I'm sure this has been asked 1000 times

[Ferb]

I am new to wine/mead making, my question is about equipment. The local brew supply has 2 options. Glass or plastic carboys. Was thinking glass. Is one better, or preferred over the other for bulk aging?

 

[richmke]

Glass.

You can debate plastic vs glass, but there is one thing that glass can do that no current plastic carboy can do: Survive a vacuum. If you ever get serious and start making wine on a regular basis, you will eventually get a vacuum setup like the All-in-one. Plastic carboys do not work with AIO as the receiving carboy.

Glass also retains more of its resale value if you ever stop making wine.

 

[Arne]

Glass has been the standby for winemaking. Plastic is much lighter if your lifting the carboys from the floor to the workbench. If using a vacuum to transfer it doesn't matter how much they weigh as you don't have to lift the full ones. I have some of both, usually use glass for long term storage, plastic for some of the shorter times in the carboy. And Welcome to the forum. Arne.

 

[JohnT]

I too say that glass is better than plastic.

I build simple wooden crates that enclose the carboy. This makes it so that there is always a handle to grab, that they are able to be stacked on their sides, and have a "cushion" between the floor and each other. In 25 years, I have never broken a carboy.

Glass is far more long lasting and easier to tell when its clean. I agree that they do retain their value.

 

[Boatboy24]

In 25 years, I have never broken a carboy.

You are very brave to say that out loud.



For me, glass is better, without question. But I use a vacuum pump to rack/transfer. Glass has a lot of advantages, but is more expensive, and comes with the risk of breaking. Plastic is cheaper, lighter and won't break. But it can scratch or cloud up, and you can't use a vacuum pump to transfer into plastic.

 

[bkisel]

I use both. Glass for "secondary" and/or stabilizing, degassing & clearing. I prefer my plastic, for bulk aging, because they're lighter (= easier to clean, move around, etc) and very close to 6 gallons so don't need much if any topping off.

I have broken one glass carboy while cleaning with B-Bright which makes the glass extremely slippery. I did receive a very minor cut and cleanup and disposal of the broken glass was a tedious task.

 

[BernardSmith]

I'm a contrarian. Which is better Plastic or glass? It depends. It depends on what you prefer and what you wish to avoid. Glass seals well. If you lift the container (carboy) to move it around the rigidity of the glass means that you are not likely to lose liquid because the shape of the container has deformed. Glass allows you to use vacuum pumps to transfer liquid and to degas. But glass is heavy and it is very fragile. If you have a bad back or are not strong then the weight of the glass on top of the weight of five or six gallons of liquid can be a challenge to lift. Plastic is light, is easier to store empty, can take more knocks. Some plastic carboys are designed with wide mouths and are very easy to get into to clean but cleaning plastic is not as easy as cleaning glass which is not as easy to get into (narrow mouths). Plastic can be scratched very easily - and scratches invite bacteria. In short each has its advantages and each has its disadvantages. I prefer glass to plastic but I probably have just as many wines aging in plastic as I do in glass.

What to do? Buy one of each and make two identical batches of wine and see which you prefer. Your preference will largely be determined by the practices you use in making your wine and those will be shaped by the architecture and geography of your "winery"

 

[djrockinsteve]

What wasn't mentioned is with plastic when you squeeze it to lift it will contract, blow the bung and wine out. Glass is hard and allows you the ability to hold it tight without spewing wine.

I'm 100% Glass. Look around and get glass at a discount or used ones reasonable @ $15.00. Build your supply slowly, take care of them and resell later if you ever quit.

Heaven Forbid

 

[Ferb]

Awesome information!! Thank you very much. I'm thinking what worries me the most is what BernardSmith said about scratches and bacteria.. I did find a source for 1 gallon glass juice jugs for $1.50 each so that may be a start!

 

[djrockinsteve]

You will want to get over time a few gallon carboys, a half gallon, save a few magnum bottles. This way you can save that small amount of wine and use to top off. Various sizes allow you to maximize volume and have barely headspace. A number 2 bung fits regular 750ml bottles and magnums.

 

[reefman]

Personally, I have both. I have found that no matter which you use, get carboys carriers. Steve mentioned the plastic is flexible and can be squeezed, ejecting the bungs....been there done that and got soaked with wine. Bought a carrier after that. I intend to build the wooden crates mentioned as well, as I now have 10 carboys.
Glass, again, heavy and slippery as was mentioned. Didn't break any yet, but had some close calls. I find the absolute best is to clean the carboys right after they are emptied. This reduces the effort and potential scratching posed by plastic.

 

[JohnT]

You are very brave to say that out loud.

Bravery has nothing to do with it. Here is photo of the crates I was talking about. They make glass carboys indestructible and way easy to handle...