Label Removal Thread

[Beard]

+1 on oxyclean. But I use 1/4 of a scoop for a 45 L cooler not a whole scoop or multiple scoops. Everything comes of in 12 to 24 hours.

[nsheehan516]

+1 for oxyclean with warm water, wait a day!

[homebeerbrewer]

I soak mine in hot water - usually until the water cools - and scrape the label off with a razor blade. Once I have most of the glue off, I use mineral spirits and a paper towel to get the rest off. I then wash the bottle with dish detergent before going through the dishwasher to sanitize.

[ubermick]

God I love you guys.

My douchey brewing partner dropped three cases of bottles on my doorstep this past weekend, which stank to high heaven. I tried running a case through the dishwasher, all that seemed to do was annoy the labels - neck labels were torn, the main labels were discoloured and scraped up, but still very much on there.

Then I read about the Oxiclean method. Given we have a Costco sized box of it in the laundry room, I tossed two scoops into a sinkful of HOT water, and was able to submerge a case of bottles at a time.

Three hours in there, the labels came right off without a problem. Wiped away any remaining glue with a sponge, and they went straight into the dishwasher to be rinsed, while another batch went into the sink. (Since I work from home, all this was done and dusted before SWMBO got home).

HUGE thanks, lads!

Oh, and based on (short) experience, best bottles in terms of label removal seemed to be the ones from the Kona Brewing Company - came off without a trace of glue on the bottle, and they're excellent bottles to boot. No etchings, name molded onto the glass, etc. (And the stuff that came in them originally wasn't bad either)

[wscott823]

Ammonia solution (1/2c per gal water) overnight. My best results are with Magic Hat, the labels literally fall off. Second fav are Guinness draft bottles, razor and needle pliers.

[OnlineLabels.com]

Hello fellow beer lovers,

Here is a video I made a couple of weeks ago that will help you remove labels from wine or beer bottle labels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWVQImPY2Cc

Thanks,

Matt Hamilton

[Ciderbarrel]

Originally Posted by ctbrewer227

5 gallon pail filled with HOT water and some baking soda soaked for a few hours does an amazing job!!

I second that.

I did just that and filled the bucket with hot water and left it over night. I woke up with all the labels floating in the bucket and what glue didn't come off, came off easily w/ a sponge.

They were Woodchuck cider bottles, FYI.

EDIT: Check that. I loaded up some more bottles for overnight and I went back to the sink just now and in about 30 mins the labels were off. I have NO idea how much baking soda I used. Think Homer Simpson w/ lighter fluid. I just kept squirting and squirting the plastic bottle.

[cappy]

I've had no problem with hot water and soap. Usually save some up and throw them in the dish water after the dishes are done. Schlafly labels fall off easily.

[jclavel]

Yesterday I began cleaning bottle for the brown ale that I intend to boil next week.

All I did was fill all of the bottles with hot water, then place them in a cooler, and filled the cooler with hot water and Oxy clean. After about 20 minutes of soaking, all of the labels were floating on the surface of the water.

It was like magic. I just rinsed the bottles, and now they are ready for sanitizing. Nice!

These were Sam Adams bottles too.

[dummkauf]

I've managed to de-label almost all of my bottles, including Sam Adams, with warm water and an ice scraper. I just soak them in hot water in my sink, no soap, for about 20 min, then pick them up, the label peels off in one piece easily and goes into the garbage, and then take an ice scraper and easily scratch off the remaining glue. I then stick them all in the dish washer for a good cleaning before get put in the closet.

However, I don't know what the boys at Dark Horse Brewing Company are using to glue their labels to the Crooked Tree IPA, but I swear they mixed super glue with rubber cement. My usual trick got the labels off, but not the glue, my ice scraper just pushed the **** around, but didn't take anything off. I then tried soaking the bottle in rubbing alcohol, that didn't do it, finally resorted to "goo gone". Sprayed that on it in the sink, left for 5 min, and the glue wiped right off with a paper towel

Just thought I'd throw my $0.02 in since I'm about 2 weeks away from bottling my first batch and I've been diligently emptying bottles for the batch and have been de-labeling like crazy the last few weeks