Review: Are Better Bottles Better?

Written by DJ Spiess

Sunday, 21 October 2007

Article Index
Review: Are Better Bottles Better?
Price/Glass
Recommendation

Page 3 of 3

Recommendation

It would be nice if the Better Bottle did not have ridges inside the bottle. If you look at the picture below, yeast and sediment tends to collect on these ridges. However, a solid tap against the side of the Better Bottle will dislodge any sediment.

Sediment can get caught on the rings of the Better Bottle as seen on the left Better Bottle.

For our needs, we found the plain Better Bottles to be easier than the ported Better Bottles. We prefer using the plain Better Bottles with the ported closure add-on. The #10 stoppers work, but if the stopper is wet, it is difficult to keep it in. The ported closure is the only add-on we would recommend, but you can get by fine with the stoppers. The ported closure is good when you want to leave your beer or wine alone for long periods of time. You cannot use the ported closure with a normal plastic airlock. If you do not get the dry airlock, you must use a #10 stopper.

Better Bottles holding red wine.

The dry airlock works well, but simple airlocks are cheaper and work just as well. The dry airlock is nice because you won’t pull in liquid when you pick up the Better Bottle. The rack adapter add-on is just too expensive to bother with. A racking cane works for us just as well, and requires less maintenance.

Overall we love the Better Bottles, and we will never go back to glass. The weight and safety of the Better Bottle sold us. It would be nice if the add-ons were cheaper, but you really don’t need them. The Better Bottle has never imparted a plastic flavor to any wine or beer, even with prolonged exposures for lagers, wine, and Lambic. We have never had a problem with oxidation or contamination using the Better Bottles, ported or plain. Once you’ve tried the Better Bottle, we think you will also never look back to glass!

Who is behind fermentarium?

My name is D.J. Spiess I've been homebrewing for many years and I hope I can help you enjoy this hobby as much as I do. If you enjoyed this article, please leave a comment, share it, digg it, or stumble it using the icons to the right or the top of the page.
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