I have been in homebrewing business per se for a little bit, and I have been using cardboard boxes for while, but I need a new option, I lost a case after the bottom went out on me…I searched on google and cwcrates.com came up, anyone heard of them? reviews? And I saw milk crates came up too, what works better?
I don’t have any of the crates from cwcrates.com but I know someone who does. I took a look at them and they are very nice. The person I know who has some really likes them. I haven’t checked the prices but I was told the prices are quite reasonable. Hope this helps.
These are much more durable than standard cardboard, but I understand your concern.
Just a suggestion, but when stacking something on the floor of your garage, basement or other possible wet area, put it on a pallet. They’re free just about everywhere and your boxes will stay dry. I always stack my grain sacks on these, just in case.
Some people from the club have the cwcrates and like those. Those crates were robust, and looked to be fairly water proof. I didn’t get any since more kegs were on my buy list.
I use the $5 plastic filing crates from Wally-World. You need to cut a piece of 1/4 ply to strengthen the base, but they hold 30 bottles (5x6) perfectly, and are just tall enough to stack. They also hold 20 bombers or wine bottles (5x4) perfectly too, but you cant stack 'em that way.
Disclaimer, I did NOT buy a case of Hard Lime, I simply re-purposed the box home from the liquor store…
I bought a dozen cases from CW Crate and I’m very happy with them. They’re definitely sturdy, seal tight and I have no concerns about water damage or a bottom falling out. I think that with shipping they were ~$12 per crate.
Cool, that price doesn’t sound bad, thanks for the reivew, exactly what I was looking for, never really seen anything like them. do they stack easy?
also a great idea, never really thought of that, but I would prefer them to be covered you know?
and don’t worry, we all have those days haha
Yeah I like having stackability though in corner or something, I’d rather not have a pallet laying around. I’m thinking that cwcrates will provide this, not really sure though, I’ll wait for some more replies. Thanks for you help though.
I’ve got bottles in a variety of different containers including wine boxes, milk crates and two cases of some plastic crate things made especially for bottles that someone gave me.
I keep mine up off the floor on a raised platform (at least now I do, I did not always) so moisture is not necessarily an issue.
Honestly, I’ve found that wine cases are really ideal. They’re stackable (to a degree) and hold bombers perfectly. If they get wet and need to be tossed you can get more for free at Binny’s. They’re sturdy and they are meant to hold full bottles.
I bought a few of those CW Crates and love them! My cardboard crates were tearing at the handles and duct tape can only repair them so much. In the warmer months, you can put ice in the case to keep your beer cold for parties, etc.
I think that they’re pretty easy to stack. The plastic sides are more durable than cardboard so have more integrity. I have 4 cases on top of each other right now and no worries about collapse.
I second (or third, or forth, or whatever), the CW crates. Very sturdy at a reasonable price. The learning curve in assembling them can be a bit annoying though.