What are the advantages/disadvantages of a carboy versus a bucket?

The advantages of a bucket is that it is very affordable and easy to use. The bucket fermenters that come with our kits have a spigot about 1" up from the bottom. The advantage of this is that it when it comes time to transfer one simply flips open the valve, effectively eliminating siphoning. The trub, or solid matter, gets left behind since it has settled out below the spigot level. The main disadvantage of plastic fermenters is that in the long run sanitation becomes an issue. Any scratches will harbor bacteria that a sanitizing solution may not be able to get to. Also plastic should not be used for the long term storage of beer. While plastic is very good at holding liquid in, it is not so good at keeping oxygen out. Oxygen actually seeps through the plastic walls. Glass has the advantage of being clear. You can see the marvelous yeast performing their destiny. Fermentation truly is a miracle that you probably don't want to miss viewing. Glass barring breakage will last forever and can be cleaned to a clean finish every time (with a little effort.) The disadvantage of glass is that it is a little more expensive up front and requires some additional equipment, a carboy brush for cleaning, a funnel for wort entry, and siphoning set up for getting the beer out. Glass also breaks and when wet it can be very slippery. (When the carboy does not feel round anymore get your hands out of the way! There is nothing left to catch and they crash very violently. We know many people who have ended up in the emergency room!) If you just want to get your feet wet, are buying an equipment kit as a gift and the recipient did not ask for the kit, or you live out of the country (glass does not make it so well overseas) go with the plastic. You can get a glass carboy later on. One thing to keep in mind is if you do have a bad back go with the plastic as the glass is too hard to lift.

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