Great video to go over all the myths. I personally use glass big mouth bubblers for 90% of my brews, especially sours or fruited anything. I've had staining on buckets that won't come out even after soaking overnight. Some plastics are definitely better than others though too. I wouldn't go back to small neck glass fermenters ever haha
PETs leech per current studies with just water. Google it. I can only imagine alcohol would compound the leeching effect. The long term effects of PET are not yet shown to be any less or more dangerous than BPA's. I'm sure that study will come out in 10 years if it's not suppressed.
Good video 👍, I use both glass and plastic, I totally agree with you. I use some cold water and PBW leave socking over night and remove light grime with a soft micro cloth. The downside of my glass carboy's are they are 560mm tall and can't fit 2 of them in my temperature controled fridge 🥴. I find 2 plastic 30L buckets fit perfectly as I like to brew 2 brews, 5gallon corny keg's.
disingenuous much? . . . you start by comparing the weight of a FULL class carboy to an EMPTY plastic carboy . . . i'm not really surprised that empty plastic is lighter than full glass.
I feel it also depends on what your fermenting too because alcoholic beverages like wine or mead that have to age for 6 months or longer would have less risk of contamination in a glass carboy. Because of the fact that they have to sit out and age for 6 months or longer which with a plastic cowboy would increase the risk of contamination due to microscopic pores in the plastic. But with beer that only has to age for 14 days or 2 weeks you won't really have that much of a risk in a plastic carboy because it's not aging as long as wine or mead would normally have to age for.
the weight thing alone is why my glass carboy hasnt been used in years i have a coopers pail and a fermonster as well, and use those 99.99997% of the time.
Greatfermentations - i have in my garage 4× 5 gallon plastic carboys. I haven't used them for a good number of years. In the winter it gets very cold in there & in summer the garage gets very hot. I want to make a batch of wine this coming September, do you think they are still good to use? I was planning on using them this September till i just saw your video above. Now got a bit nervous. I believe they should be clean, because i always cleaned them straight away when i finished using them.
Thanks for the question! How were they stored? Did they have something covering the opening? If they were covered, and you don't see any physical signs of the plastic cracking (from the ups and downs of the temp), then you should be good. Also, look for any visible signs of scratching as well. If there are no scratches that's good.
What would be the best container that isn't a large stainless steel vessel? I'm looking for a good solution to not have to have a bunch of carboys, and not use plastic.
Steven - Unfortunately if you want to avoid glass and plastic, then SS is about your only option that I can think of. For what its worth, we've recently switched our entire brewery up to using ANVIL Stainless Bucket fermenters (shop.greatfermentations.com/category/s?keyword=anvil-bucket-fermentor).
@@greatfermentations Yes SS is probably the best way to go, and in the meantime I'll likely have to use glass carboys. I have to yield about 5-10 gallons per month of 95% ethanol and will likely need to use a few carboys to make it happen... Efficiency and not taking up so much space is the goal!
Great question! We think plastic works just fine for Mead/Wine primary fermentation. However, if you plan to do any extended aging, we tend to suggest glass. Thanks for the question!
@@dc-wp8oc No hard and fast rule about what's considered extended, but I'd say anything over 2 months to go with glass. As for aging in the bottle, yes this is true, but many winemakers will age in carboys or stainless steel vessels for several months to help with clarity and off-gassing. Aging in larger vessels also ages the wine just like in the bottle.
People will have different opinions but we say no due to the acidity of Kombucha. We always recommend either glass or stainless steel when working with Kombucha.
I think they're talking about how because they're light you can just arbitrarily stack many of them, but if they were glass you would need to worry about them falling and breaking
Hi interesting and informative video. I was wondering if those of us on a budget could use a 5 gal fountain water jug as a carboy? It's my understanding that the plastic is food grade. Thanks!
Just take care to buy “new” ones. Since they are usually refillable, you don’t want to get one that is possibly all scratched up inside. (Shouldn’t happen with normal use, but you know… people.) :-D
Thanks you so much.I was afraid to use the plastic bottles for fermentation.My fear was that it could reduce my quality.Now l have learnt it is about hygiene so l will use them just once or twice n discard them to get new one.God bless you.
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Great video to go over all the myths. I personally use glass big mouth bubblers for 90% of my brews, especially sours or fruited anything. I've had staining on buckets that won't come out even after soaking overnight. Some plastics are definitely better than others though too. I wouldn't go back to small neck glass fermenters ever haha
PETs leech per current studies with just water. Google it. I can only imagine alcohol would compound the leeching effect. The long term effects of PET are not yet shown to be any less or more dangerous than BPA's. I'm sure that study will come out in 10 years if it's not suppressed.
Good video 👍, I use both glass and plastic, I totally agree with you. I use some cold water and PBW leave socking over night and remove light grime with a soft micro cloth. The downside of my glass carboy's are they are 560mm tall and can't fit 2 of them in my temperature controled fridge 🥴. I find 2 plastic 30L buckets fit perfectly as I like to brew 2 brews, 5gallon corny keg's.
disingenuous much? . . . you start by comparing the weight of a FULL class carboy to an EMPTY plastic carboy . . . i'm not really surprised that empty plastic is lighter than full glass.
