Bucket or Carboy?

I, like alot of people here, am looking into starting brewing. I've been trying to figure out what most people like to use for the primary fermentation.

What do all you prefer? Bucket or carboy? Why?

Thanks in advance.

I like buckets better. They are easier to move around, cheaper, have pleanty of headspace once filled up and easier to clean.

Buckets are easier to clean, easier to move around when full, and don't break.

I found a couple glass carboys at a discount store for cheap, so I bought them.

Been brewing since 1973 and have brewed in both. What others have said is in fact true BUT plastic gets scratched and harbor bacteria and will need changed every few years. I like a big 6.5 gallon carboy and safeale yeast.

I use buckets for primary and better bottles for secondary. I would use the glass carboy I have if I were going to make something that would need to condition a LONG time. Like 3 months or better.

I understand the risks of scratches in the plastic. I use regular cheap soft sponges to clean. I have suspected a bucket before and just went and bought a new one. Not a big deal. The ease of use is too big a factor for me to not use them.

I am going to try a bucket for the first time this weekend.


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I use buckets. Easy to stack and take up less room when not in use. Cheap, so I can have more of them.

I find buckets easier to use personally.

Buckets for beer. Major reason is ease of cleaning. Minor reasons include things like ease of dry hopping and stackability.

Better Bottles/carboys for apfelwein. Very little cleaning required.

Ideally, neither. I like to ferment in my corny kegs when possible. I like the overall utility of having something that can serve dual purpose and the more kegs I accumulate to ferment in the more kegs I also wind up with for having multiple options on draft. Plus, stainless is a breeze to clean. When I transfer over and need to clean out a keg I just throw a gallon of hot water in, some PBW, close the lid and hit it with a bit of CO2 to seal the lid and shake it like crazy. When I pop it open and dump the contents there is almost nothing left clinging to the wall and my arms are luckily small enough as to not have a problem reaching in to get the last bits of fermentation gunk on the sides.

EDIT: I guess I should say I like the cornies for beer. For mead or apfelwein I go glass carboys since I scored some 3 gallon and 5 gallon ones for cheap on craigslist.

Hey all! First post in this area! Been brewing & making Mead/wine too for 15yrs+/-. BJCP 'Recognized'. Should be 'Certified' (stupid written test! Certified on Judging part.)


I like buckets for primary & glass for secondary. If you use glass for primary, you must have a wort chiller!!.
I use a carbouy brush to clean the glass & Cascade Crystal & warm water for beer stone. Walt is right about the downside of buckets.

I have been using Better Bottles for my fermenting. I get a good deal on them at Bells in Kalamazoo, MI.
I shake them up with some oxyclean and an old dish towel, they come out very clean, really quickly.

I just bottled my first bucket fermented beer over the weekend.

I will never primary in a carboy again if I have a bucket around.
Cleanup with a bucket was less than 5 minutes with a paper towel and 1/4 scoop of Oxy, whereas with a carboy I usually have to let it soak in Oxy for at least 30 minutes to an hour then scrub any remaining junk.

I use both buckets and carboys for the primary fermentation.

The pros on the bucket are that it is easy to clean, move around and you don't have to worry about it breaking.

The cons are if you scratch it you have just created a little germ sanctuary and they can retain some odors.

But I only use glass carboys for the secondary.

I personally feel like those " Better Bottles" are a scam, 30 bucks for a Culligan jug




The short of it is that I wouldn't shy away from buckets at all.

Bucket primary

Glass secondary

Bucket for all primaries. Glass carboy for secondary, but I only secondary for flavor (fruit, wood, etc.)

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