03
Oct
Plastic breathes is tough to clean easy to scratch and wears out. Carboys can be made of glass or plastic.
In fact the only reason to replace a glass carboy is if it breaks.
Glass carboy vs plastic fermenter. Plastic carboys are made from quality food grade pet plastic that is 100 safe for fermentation. Plastic pet carboys are much lighter and easier to handle than their glass counterparts. Their lightweight nature makes them much easier to carry and to dump trub sediment from the bottom.
This is one of the topics we tackle quite a lot at great fermentations. Glass vs plastic carboys. Which one is better.
Glass carboys are impermeable to oxygen easy to clean don t scratch and lasts forever. Plastic breathes is tough to clean easy to scratch and wears out. Done deal then right.
Two of the most common fermentation vessels readily available to homebrewers are the food grade plastic bucket and the glass carboy. Each of these vessels has their pros and cons. Ultimately you as a brewer will need to pick what is the best fermenter to fit your need and price range.
Carboys are available in either plastic or glass. Some brewers claim that fermenting in glass gives better flavor. Plastic on the other hand is less expensive and less likely to break if you happen to drop it.
However both types of carboy can be difficult to clean because of the narrow opening. At this sample size 11 tasters p 0 05 would have had to select the unique sample in order to reach statistical significance though only 6 p 0 70 made the correct selection suggesting participants were unable to reliably distinguish a german pilsner fermented in a glass carboy from the same beer fermented in a plastic speidel vessel. Plastic scratches more easily than glass which may promote contamination.
Because of the potential for cross contamination plastic may be less suitable than glass for beer brewed with wild yeast and bacteria such as brettanomyces and lactobacillus. Plastic buckets are opaque so you can t visually monitor fermentation plastic carboys do not have this issue. Plastic is permeable to oxygen making it less suitable than glass for long term aging.
Pet is also used to make water bottles so if you re good with those then a plastic carboy probably won t bother you either. On average glass carboys cost about 50 more than plastic ones. Also if you re ordering glass carboys online the shipping can be much more as well given the difference in weight and how fragile.
In fact the only reason to replace a glass carboy is if it breaks. Plastic carboys by contrast need to be replaced if they get scratched or dented. Carboys can be made of glass or plastic.
Preferences vary and different brewers vouch for the effectiveness of both to produce a good batch of beer. We will go over the important considerations so that you can select the right carboy for your brewing needs.