I have no idea what you guys are smoking.

because everytime I've looked up anything about removing labels from bottles, it's as if it's pulling teeth.


I just soaked a bunch of bottles last night in some hot water, peeled the labels off and was able to get all the glue off with the scouring side of a regular kitchen sponge.

so why all the talk of "let them soak in oxiclean/star-san/etc etc etc for two or three days and the labels come right off"?

are we being lazy? or are the plastic labels harder to remove? (so far all the bottles I've used have been from microbreweries/people who use paper labels.)

Some are harder to remove than others.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Some are harder to remove than others.

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+1. Also, scrubbing off a handful of labels isn't that much of a pain, but if you are doing numerous cases, you will appreciate something like PBW. A lot of times the labels will already be off in the soaking bucket (and no scrubbing is better than a little scrubbing), but again this depends on the label type.

funkapottomous said:

because everytime I've looked up anything about removing labels from bottles, it's as if it's pulling teeth.


I just soaked a bunch of bottles last night in some hot water, peeled the labels off and was able to get all the glue off with the scouring side of a regular kitchen sponge.

so why all the talk of "let them soak in oxiclean/star-san/etc etc etc for two or three days and the labels come right off"?

are we being lazy? or are the plastic labels harder to remove? (so far all the bottles I've used have been from microbreweries/people who use paper labels.)

Click to expand...

I've had some labels that will just come off without even soaking and some that require a ton of scrubbing. Even paper labels doesn't mean they're going to be easy. Try removing a label from a Three Floyds bottle some time and get back to us.

+! one to Jumbo. Hand scrub 150 or so bottles, you'll see why we're being "lazy". Work Smarter, not harder.
Plus Sam Adams label with come right off when wet, Great Lakes on the other hand, I throw them away.

Flip, the question a bit.

Are you such a poor planner, that you can't let bottles soak for a day or 2?

+1

I drink a lot of different beers. I'll throw a few cases into the tub and some of the labels will be floating after an hour, but others still require some serious elbow grease (and scotch pads and fingernails) to get off even after an overnight soak. You just got lucky with the labels you had.

IrregularPulse said:

+! one to Jumbo. Hand scrub 150 or so bottles, you'll see why we're being "lazy". Work Smarter, not harder.
Plus Sam Adams label with come right off when wet, Great Lakes on the other hand, I throw them away.

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well I did about 50 or so bottles last night in an hour or so while SWMBO was watching american idol, I don't have a TON of space to use, or even extra buckets, but I did what I could with the kitchen sink.

ChshreCat said:

+1

I drink a lot of different beers. I'll throw a few cases into the tub and some of the labels will be floating after an hour, but others still require some serious elbow grease (and scotch pads and fingernails) to get off even after an overnight soak. You just got lucky with the labels you had.

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that's a good idea, and I hadn't thought of that. I was thinking to myself "how in the hell am I going to get 50 bottles to soak in star-san/whatever? I don't even have A bucket I can use. But I do have an extra bathroom with a tub. That's a bingo.

You don't have to soak them all at one... I mean, you have about 4-6 weeks to do this once you conceive of brewing a beer.

IrregularPulse said:

Great Lakes on the other hand, I throw them away.

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Really? I always had a very easy time removing Great Lakes labels.

The problem isn't the label, it's the glue. Some glues are either not water soluble, or are almost insoluble. The labels that come off easily probably have water soluble glue - and God bless them. Whether you use just hot water, or Oxyclean, or PWB, you can't get the difficult glues off without scrubbing.

For those short on sink / tub space or time, just buy one of those large Rubbermaid bins that people use to store sweaters, etc. in. They're really cheap and they will hold a ton of bottles. Just beware however, they with the bottles and water, they may literally hold a ton... So depending on your situation it might be best to bail the water out into a sink to drain, but it's a hell of a lot better than taking up tub or sink space for a few days. I would suggest making sure you keep the lid on the it during the soak if you have any small children or pets.

funkapottomous said:

because everytime I've looked up anything about removing labels from bottles, it's as if it's pulling teeth.


I just soaked a bunch of bottles last night in some hot water, peeled the labels off and was able to get all the glue off with the scouring side of a regular kitchen sponge.

so why all the talk of "let them soak in oxiclean/star-san/etc etc etc for two or three days and the labels come right off"?

are we being lazy? or are the plastic labels harder to remove? (so far all the bottles I've used have been from microbreweries/people who use paper labels.)

Click to expand...

I have a bucket of old oxiclean sitting in the garage and after I drink a beer I wash out the inside and toss the bottle in the bucket to soak. After a week or two when the bucket it full I just hit the inside with a bottle brush and wipe down the outside. Dunk the bottle in old SanStar to rinse and I'm done. I don't need to scrub. If for some reason there is any glue left on the bottles I just throw it back in the bucket and it is gone in another week.

I've only had a few where this does not work. Hair of the Dog bottles for example. Not sure what glue Alan uses but it seems waterproof.

It seems to work better for me to, instead of soaking for days on end and allowing the water to cool down, soak them in a hot oxyclean bath for a few hours (2-4) and remove while it's still hot/warm. The glue will be softer and just kind of slide right off!!

Obelisk said:

The problem isn't the label, it's the glue. Some glues are either not water soluble, or are almost insoluble. The labels that come off easily probably have water soluble glue - and God bless them. Whether you use just hot water, or Oxyclean, or PWB, you can't get the difficult glues off without scrubbing.

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Exactly, a short soak in Oxy, PBW, or just plain hot water will get the water soluble glues off. I found it best to screw the scrubbing with the glues that don't want to come off, and use acetone, a quick wipe outside the bottle and voila!:rockin:

I scrubbed off the labels on a great lakes six pack a few months ago. It was a lot of work. I got a 12 pack of the same stuff and even after soaking for 3 days those labels wouldn't budge. Those bottles went into the trash. No bottle is worth that amount of time. Red stripe are the only other labels that have given me a problem. For everything else, hot water alone works well.

olllllo said:

Flip, the question a bit.

Are you such a poor planner, that you can't let bottles soak for a day or 2?

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+1 Let soak for a few days. I keep a large rectangular cooler sitting next to my basement utility sinks, filled with oxiclean water and bottles. When I have a few minutes, I take the bottle out, the labels have already fallen off, rinse well and put on the bottle tree. Easy peasy.

I don't know what you guys are smoking, either. I don't even bother removing the labels. Too much of a PITA, and to me it's what is INSIDE the bottle that counts. But, if it makes your socks go up and down......

Bernie Brewer said:

I don't know what you guys are smoking, either. I don't even bother removing the labels. Too much of a PITA, and to me it's what is INSIDE the bottle that counts. But, if it makes your socks go up and down......

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After removing the labels for my first batch 5 years ago, I decided the exact same thing. Now I only remove them if they are going to a comp, or I'm giving them away.