but I like it anyway.

9.) Cost's roughly the same as glass fermenters.

10.) Not cheaply made/designed despite the stigma that most PET plastic product have earned.

Now, I still keep a couple of glass carboys around, incase I want to really age anything out for >6mos. But, like Justin, the likelihood of actually doing that any time soon is pretty low. Besides, I'm probably wrong, but, with meads and ciders the lack of hops makes oxygen transfer a moot point.

What sizes do they come in?

I believe they come in 3, 5, and 6 gallon sizes. I bought one after I cut my hand open from dropping a glass carboy. I never went back! This is another great product. I use a conical now, but for those extra brew sessions this is the perfect alternative to both glass carboys and plastic buckets, IMHO.

Carboys are dangerous and old school IMHO. I have shattered a carboy that was empty when I was cleaning it. It simply slipped out of my hands because it was wet and slippery. I have witnessed a better bottle drop from around 4 feet full of sanitizer and it didn't break or otherwise even dent the bottle. With all that said, I use plastic buckets and then just transfer over to keg using gravity. Yes, I ferment in the buckets with the spigot on them. I have never had an infected beer, but then again I am diligant about cleaning and sanitizing, and I always pitch a butt load of yeast and most of my fermentations kick off with in a few hours. And high krausen usually comes with in 4-6 hours with an Ale and 6-12 hours with a Lager.

I took a 1/2 bbl keg and welded legs onto the bottom sides, drilled a hole in the middle of the bottom and used a bulkhead fitting to affix a full port ball valve to the union with an elbow attached to a neoprene hose on the outlet. A #12 stopper fits on top for blowoff to my bubbler, and it holds up to 13 gallons of beer this way (and it's STAINLESS to boot!) and makes for an elcheapo cylindroconical fermenter. While it doesn't have the 60 degree cone on the bottom, it works well enough for me, and its tough enough that it'll break me b4 I break it As always, YMMV -- TTYAL, and ILBCNU!

Prost!

Michel