Hey, it’s the holiday time and what homebrewer doesn’t put a few pieces of homebrewing equipment on their list?
I have been eyeing a Better Bottle Carboy for a while. Here’s a picture of it:
I probably will still use a bucket for primary fermentation, but for beers that need to be conditioned I will transfer the beer into this vessel. This carboy is made of plastic so it’s lighter and easier to clean than glass. It’s relatively inexpensive too…around 24 bucks.
For twice the money, I could ask for the same carboy but one with a spigot on the bottom of it. Here a picture of what I mean:
The question: Is the spigot really worth twice the money?
PUD
i’ve got two right now. just started using glass as my primary. i love getting my brew into the better bottle and easily lifting it to move. cleaning them is for sure a plus.
i’ll be looking to get an extra as soon as i use both of mine for some hard apple cider. yummie!
John P.
Don’t get pulled in by the marketing hype. If you want a plastic carboy like these go to a water-cooler service and ask them for one. Here they normally charge $6, but if you are friends with someone who works there (take a 6 pack of homebrew maybe?) you can get them for free. Also, just get a replacement spigot for a bottling bucket. They run from $2 to $5 online.
I’ll get off my soapbox now. I just hate to see people taken advantage of.
Eli F.
I agree with John P. The water cooler containers look awfully similar to the “Better Bottle”. I might have to try the water cooler bottles for a larger batch.