Ferment in Plastic or Glass?

Plastic buckets are pretty great for primary fermentation. They are cheap, they have enough headspace that you can typically use an airlock and not a blow off tube, and really, they do the trick. They are not impermeable to oxygen, so if you plan on fermenting longer than a few weeks, you might want to consider glass. They also do not have the same lifespan as a glass carboy - they will get micro abrasions over time that can harbor bacteria and wild yeast, unless of course you are super gentle and careful about cleaning them...

Glass is actually not that much more expensive. Try kijiji or craigslist and you can usually find one for 15-20 bucks used. The thing I think I like most about them is rather trivial - you can see the fermentation taking place! You can see exactly whats happening with your krausen, your dry hops, your yeast cake ect. They will last forever if you treat them nice, and they won't allow any oxygen to get at the beer. Simply use a blow off tube for the first three or four days, then switch to a regular airlock.

Glass has my vote! (or a PET carboy, slightly more expensive but not as heavy and breakable)

Cheers!

 

After using glass only for 15+ years, I started using plastic and haven't bought a glass fermenter in over 6-7 years and now use mainly plastic (8 currently in plastic (6 buckets & 2 Better Bottles) and 3 in glass carboys). I brew on the main floor of our house and ferment, keg and serve my clean beers in the basement, so I worry less about breaking a fermenter as I hoof them down the stairs after brewing. I shunned plastic buckets in the past for being too cheap, but now I see how economical and functional they actually are compared to many other types of fermenters and think it's a solid choice to start brewing with.

 

I use glass and plastic but I won't buy any more glass fermenters in the future for safety reasons. Buckets are easier to get into the fermentation chamber

 

I've had one glass carboy and I dropped it after about 6 months - no injuries thankfully. All plastic now - I'm happy with them but you do need to think about your cleaning process - try and avoid scratching them so there are no nooks and crannies for the bugs to hide in.

 

I have been homebrewing for over 20 years and I have always used plastic buckets for my fermentor. I would never consider switching.

Cheers!

 

If you're getting started, go plastic. Cheaper, safer, easier to dry hop. If you


I had to go plastic bc a glass carbon didn't fit inside the mini-fridge I use for temp controller fermentation.

 

I use a PET carboy for 90% of my beers. The only time I use a bucket is if I have 2 things going at once. I would never use a glass carboy because I have seen too many photos of stitches where people drop them and slice the ever living crap out of themselves.
Buckets work great. To be honest the biggest reason I use the carboy is because I'm a nosy brewer and want to see what's going on without lifting the lid.

 

I'll throw in a vote for stainless.

 

Expensive!

 

Plastic buckets FTW. Especially rigged with a spigot so once primary is done, attach a tube and gravity feed right into a purged keg. No siphon, no agitation, easy as can be. Even with massive dry hops, a day long cold crash it is ready to go with nearly no sediment.

Oh, and simple hydrometer readings without opening anything. Just fill my sample tube, sanitize the spigot and put away. If you do it slowly enough, it's off-gassing more than the displacement of fluid so there is no "suck back" either.

 

Very true when compared with plastic or glass, but the OP didn't really specify his/her budget. I love my brew bucket and think it was worth every penny.

 

I started with plastic but switched to carboys when my family gifted them to me. The glass is heavier and slipperier so that you have to be super cautious to prevent breakage, but it's nice to be able to see what is happening with your beer.

Regarding what you heard about not using the airlock on a carboy, that can be true when you brew a beer with a high OG that will ferment like crazy and send krausen through the airlock and clog it. That's when a blow-off tube is needed by placing a large diameter tube into the mouth of the carboy and the other end in a bucket of water. (Or you can remove the inverted cup in the airlock and attach a quarter-inch tube to the stem and place the other end in a bucket of water.) This krausen blockage can also happen if you are foolish enough to ferment a 5-gallon batch in a 5-gallon carboy. Most homebrewers will agree that a 6.5 gallon carboy must be used for a 5-gallon batch to allow for adequate head space. (Just like the head space that was one of the benefits of the 6.5 gallon plastic buckets that was mentioned above.)

 

I'm still using the same buckets I started with ~7 years ago. Clean beers and sour beers with no cross contamination, just really strict sanitation. There are a few deep scratches in them too.

I do need to buy new lids for them though. Or at the very last new orings...

 

Do you only have 1 batch fermenting at a time? I usually keep more than 10 beers in fermenters at a time, so buying 10+ stainless steel fermenters is simply ludicrous...unless you're Ludacris.

 

Usually one at a time, but I do from time to time use the glass ones I started with for doing extra batches. Over time I do want 4 stainless as I ferment in a stand up full fridge that will fit four because they are stackable.

It all comes down to the personal brewing commitment and process I guess, no "right" answer.

I really couldn't imagine having 10 fermenting at one time. Maybe one day if I make the jump to sours, which I would probably prefer a bunch of 5g glass for extended aging and blending.

 

I've been using a single plastic fermenter for about 6 years and no infections etc. I've also had beer sitting in it for 3 months, and no oxidisation issues.

If you are right on the bleeding edge of world-class competitions then I would worry about oxygen ingress etc. Otherwise... You are worrying about fractions of percentages compared to the influence of other factors.

 

No need for glass...all of my sours and funky beers have been fermented in buckets for the past 5 or so years and never had a problem with oxidation. Give them a try when you get there and unless you're a newbie that feels the need to open a fermenter every week or so to "check it", you won't have any problems with aging.

There are a lot of people that like to give advice but actually don't have the experience to back up that advice...I've noticed more and more homebrewers make claims about things they've never done or experienced, simply repeating someone else's mindless dribble, and then arguing that it's the truth/an absolute (SMH). Don't believe everything you hear or read...only believe it when you see and experience it.

 

I like the glass v. plastic debate. It's pretty interesting. In a functional sense, the materials are not the issue with permeability. It is the length of and the type of seal. PET carboys have almost identical permeability to glass carboys. Plastic buckets, however, have much greater permeability than either. The reason is because of the length of the seal (on the lid and the hole for the airlock) is MUCH longer than that of a carboy.

If you are fermenting clean beers with a quick turn-around time, plastic buckets are just fine. If you are planning on aging your beers, though, I would recommend that you invest in glass or a PET carboy. The smaller seals do make a difference.

Many will say that it doesn't matter and that they produce aged (both sour/funky and clean) beer that is just fine in plastic buckets. That is all well and good, but, IMHO, it is not a "best practice" and I, personally, am not willing to take a chance with my beers.

 

Curious as to how long you age your beers and if you've had any other byproducts of aerobic metabolism, like ethyl acetate.