Hi folks. I'm interested to see whether anyone else really, really can't be
bothered with bottles and stuff for a basic gallon of homebrew glugging
plonk?

I have a couple of the storage boxes with taps (expensive!) which work
fairly well (until they start leaking), but for most everyday purposes -
i.e., on wine which I won't keep for more than a couple of months before
drinking - I use plastic 2l soft drink bottles. The ultimate in recycling!

I experimented and found that there was absolutely no difference in drinking
quality - after all, a lot of bog-standard commercial plonk is "bottled" in
plastic, and I'm sure it's stored in plastic at some stage of it's
production. I do keep them in a cool place in the dark.

Obviously, for a high-quality wine (which I don't really do), or one which
is to be kept for more than a few months, I think glass would be better.
But this is really easy, quick, convenient and more than cheap!

Any comments?

Barb UK

I experimented and found that there was absolutely no difference in drinking
quality - after all, a lot of bog-standard commercial plonk is "bottled" in
plastic, and I'm sure it's stored in plastic at some stage of it's
production. I do keep them in a cool place in the dark.


Given you want to drink it young what you suggest is probably better
for the wine. Plastic isn't a great oxygen barrier but in this case a
little more oxygen would help it age quicker. The only problem would
be if you noticed it getting better and better with time, you might
run out of time before it goes over.

Joe

Barb wrote:

I have a couple of the storage boxes with taps
(expensive!) which work fairly well (until they
start leaking), but for most everyday purposes -
i.e., on wine which I won't keep for more than a
couple of months before drinking - I use plastic
2L soft drink bottles. The ultimate in recycling!

Those 2L soda bottles use PET plastic, They
are excellent for keeping carbonation in for
about a year, But their oxygen barrier will
at best hold up for six months. I use them
for brews expected to be consumed in three
minths or less.

Dick