Label Removal Day - a Question

**SkiSoloII** · 10-04-2009, 01:51 AM

Removing labels today from a couple of cases of bottles. Does anyone make their final decisons on which beers they buy based upon how hard it is to remove the labels? I may not buy Red Hook or Bells any more...

Dave

HOP-HEAD · 10-04-2009, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkiSoloII

Removing labels today from a couple of cases of bottles. Does anyone make their final decisons on which beers they buy based upon how hard it is to remove the labels? I may not buy Red Hook or Bells any more...

Dave

The hottest water your tap will pour + a heavy dose of oxy clean.... let 'em soak overnight.... done deal. The stubborn ones that won't go (there aren't many) go in the trash... my times worth more than that.

PS) With the above method....Bells are cake.

**hope2perc** · 10-04-2009, 12:00 PM

Yup, if I can't remove the label, I'm not interested in buying the beer. Sometimes that stupid glue is too much of a pain. I totally agree that my time is worth more than that, plus the frustration factor!! I'll probably miss out on some good beer because of that attitude, but there are many others out there.

Hmmm, just a few years ago I would not have been able to blow it off that easily by saying, "there are many others out there." Niiiiiccce!

sithspitt · 10-04-2009, 03:35 PM

Michelob Pale Ale is a easy bottle, but its a whole lot quicker to Keg and not really that expensive to get started.

**Edcculus** · 10-04-2009, 03:43 PM

To be honest, I quit de-labeling. Most of my beer in bottles never leaves my apartment. I only de-label a few bottles now for giving away and competitions.

I used to de-label and re-label with my own labels for every batch. That was just a huge waste of time. If you give away a lot of bottles, I guess its worth it.

**rico567** · 10-04-2009, 03:48 PM

.....but to turn the channel back to those of us who don't want to keg, it's definite that all labels are not created equal when it comes to removal. It's perplexing that the few Euro bottles I've delabeled (Franziskaner, Paulaner, etc.) practically fell off. American brewers evidently want those labels on there, even in the landfill. Red Hook can be easy or difficult. Sam Adams - not too bad, but they gotta put 3 labels on some bottles, which offsets the easy. Best U.S. bottle = Schlafly, unfortunately contains mediocre beer. I try to avoid Celis and Saranac at all costs, they're so difficult. Generally, if I get some of those, I just recycle them.

**SkiSoloII** · 10-04-2009, 05:15 PM

Luckily, Dogfish Head and Mad Hatter are easy.

**mrk305** · 10-04-2009, 07:17 PM

My favorite bottles for give aways would be Guinness. I like the curvy shaped bottles. The plastic labels come off easily after slicing with a sharp knife & you can pull out the widget with a pair of needle nose pliers.

To answer your question, yes, I have purchased beer based on the ability to remove the labels. I have also purchased craft beer in 22's based on cool painted on labels.

Sagan · 10-04-2009, 08:20 PM

I don't know if you can get Lakefront Brewery beer out there in MI, but it is one of the easiest labels I've taken off. 2 strips of light glue on the label, the center is unglued, wipes clean. Great beer as well. The biggest pain I think is Great Lakes Brewery, which is just caked with glue. Best of luck.

Sagan · 10-04-2009, 08:25 PM

Also, this should help in determining ease.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Bottles