Newbie wondering about glass and plastic. . .

[franpod]

I set up a wine kit that's currently working away. I was just thinking about the next thing I wanted to line up and start planning. I'd really like to try a cider like this one here:
https://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/on-the-rocks-cider-raspberry-and-lime-40-pints-p-1243.html just because summer's coming!
The only thing is, I remember somebody telling me before that you can't make cider in the plastic vessels (which is all I have) because the plastic does something chemical to the cider or vice versa. I had a google and can't find anything to the contrary.
Is there any chemical reason why you'd need to use glass to brew or is it all just a matter of preference?

[JD]

Hi franpod, welcome to the world of homebrew.

The issue with using plastic for cider is to do with the length of time it takes cider to finish fermenting. Plastic fermentation buckets have a slight permeability to oxygen, i.e. they let oxygen from the air slowly get leech into the brew contained within. For beer, one would usually get the brew into a bottle before this becomes a problem but with cider, you may need to wait six months or more before its ready for bottling. The plastic will have let too much oxygen get at the cider over that length of time. Glass is not permeable to oxygen so no such deterioration occurs.

There are plastic vessels made from PET plastic that have an oxygen barrier. These go by the brand name "Better Bottle". These are supposedly safe from this oxygen permeability problem. I have one myself and I've never had an issue with oxygen. They do have a problem with poor scratch resistance just like any plastic. Scratches are great places for undesirable microbes to get a start, so any plastic vessels will have a limited lifetime. Glass wont scratch easily and so will last longer and will generally be safer for all brews. Glass doesn't bounce well so you takes your choice.

/JD

[franpod]

Hi JD,
That settles it. I think I'll try a white wine kit instead. I did have my eye on a few of those glass demijohns because they're smaller and I want to make mead but I want to do a few brews with the equipment I already have first.
Thanks for the info!
-F