Plastic vs glass vs stainless ?
That is kind of like asking which of your kids you like the best :mrgreen:
I have fermented great beers in all three over the years.
I am using glass more now than any of the others, but that is because I sold my conical, and plastic stains.
Started with glass, after a few years switched to buckets. I’ve used them for 13+ years and several hundred batches. No way would I ever go back to carboys, whether glass or plastic. Glass is too fragile and offers no advantages. The whole carboy form factor is a PITA to clean compared to buckets and takes up more room to store. I use cornies for long term aging.
Denny, I’m not familiar with term cornies.
Cornelius keg-- stainless steel kegs of the type that was formerly used for soda.
Thanks, that makes sense.
Glass because I wanted them with my kit. I had zero problems cleaning my glass fermentation vessel letting it sit in warm water with PBW. The caked on gunk dissolved right off. I used the brush to get any remaining, then rinsed thoroughly.
I will likely get more though, since I want to be able to do more than one at a time 
Might not get glass though. No real reason.
Denny,
Do you use a bucket as a secondary as well? I was under the impression that all of that surface area was supposed to be bad … so I’ve been afraid to use them as a secondary. A bucket would sure make dry hopping a lot easier.
[quote=“Snipe”]Denny,
Do you use a bucket as a secondary as well? I was under the impression that all of that surface area was supposed to be bad … so I’ve been afraid to use them as a secondary. A bucket would sure make dry hopping a lot easier.[/quote]
I’m not Denny, but I also started with glass carboys then switched to plastic buckets and corny kegs for long term aging. As for secondaries, I rarely use them at all. Unless I am adding something like fruit or spices, I’ll just leave the beer in the primary bucket until it is ready, usually 3-4 weeks. If I do use a secondary, it will be another bucket. And I’ll dry hop directly in the keg.
[quote=“rebuiltcellars”][quote=“Snipe”]Denny,
Do you use a bucket as a secondary as well? I was under the impression that all of that surface area was supposed to be bad … so I’ve been afraid to use them as a secondary. A bucket would sure make dry hopping a lot easier.[/quote]
I’m not Denny, but I also started with glass carboys then switched to plastic buckets and corny kegs for long term aging. As for secondaries, I rarely use them at all. Unless I am adding something like fruit or spices, I’ll just leave the beer in the primary bucket until it is ready, usually 3-4 weeks. If I do use a secondary, it will be another bucket. And I’ll dry hop directly in the keg.[/quote]
Same here…almost never use a secondary. But if I do, buckets are fine for a week or two. Longer than that I use cornies.
Denny, when you use your cornies for conditioning do you leave them hooked up to CO2 or just purge the O2 and then disconnect the CO2?
I’m not Denny either, but when I use a keg for a secondary it’s purged with CO2 and then sits, sealed, until time to dryhop, chill, and carbonate.
Glass, plastic or stainless.
They will all get the job done.
Glass-
Pro: cheap, see-through, low scratch concerns,
Con: heavy, tough to clean (unless using the glass big mouth bubbler), can cause serious and permanent injury if dropped ( 5 gallons of liquid = glass grenade)
Stainless-
Pro: virtually no scratch concerns, virtually indestructible, easy to clean (aside from weight)
Con: expensive, heavy, opaque
Plastic-
Pro: easy to clean (buckets and big mouth bubbler), cheap, see-through (plastic carboys and big mouth bubbler), lightweight,
Con: easily scratched if not cleaned properly (but this is easy to avoid), opaque if using buckets
I’ve used plastic buckets, glass carboys, the glass big mouth bubbler and the plastic big mouth bubbler. I like the plastic big mouth bubbler.
Thanks Shadetree, that was my impression but I wasn’t sure.
Usually I just purge and seal, but I’ve left them hooked up, too. Whatever you want to do. Doesn’t really make any difference.
Usually I just purge and seal, but I’ve left them hooked up, too. Whatever you want to do. Doesn’t really make any difference.[/quote]
Thanks
