OVHA Chat

What's up with these "better bottles" or plastic carboys. Are they the same as the 5 gallon bottles sold for RO water at grocery stores? I know the orange carboy fermenting tops fit them just great. I've used them for wine and have a bunch. But haven't used them for beer. Anybody out there using them for primaries?

5gal Water bottles as carboys don't have enough headspace (at least 3 inches) so the foam does not enter the airlock.
I use Better Bottles as Primary and Secondary and they are 6.5gal. You could use the 5gal water bottle as a Secondary since the
active fermentation is complete.

Better Bottles claim to be virtually impermeable to oxygen. You can't say that about the water bottles you buy here and there without knowing what kind of plastic they made from. Here's more info from their website: http://www.better-bottle.com/faq.html.

BB doesn't have a 6.5 gallon size. They produce 3-gallon, 5-gallon, and 6-gallon carboys.

If you're brewing 5-gallon batches, look for the 6-gallon size and use that for primary fermentation. Still, I recommend you use Fermcap in primary fermentation, because a even moderately active fermentation will come through the airlock in the 6-gallon size.

I have 2 6.5 gallon glass carboys and a 6-gallon one. I would only use them in a very tight pinch. The weight factor alone is enough to convince me.

Secondary fermentation is overrated. I have an Octoberfest aging right now, and I chose to put it straight in the keg. The risk of contamination almost always outweighs the benefits of secondary fermentation in my mind. I'm not convinced that anything worth noting happens during secondary fermentation in a carboy.

Michael Erwin wrote: Secondary fermentation is overrated. I have an Octoberfest aging right now, and I chose to put it straight in the keg. The risk of contamination almost always outweighs the benefits of secondary fermentation in my mind. I'm not convinced that anything worth noting happens during secondary fermentation in a carboy.