Beer Forum

I'm about to purchase some carboys and move into full boils. Northern Brewer recommends the PET plastic Better Bottles as a great alternative to glass saying they will not let O2 in. How true is this and do they function exactly as the glass in regards to cleaning and sanitizing? A lot of the google searches are bringing up commercial sites rather than consumer reviews.

I don't have them, but this list sums up the arguments from this site and others:

Pros:
From what I hear, if any O2 gets through it is negligible.
They wont' break and there are many on this forum that have faced a broken carboy and can confirm that is a very dangerous thing
They are lighter than glass

Con:
They WILL scratch during cleaning and that is where bactria will eventually hide. There is nothing you can do about that, except be extra careful/gentle when cleaning and that can prolong but not prevent the inevitable scratches.

HTH-

BDawg wrote:They WILL scratch during cleaning and that is where bactria will eventually hide. T

I don't use them either and this is the main reason why I don't.

I've found that with BB's, you don't need to scrub, just soak for two days with your cleaner of choice.

I usually rinse as much gunk as possible off by agitating the BB with a little water in it, then fill it 3/4 full with warm tap water. Add OxiClean, heat some water to ~90-100F (they're rated up to 120F or so.), and top off with the heated water, let it sit for a day, dump it and repeat.

To the OP, if you're looking for more information on the BB, check out their site, they have pretty lengthy notes on just about every aspect of their product.

Thanks for the info! I have tendency to avoid company websites only because they are trying to sell the product so typically you won't find cons. I have found that brewing equipment sites are a little more honest then some out there. Thanks again!

I bought two of these a few months ago, I love them. Very light, they bounce vs. shatter (ask me how I know), and easy to clean.

The only drawback I've experienced is that they are only 6 gallons vs. 6.5 compared to carboys so I have to use the blow off tube method more than with the carboy or buckets, and the mouth of the BB is wider so you have to get creative with the size of the tubing. I found that a 1.75" OD spa hose works well if you wrap a little electricians tape around the end of it to make a tight seal in the BB opening. No problems since.

Go for it!

I looked at one for a few minutes at the homebrew store. Apparently that is all that is necessary to scratch them. I'll pass.


Mylo

One home brewers review http://www.homebrewjunkie.com/2008/11/better-bottles-review.html.