ha…your not up to his challenge?
Hmmmmmmm… perhaps we could get some folks together and all brew double batches - one goes in glass, one goes in plastic. New plastic, new glass. Send 3-5 bottles (mixed 1/2 or 2/3) to AHA/high ranking judges for them to attempt to delineate a difference between beers in glass, beers in plastic. Might be kind of interesting … has something like this been done before - other than personal stories? Has there been a controlled attempt to do this?
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/p ... ation-fundI was not trying to be an A** … I am 100% open to the possibility that glass is better than plastic. I would also, 100% switch back to glass if I could confirm it. I am legitimately wondering if anyone has ever tried it???
I don’t want you to take my comments the wrong way dmtaylo… I have always appreciated your feedback on here and am curious about your premise.
[quote=“Braufessor”]Hmmmmmmm… perhaps we could get some folks together and all brew double batches - one goes in glass, one goes in plastic. New plastic, new glass. Send 3-5 bottles (mixed 1/2 or 2/3) to AHA/high ranking judges for them to attempt to delineate a difference between beers in glass, beers in plastic. Might be kind of interesting … has something like this been done before - other than personal stories? Has there been a controlled attempt to do this?
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/p ... ation-fund[/quote]Not smarter than anyone, just look at the topic at hand…
Been in many controlled experiements where containers were changed from brewer to brewer.
Out of thousands of homebrew competitions, gatherings, tasting, homebrewclub meetings etc… you ever heard of a brewer or a grandmaster judge saying this beer was brewed in a bucket? or this was brewed in glass?
Braufessor, you owe me no apology. Your idea for a controlled experiment is intriguing, and I don’t know what the results would be. I would guess that new plastic vs. new glass would produce negligible differences. But we don’t all ferment in brand new plastic all the time, do we? No. We’ve got that old bucket that we’ve used for the past year or 2 years or 10 years. Our favorite old bucket. It is that favorite old bucket that’s got the problems, not the brand new ones.
Okay, now I think I’m done here.
[quote=“dmtaylo2”]Braufessor, you owe me no apology. Your idea for a controlled experiment is intriguing, and I don’t know what the results would be. I would guess that new plastic vs. new glass would produce negligible differences. But we don’t all ferment in brand new plastic all the time, do we? No. We’ve got that old bucket that we’ve used for the past year or 2 years or 10 years. Our favorite old bucket. It is that favorite old bucket that’s got the problems, not the brand new ones.
Okay, now I think I’m done here.[/quote]
who would be using a ten year old bucket? soft equipment needs to be replaced to.
Not me. I’ve replaced my buckets many times. But I know other guys who do use the old bucket from 10+ years, and they think their beer is awesome. Kind of funny.
Bye.
[quote=“dmtaylo2”]Not me. I’ve replaced my buckets many times. But I know other guys who do use the old bucket from 10+ years, and they think their beer is awesome. Kind of funny.
Bye.[/quote]
well there you go…bad practice…not plastic buckets fault
I agree with you dmtaylo -
New buckets/new glass - probably no difference.
OLD buckets (5-10 years) vs. well maintained glass - I think more and more problems with plastic. Not always - but definitely with increasing frequency.
Personally, I replace buckets here and there at 2-3 year mark maybe…
My question, ultimately, would be whether or not a 1-2-3 year old, well-maintained bucket, is just as good as glass… I think that would be the more interesting question. Does a bucket with 10-20-30… batches stand up over time?
I still might try something with this - probably hijacked this thread enough:) - If I do something with this, I will report back with anything I find out.
[quote=“Braufessor”]I agree with you dmtaylo -
New buckets/new glass - probably no difference.
OLD buckets (5-10 years) vs. well maintained glass - I think more and more problems with plastic. Not always - but definitely with increasing frequency.
Personally, I replace buckets here and there at 2-3 year mark maybe…
My question, ultimately, would be whether or not a 1-2-3 year old, well-maintained bucket, is just as good as glass… I think that would be the more interesting question. Does a bucket with 10-20-30… batches stand up over time?
I still might try something with this - probably hijacked this thread enough:) - If I do something with this, I will report back with anything I find out.[/quote]
Tried it…no difference on my end
While I’m relatively new to full batch brewing, I do have extensive experience drinking beer :mrgreen:
As such, I would gladly volunteer to accept free beers in the name of science. :cheers:
Thanks again everyone for your input. It’s been an interesting read and I hope no one has any hard feelings. I think we all want the same thing–good beer! RDWHAHB
I skipped over most of the bucket discussion, but to the OP: good luck! I’ve never kept a batch that has gone infected (I’ve only had one that I noticed), but in my experience if you get a pellicle you have a healthy Brett and/or bacteria population. I am always weary of “aging infected beers to produce a sour”, and generally advise to people that they dump infected beer. The microbes that make good sour beers are cultured and sold for the reason that they make good sour beer (just like Sacch strains). There are millions of microbes out there, and I think that the chances that an infected beer will turn out to be a good sour is pretty slim. It’s the same reason that a lot of open fermentations are not successful. Cantillon for example knows exactly what they are doing when it comes to open fermentation; it’s not just about exposing some wort to the air for a day. However, I’ve heard stories of it working out as well. You’ve already waited this long, and that pellicle is amazing, so I would say to just go for it at this point. Don’t be afraid to take a sample of it now if you want (it’s been more than 6 months right?). The pellicle should reform quickly, and will block any over exposure to air. You could probably get an idea if the beer is going to be good, however consider that a lot of off flavors can be broken down by Brett given enough time. If you do get off flavors, depending on what they are, you can try pitching some cultured Brett strains to see if they will clean it up. Cheers and good luck!
Thanks. I figure, since I’m not going to use the bucket again, the only thing I have to lose is the square footage it’s taking up in the closet. Could be great, could be disgusting. That’s the fun part. I’ll update in a couple of months when it’s about a year old and after I’ve tried it. Brewed this around June of last year. Since I reused the yeast cake with no issues, I’m pretty sure the source of the infection was the bucket itself. The LHBS said it was only used once for a demo. I’m guessing that wasn’t the only reason it was discounted…
I’m picking up a big mouth bubbler very soon, and I’m kind of excited to go back to glass. At the same time, I’ve brewed many many batches in plastic with zero problems. I value my hands and dexterity a lot, and the carboy disaster stories always freak me out. I plan to put the BMB in a milk crate and keep it there!
