Dont store spirits in plastic

by **HangOver** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 7:46 pm

I was browsing another site and found this info as I dont think its been mentioned here I thought I'd copy it:

SOME plastics are okay to store LOW PROOF alcohol in (polycarbonates only, please--unless you really CAN afford PTFE)--NO PLASTIC is good for hot or high proof alcohol.
Don't do it. Don't argue. Or at least don't blame ME if there's ever a problem.
In the course of my work, I've seen many, many plastic bottles with high proof spirits in them. Sent to me by the distillers. I have yet to find one sample that didn't contain detectable amounts of plasticizer. How much di-iso-octyl phthalate do YOU want to eat?

by **Jimmy** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 8:37 pm

Ah, the words of the chemist if I am not mistaken! I agree - hot and high strength alcohol should not be stored in plastic containers. In the US, they do sell spirits in plastic but only up to about 40% ABV. I wouldn't even store that in plastic personally, but I don't mind using a plastic funnel, etc which some people object to.

by **pi55ed** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 8:42 pm

Oh dear i have a plastic 5 litre bottle full of 40 %,

Do you think its gone off then?

by **Jimmy** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 8:48 pm

Depends how long it's been there, and how hot it has been kept, etc. It's a personal choice, some would say definitely not and some would say it is fine.

by **HangOver** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 9:30 pm

hey jimmy

i think we frequent the same site, its OK but my god they are stuck up their own A$$'es I have read loads of posts where people ask questions and all they get in responce is "I'm sick of spoon feeding" etc and my fave: "Read the whole site three times"

I mean, just plain rude IMO, rant rant

Pi55ed as jimmy says some countries sell booze in plastice bottles hmmmmm

personally I would decant it into glass and maybe carbon filter, maybe not?

I would decant it though

by **Jimmy** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 9:47 pm

Yeah, I get their point in a way but if they don't want to answer, why not just shut up and let someone else do it instead of trying to put someone down? I don't go on there much nowadays, I'm happy in my own little world where I am the boss, lol.

by **marc83** » Sun May 16, 2010 4:35 am

Have been reading through some of the old topics on th forums and had to laugh when reading these posts,i bet i can guess which other forum you guys are talking about.....too right they should hold back posting a put down reply if they dont wish to answer.Alot of them have too much time on their hands if you ask me......

i could go on!but i will hold back.

by **phlogiston** » Sun May 16, 2010 3:46 pm

I think there are a lot of strong opinions about storing alcohol in plastic. You can find plenty of people who say it\'s OK if you use food grade plastic, the FDA wouldn\'t allow it if it wasn\'t safe, etc, etc, blah, blah. Then you can find people who, in one place tell you not to do it, but elsewhere can be found suggesting you use a (non food grade) PVC waste pipe to build a carbon filter.
I have an opinion on this, but (as they may say on the \"other\" site) it ain\'t worth diddly squat. What is missing is EVIDENCE.

by **arncraft** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 11:09 pm

I\'m no chemist, hell, I\'m a philosopher. But the idea that plastics may not be a smart storage choice seems pretty obvious to me, now that I\'ve read it here.

There\'s some scary evidence that certain plastics are not good for children\'s milk.

We should well recognize the use of alcohol in infusions. You want limoncello? Put lemon peel in vodka. Sucks the lemon stuff right out. Lemon starts coloring the vodka almost immediately, and in a few weeks it\'s limoncello (after you add simple syrup).

Why wouldn\'t alcohol act as a strong \'infuser for disagreeable plastic volatiles? And the stronger the alcohol, the greater the INFUSOR effect.

As said above, much of the cheapest 80 proof booze in America comes in hard plastic jugs (1.75L). I buy vodka in this form and use my electric distiller to boost it to 100 - 120 proof for making limoncello. But I place the boosted vodka and lemon peel in one gallon glass jars.

For fermenting plums for brandy I use a 7 gallon food grade plastic tub. But this stuff only gets to 12 % and is not stored there. It\'s distilled and put in glass.

IMO, there\'s no case against short term storage of low grade alcohol in food grade plastics. (Think of wine boxes) But for higher grade alcohol, if glass is available why not use it?

And glass IS available. We have a recycle center where I can retrieve lots of one gallon glass wine jugs. For limoncello I bought one gallon glass jars of pickles. ($4) My wife loves dill pickles. (push them if you can; many fewer calories than olives).

My view: I\'m looking for, open to, any evidence that plastics are not safe enough at lower alcohol levels. For higher levels, Why risk it? Glass is there, Use it.

by **H2SO4.5** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 3:15 am

What lids are on your glass bottles? Mine are all glass with metal lids and lid seals made from a plastic material. Admittedly they do not touch the spirit but it would be nice to use something totally non-reactive if what you say is correct for peace of mind.

by **StillWaters** » Fri Jan 18, 2013 4:38 am

Are you Guys saying that a fermenter should not be used to store low wines? I have a spare 30ltr one ad was considering using it to store the low wines until I have enough to do a decent spirit run. I store the final spirit in 5 ltr glass demo-johns. Cheers, SW

by **YHB** » Fri Jan 18, 2013 7:21 am

Yes, that is exactly what they are saying. Stick with glass or stainless.

by **StillWaters** » Sat Jan 19, 2013 12:30 am

Something else learned - thanks YHB. I'll get some more 5ltr glass demo-johns. SW