PET vs glass bottles

The Brew · Post by **The Brew** » Tuesday Feb 22, 2005 9:48 pm

I have been told by my local HB stockist that there is no difference in flavour and that you have the obvious benefits of plastic with PET bottles, your comments would be much appreciated!

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Tuesday Feb 22, 2005 10:42 pm

It lasts longer in glass, PET does let air in allbeit slowly

Dogger

The Brew · Post by **The Brew** » Tuesday Feb 22, 2005 10:58 pm

Dogger Dan, does the little bit of air that gets inside spoil the flavour? How much longer does beer inside glass last than beer inside PET bottles?

Terry · Post by **Terry** » Wednesday Feb 23, 2005 7:34 am

Like Dogger said, air enters only slowly. This is because the PET is somewhat semi-permeable but for this to be an issue I would think that we are talking a year or 2. If you are going to be storing your brews for extended periods then it may be something to think about. Personally, I use PET bottles purely because I find them more convenient and my batches of beer only sit around for about 3 months so for me this is not a problem. Having said that I still intend to replace them at yearly intervals.

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Wednesday Feb 23, 2005 10:08 am

Pop Bottles are PEP, Those sales are because the pop is running the tail end of shelf life

I would say 6 months is safe but I am doing trials as we speak between PEP and the Grolsch swing tops. My money is on the Grolsch but that is only beacause it is aestheticly pleasing to the eye. Sorry about the spelling, have had a couple and I am not interested in checking it

Dogger

pharmaboy · Post by **pharmaboy** » Wednesday Feb 23, 2005 11:06 am

um, assume we mean that co2 "leaks" slowly out, It'd be a bit like groundwater leaking into the bottom of your pool - its a oneway street..

Sticking with PET i think, glass is a PITA, and kegs will substantialy shortne my life span I am sure.

pb

db · Post by db » Wednesday Feb 23, 2005 12:02 pm

pharmaboy wrote:um, assume we mean that co2 "leaks" slowly out, It'd be a bit like groundwater leaking into the bottom of your pool - its a oneway street..

i would assume so

Damo · Post by **Damo** » Wednesday Feb 23, 2005 1:10 pm

i can handle soft drink and milk in plastic bottles but beer

, oh i just could not drink beer from plastic.
Just my veiw.

sago · Post by **sago** » Wednesday Feb 23, 2005 2:34 pm

It's a much discussed topic amongst us imbibers.
On a different thread I stated my personal preference for glass.
I reckon the beer is colder.
I really hate it when you drop a PET bottle and the bastard bounces under a bench in the garage(brew house) empty of course.After rinsing them out I now half fill them with water for storage.
Never dropped a glass bottle funnily enough.
Never been able to mature a brew past two months yet so yet to see a significant difference in carbonation.

Antsvb · Post by **Antsvb** » Wednesday Feb 23, 2005 3:39 pm

Only milk and juice should come in plastic bottles.

beermeister · Post by **beermeister** » Wednesday Feb 23, 2005 4:18 pm

This is a bit off the track but...

The other night I was attempting to stuff a few PET bottles of stout into the freezer for a quick chill. I dropped one of them, managed to get a hand to it in mid air but that only made it spin. It hit the kitchen floor and ruptured on the bottom of the bottle in about 5 different places. The bottle then launched off the ground, spinning in the air and covered the ceiling, floor, fridge, sink, counters and all 4 walls in stout. Took me 40 minutes to clean it up. My girlfriend wasn't happy with my cleaning skills (are they ever?) and is still going over the kitchen in small bursts.

I bet that a glass bottle wouldn't have even smashed on the lino...

Antsvb · Post by **Antsvb** » Wednesday Feb 23, 2005 6:24 pm

Would have been a pretty funny sight (maybe not for you beermeister), any pictures of the mess?

Anyway what commercial beers are there that come in plastic bottles? All I can come up with is when you get a shitty extra dry or cold at sport or music events. Are there any decent beers in plastic? I think this is why I have never been willing to us it for my brews.

mahaba · Post by **mahaba** » Wednesday Feb 23, 2005 7:03 pm

Was yourtongue sore after 40 minutes?

Cheers

mordy43 · Post by **mordy43** » Wednesday Feb 23, 2005 8:05 pm

Look what pet bottles did to Coke.Screwed it right up.

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Wednesday Feb 23, 2005 10:16 pm

It is not so much the CO2 leaking out but the O2 entering. Remember your gas laws, the concentration of the CO2 matters little to the oxygen, so it is the oxygen wich transfers across the membrane which buggers the beer.

Dogger

Post by **Oliver** » Thursday Feb 24, 2005 8:58 am

Brew,

Do a search for the words "plastic" and "bottles". This has been discussed before, so you might pick up some more info by looking at those threads.

Cheers,

Oliver

beermeister · Post by **beermeister** » Thursday Feb 24, 2005 12:08 pm

No photos (unfortunately) Antsvb, I didn't think of that until after the event!

I wasted 5 minutes standing in the middle of it just wondering what the hell I was going to do.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Thursday Feb 24, 2005 12:50 pm

Beer comes in glass.

beermeister · Post by **beermeister** » Thursday Feb 24, 2005 5:37 pm

I forgot to mention I have purchased a premium German beer called DAB in a brown plastic bottle.

BM

mordy43 · Post by **mordy43** » Thursday Feb 24, 2005 5:42 pm

The germans lost 2 world wars what do'es that tell you bunch of wankers