[tschmidlin]

Glass shards won't float.

Very small rocks?

I'm with Jeff, siphon above the bottom and it should be fine.

[maxieboy]

I would not toss the beer.  He said the carboy cracked, not broke, so there may not be any shards.  If there happen to be shards of glass they would all be on the bottom.  It's already in another vessel, so that lessens the chance of shards.  Nut siphon the beer out with your siphon tube an inch off the bottom and you should be safe.  Glass shards won't float.

This.

[Tristan]

Thanks again for all the advice!  I decided to keg the beer.  I siphoned carefully, leaving 1.5 inches of beer above the trub with the plastic part affixed to the end of the racking cane.   That plastic piece fits on incredibly snug and I feel any particles of glass small enough to pass through this area will be trivial.  We bottled the other 5 gallons in a seperate carboy which was not affected.  I shook the keg to force carbonate and the beer is wonderful.  My friend and I, both of us vividly aware of the details of the situation both enjoyed two pints.  No glass was noticed.  Just in case some particles should find themselves in the keg I'll waste a pint down the drain a week from now after it is totally settled.

It's funny.  The owner of the homebrew shop in town agreed there was "nothing to worry about" and that "fragments big enough would be on the very bottom."  He said, "People eat glass all the time" and we both had a laugh.  Then I bought a brew pale for Mead Day tomorrow.  I'll be getting some Better Bottles next month to replace my broken fermentors.

[Tristan]

I would not toss the beer.  He said the carboy cracked, not broke, so there may not be any shards.  If there happen to be shards of glass they would all be on the bottom.  It's already in another vessel, so that lessens the chance of shards.  Nut siphon the beer out with your siphon tube an inch off the bottom and you should be safe.  Glass shards won't float.

Just to clarify, the carboy did break in one spot, but the fragments fell outward and they were large.  It left a hole perhaps 2 inches in diameter.  When I poured the beer into another fermentor I didn't see any debrie and there were no small shards.

[ccarlson]

I agree with tossing this beer, but glass is great for long storage, unless you happen to have an overwhelming supply of kegs.

If you don't have kegs, and you can fill close to the neck of the carboy, glass is good for long time storage. That said, I dunno about now, but back when I was buying kegs you could get them for $10 a pop. Carboys were $40. I had way more kegs than carboys. 

I used to buy beer for $1.25 a six pack. 

[1vertical]

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXLUektk7zg