# Italian Glass Carboy or Better Bottle Carboy w/ Kit



## Huey (Mar 5, 2013)

I'm about to expand my beer brewing and cider making to wine making so I'm going to order a kit from George at www.finevinewines.com and I'm not sure which carboy option to get.

I currently have a Mexican 6 gallon glass carboy (which should be real close to 23 L) and two three gallon glass carboys.

I'm leaning towards the Better Bottle option since it is closer to 23 L and I plan on doing some aging in both of my big carboys (up to six months but usually it will be for about two months). Would the larger Italian glass carboy offer any advantages or will it just be frustrating due to the excessive topping off it will require?

Thanks for the help. I've been enjoying reading and learning on this website this last week.


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## pjd (Mar 5, 2013)

Huey, go for the glass!!!!! It will make you happy! 45 carboys and still growing, you cannot beat glass!


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## DoctorCAD (Mar 5, 2013)

One is not better than the other, carboys are only vessels.

Glass has advantages, poly has advantages.
Glass has disadvantages, poly has disadvantages.

The important thing is that you are making wine!


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## flapbreaker (Mar 6, 2013)

Huey said:


> I'm about to expand my beer brewing and cider making to wine making so I'm going to order a kit from George at www.finevinewines.com and I'm not sure which carboy option to get.
> 
> I currently have a Mexican 6 gallon glass carboy (which should be real close to 23 L) and two three gallon glass carboys.
> 
> ...



I have a couple glass and one plastic. I'm a bit disappointed with the plastic. One thing I do not like about plastic is when I need to move it the walls will flex and move are through the airlock. I don't like drawing air into the carbon. The other thing is if you want to use a pump to degas you can't do it on the plastic one since the walls give.


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## Boatboy24 (Mar 6, 2013)

I have both and they each have their pros and cons. I like the better bottles because of their weight, but don't like the flex and pressure change you get when moving them. For this reason, I typically use them for secondary fermentation and leave the glass for clearing and/or longer term aging. When moving them, I usually take the airlock out. There's no right (or wrong) answer here. But since you have a few glass carboys already, it might be worth trying a BB to see what you think.


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## Huey (Mar 6, 2013)

Thanks for the input. If the glass carboy was the true 23L version I think I'd go with that.

Can anyone give me some input with regards to the larger Italian size and having to top off more?

Right now I'm leaning towards getting the BB to try something different and then purchasing a couple more of my preferred size later down the road when there is a sale or I can find some on Craigslist.


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## Dugger (Mar 6, 2013)

I have mostly Mexican or old Italian carboys (the smooth ones) but I do have one of the ribbed Italian ones. I make more higher end kits than I used to and I find with the RJS Winery Series kits which have wet grapeskins packs, that I end up with about 24 plus litres in the primary. Racking to the Italian carboy allows me to accommodate this extra volume and then allows me to then rack down to a Mexican carboy without any topping up. 
If you might be doing something like this, the Italian one would be handy.


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## jimmyjames23 (Mar 6, 2013)

Dugger said:


> I have mostly Mexican or old Italian carboys (the smooth ones) but I do have one of the ribbed Italian ones. I make more higher end kits than I used to and I find with the RJS Winery Series kits which have wet grapeskins packs, that I end up with about 24 plus litres in the primary. Racking to the Italian carboy allows me to accommodate this extra volume and then allows me to then rack down to a Mexican carboy without any topping up.
> If you might be doing something like this, the Italian one would be handy.



I do the exact same thing. Primary in the 6 1/2 gal Italian then rack to the 6 gal Mexican. 
Why top up when you can rack down!


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## robie (Mar 6, 2013)

Since all you have now is glass, get a Better Bottle, so you can experience the difference. Each has its advantages and disadvantage. I have both and like both.

Just remember than anytime you want to pick up or move the Better Bottle, remove the air lock and bung and replace with a solid bung. After it is set down again, go back to what you had.

Oh, the Better Bottle is also going to be closer to 6.5 gallons, just like the Italian carboys.


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