better bottle plastic carboy

Mr.X · Post by **Mr.X** » Thu May 10, 2012 9:28 am

Anybody have any first-hand experience with these as a primary fermenter? Pro's/Cons's? I'm thinking about picking up the 6 gal. model and retiring my plastic bucket. thanks.

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Thu May 10, 2012 9:59 am

I prefer using the "stout" 30L buckets with sealable lid, I get them at a western chain called "Wine Kitz." Easy to use, easy to clean, easy to move from my garage (where I brew), to the basement (where I ferment).

I use Better Bottles for my sour beers, I have 3 of them. Supposed to have similar oxygen permeability to a full 55 gal barrel. They are nice and light, easy to move and clean. Downside is that you still need to use a blowoff, and when you move them around, the liquid in the airlock can easily get sucked into the carboy.

Scottatron · Post by **Scottatron** » Mon May 14, 2012 9:12 pm

I use both glass and plastic for my brews. What kind of beer are you planning to put in it? (I recently read that the shape of fermenter can affect the flavour more than you would think). How long do you plan to age it (worried about oxygen pickup)? Will I be moving it around a lot (danger of broken glass)? I ask myself these questions before deciding which to use.

markaberrant wrote:I prefer using the "stout" 30L buckets with sealable lid, I get them at a western chain called "Wine Kitz." Easy to use, easy to clean, easy to move from my garage (where I brew), to the basement (where I ferment).

I use Better Bottles for my sour beers, I have 3 of them. Supposed to have similar oxygen permeability to a full 55 gal barrel. They are nice and light, easy to move and clean. Downside is that you still need to use a blowoff, and when you move them around, the liquid in the airlock can easily get sucked into the carboy.

Thats pretty cool. Do you have any links for more info on the oxygen pickup?

grub · Post by **grub** » Tue May 15, 2012 9:39 am

markaberrant wrote:I use Better Bottles for my sour beers, I have 3 of them. Supposed to have similar oxygen permeability to a full 55 gal barrel.

what sort of bung are you using on them? you mentioned airlock, but just wanted to be sure. i know some folks prefer hard bungs for sours (to keep o2 out). i'm using glass with just a foil cover on top, but have no idea where that lands in the o2 permeability range. been considering better options, so this is good info.

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Tue May 15, 2012 9:45 am

grub wrote:what sort of bung are you using on them? you mentioned airlock, but just wanted to be sure. i know some folks prefer hard bungs for sours (to keep o2 out). i'm using glass with just a foil cover on top, but have no idea where that lands in the o2 permeability range. been considering better options, so this is good info.

I just use a regular airlock. Not sure how a solid bung would work, seeing as there is still fermentation. Have heard of people using an oak dowel in a glass carboy, not crazy about that idea.

grub · Post by **grub** » Tue May 15, 2012 9:56 am

markaberrant wrote:I just use a regular airlock. Not sure how a solid bung would work, seeing as there is still fermentation. Have heard of people using an oak dowel in a glass carboy, not crazy about that idea.

yeah, i've heard of the dowel trick, but not really sure how it compares, permeability-wise. good to know about the bb though... might be an excuse to check some out, at least for sours.