I feel it also depends on what your fermenting too because alcoholic beverages like wine or mead that have to age for 6 months or longer would have less risk of contamination in a glass carboy. Because of the fact that they have to sit out and age for 6 months or longer which with a plastic cowboy would increase the risk of contamination due to microscopic pores in the plastic. But with beer that only has to age for 14 days or 2 weeks you won't really have that much of a risk in a plastic carboy because it's not aging as long as wine or mead would normally have to age for.
Great points!
oh hey its my local brew store!
the weight thing alone is why my glass carboy hasnt been used in years
i have a coopers pail and a fermonster as well, and use those 99.99997% of the time.
What are the long-term effects of Antimony Trioxide and Phthalates the chemical leached from PET on the human body?
Greatfermentations - i have in my garage 4× 5 gallon plastic carboys. I haven't used them for a good number of years. In the winter it gets very cold in there & in summer the garage gets very hot. I want to make a batch of wine this coming September, do you think they are still good to use?
I was planning on using them this September till i just saw your video above. Now got a bit nervous. I believe they should be clean, because i always cleaned them straight away when i finished using them.
Thanks for the question! How were they stored? Did they have something covering the opening? If they were covered, and you don't see any physical signs of the plastic cracking (from the ups and downs of the temp), then you should be good. Also, look for any visible signs of scratching as well. If there are no scratches that's good.
@@greatfermentations yes they look great actually & openings were covered with their bungs.
@@greatfermentations thanks for replying 👍
@@motog4-75 You're welcome!
What would be the best container that isn't a large stainless steel vessel? I'm looking for a good solution to not have to have a bunch of carboys, and not use plastic.
Steven - Unfortunately if you want to avoid glass and plastic, then SS is about your only option that I can think of. For what its worth, we've recently switched our entire brewery up to using ANVIL Stainless Bucket fermenters (shop.greatfermentations.com/category/s?keyword=anvil-bucket-fermentor).
@@greatfermentations Yes SS is probably the best way to go, and in the meantime I'll likely have to use glass carboys. I have to yield about 5-10 gallons per month of 95% ethanol and will likely need to use a few carboys to make it happen... Efficiency and not taking up so much space is the goal!
Great tips thankyou, very usefull indeed
What about using PET for Mead/Wine making?
Great question! We think plastic works just fine for Mead/Wine primary fermentation. However, if you plan to do any extended aging, we tend to suggest glass. Thanks for the question!
@@greatfermentations So, define "extended aging"? As for wine, isn't aging typically accomplished in the bottle?
@@dc-wp8oc No hard and fast rule about what's considered extended, but I'd say anything over 2 months to go with glass. As for aging in the bottle, yes this is true, but many winemakers will age in carboys or stainless steel vessels for several months to help with clarity and off-gassing. Aging in larger vessels also ages the wine just like in the bottle.
Can u make kombucha in plastic container
People will have different opinions but we say no due to the acidity of Kombucha. We always recommend either glass or stainless steel when working with Kombucha.
what's the profit margin of each?
Same, if not better on the glass side. When you factor in shipping though, it equals out as glass has more breakage!
I’m be a fan of PBW.
Plastic is ok for primary fermentation. Now a car boy Is fine for primary. For the long haul glass is better
Cool.
I didn't know there were wider mouths on the plastic ones.
I'll have to check them out.
Thanks
Glass carboys... dangerous AF and once you upgrade to stainless steel you cant get rid of em
good man just got 2 of them PET
Many thanks for your great work. Looking forward to many more videos 👍👍
"You can store it anywhere it fits" - doesn't that apply to literally everything? :)
I think they're talking about how because they're light you can just arbitrarily stack many of them, but if they were glass you would need to worry about them falling and breaking
Like Andrew said, it’s a weight issue. If you have a head-height shelf, not everyone can lift a 60 lb full glass car boy up that high to store.
Won't the plastic leach flavors? Most plastic does, so I'm kinda curious about this kind as well.
yeah and what about racking ahahah. Glass can be used for the whole process of brewing and long term storage.
Hi interesting and informative video. I was wondering if those of us on a budget could use a 5 gal fountain water jug as a carboy? It's my understanding that the plastic is food grade. Thanks!
Yes you can! Just need to find the correct stopper size for the water jug opening, and you'll be all set!
Just take care to buy “new” ones. Since they are usually refillable, you don’t want to get one that is possibly all scratched up inside. (Shouldn’t happen with normal use, but you know… people.) :-D
@@Rally825 - 100% agree on this one!
Thanks you so much.I was afraid to use the plastic bottles for fermentation.My fear was that it could reduce my quality.Now l have learnt it is about hygiene so l will use them just once or twice n discard them to get new one.God bless you.
Does it affect the taste?
Nope.
Can we bottle the home brew in plastic bottles.
Yes.
Never ferment in PET because alcohols are acidic
Wide mouth carboys are a thing ya know. 6 inch mouths.
I wish I found this 2 days ago before I bought my carboy. I would have gone with the wide mouth fermonster for easy cleaning.
I've got a wide mouth and 3 Better Bottles. I absolutely hate cleaning narrow mouth fermenters.
Get a carboy brush!
You forgot to mention the endocrine disruptors and androgenetic chemicals in ALL plastic carboys that leech in your beer.. yea.. Eww.. fuck plastic.