As a new comer to homemade wine making I have to decide what I want to do my primary fermenting in. There are a few options, the title tells the tale. As homemade wine makers we all will face this quandary at some point. I am going to try to give you some information to help with your own decision making. So are the options: Glass Carboy, Plastic Carboy or Bucket.
Glass:
They have been using glass carboys to make homemade wine for ever, here are some of the pros and cons
Pros:
- Durable- they should last about forever
- Heat resistant-You can pour boiling water right in them
- Won’t stain-Dark juices can sit in them with no worries
- See through, you know what’s going on when you use Glass carboys
- Sturdy
Cons:
- Glass is heavy, and so are glass carboys, they weigh in at about 25 lbs
- No handle, but you can purchase a wide array of carriers
- While they are relatively durable don’t drop them. Glass carboys can chip or crack
- They are the most expensive option epically if you plan on having your Carboy shipped
- Narrow opening makes filling and cleaning a challenge
Plastic Carboys
Better bottle makes the best ones I have seen, they are very similar to glass. From what I have been told you can use and 5 gallon jug from your office water cooler to make your home made wines.
Pros:
- Durable- they should last about forever and most are scratch resistant
- Won’t stain-Dark juices can sit in them with no worries
- See through, you know what’s going on when you use plastic carboys
- Very Light they weigh only 1.5 lbs
- Sturdy
Cons:
- No handle, but you can purchase a wide array of carriers
- Cant pour boiling water in them, I have seen plastic carboys melt!! The good ones are rated to 140º F
- While they are not as expensive as glass carboys, plastic carboys are still not cheap
- Narrow opening makes filling and cleaning a challenge
Primary fermenting bucket
These buckets are sold all over the place and are great for anyone looking to make homemade wine.
Pros:
- Durable- they should last about forever and most are scratch resistant
- If price is your game then primary fermenting buckets are for you! usually you can get the whole kit for under 15 bucks
- Sturdy, I have seen 5 full buckets stacked.
- Easy to store, they fit inside each other. Let’s be honest though, as soon as I empty mine I fill them up 🙂
- Nice wide opening makes filling and mixing easy
Cons:
- Can’t pour boiling water in them, I have seen primary fermenting buckets melt!! The good ones are rated to 140º F
- Primary fermenting buckets will stain from dark juices
- Since you can’t se through them who knows what is going on
Ok, so there was a fourth option, other. My First Mead Batch of homemade wine was in a milk jug, this was good because I could kind of see what was going on in there and it was cheap and easy. That suits me because I’m not a patient person not to mention I’m learning as I go here. As you may or may not know milk jugs are not totally see through. The next batch of homemade wine I did was some more mead, this time in a bucket the primary fermenting bucket was chosen because they are really cheap. The down side is that I think I ruined the starter and since the bucket is opaque I have no clue what the heck is going on in there. Well I may have used a milk jug for a quick easy batch of homemade wine, if your even remotely serious about making homemade wine, then this isn’t that great of an option. Let me recommend a 1 gallon glass jug as a good alternative for small homemade wine batches and experimentation.
I’ll leave you with this, there is no right or wrong answer. Whatever you use, happy fermenting.
Pitch the Yeast!
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