Plastic or Glass Bottles?

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Another positive for PET bottles is they are super light ,and also because of this you can clean and sterilise
in the bath in the sure knowledge that if you drop one etc no damage will occur.
 
I've been sampling my first ever batch (and it's a kit) the last couple of nights, I bottled it in brown PET bottles. It pours a lovely head and bubbles nicely in a glass. It won't expire it will be long gone by then so I am sticking to them just for ease and practicality reasons.

Really is nice stuff - Admiral's Reserve. I've just taken delivery of another one and a Nelson's Revenge.
 
Another positive for PET bottles is they are super light ,and also because of this you can clean and sterilise
in the bath in the sure knowledge that if you drop one etc no damage will occur.
I hope you don't fart in the bath!
 
I've been wondering this for a while now, what is the lifespan of a plastic pet bottle?
Or to put it another way, how many batches can you get out of one?
 
I've been wondering this for a while now, what is the lifespan of a plastic pet bottle?
Or to put it another way, how many batches can you get out of one?

I've got some clear, one liter PET bottles that club soda came in. They've been used at least tens times. Lids still seal. Nothing wrong with them.

I would hope the brown plastic bottles made especially for beer would be at least that durable.
 
I've been wondering this for a while now, what is the lifespan of a plastic pet bottle?
Or to put it another way, how many batches can you get out of one?
I bought some Coopers PET bottles about 15 years ago and only just threw them recently due to condensation between the two layers making them look undesirable not that they didn't work.
 
I bought some Coopers PET bottles about 15 years ago and only just threw them recently due to condensation between the two layers making them look undesirable not that they didn't work.

How did they look by the end? I'd imagine PET bottles get scuffed, scratched and dented over time making them look a bit tatty, or am I wrong?
 
How did they look by the end? I'd imagine PET bottles get scuffed, scratched and dented over time making them look a bit tatty, or am I wrong?
As I said these looked horrible because they were the two layer Coopers bottles and there was condensation in between the layers. I still have PET bottles that I've used over and over again in the past 5 years, I've got them everywhere in the house, brew room, under shelves in boxes etc etc.....they still look alright and I bottled a Stout at the beginning of the week in all the dark brown ones I have as I brewed it especially for Autumn/Winter (I now have 4 cornies)
 
Can't believe how stingy some people are on bottling. Most people seem to spend decent money on ingredients, be it grains, hops, yeast or a good kit and are happy to splash the cash on equipment but are dead against decent bottles. You can get 50 new glass bottles and caps for under £30. The idea of using someone else's second hand bottles or using plastic bottles makes me feel queasy. Why would put all that effort into a home brew and stick it in a plastic bottle?
 
Why would put all that effort into a home brew and stick it in a plastic bottle?
Because it's easy to manage the carbonation? To avoid gushers and bombs. To give away? I'm just ordering some to compare with my swingers. Do you buy milk in cartons? Fruit juice?
 
And I never suggested that you ask for it. Apologies if I hurt your feelings. :laugh8:
 
Do you buy milk in cartons? Fruit juice?

No, you're right there Kelper but a beer in a plastic bottle just does not sit right with me. It's personal preference obviously. Don't like Irn Bru out of a plastic bottle either. You get take away meals in foil containers but I would not want to cook a fillet steak and serve it in one.
 
I've got maybe 250 glass bottles and have never bought any empty. Almost all came from my local pub, just ask the landlord when the pubs reopen. The pubs just put them in the recycle bin.
 

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