Avoiding buying bottles!

Someone I know has lots of closet space, and always has the good intention to redeem her bottles. When I mentioned that I had started brewing, and needed to buy bottles, she wouldn't let me!

She just brought over 120 bottles, all the same brand, rinsed and put back in their cases/6-packs. I put them in milk crates for easier handling, but what a jackpot!

/happydance

Oh, and if I need more, I'm to let her know. Heheheh.

Great friend!

I'm tellin you that that is the most green way to homebrew rather than pay for shipping costs and an exhorbant fee for a brown bottle. A little elbow grease and those will be fine bottles to use. I always drop by the package store and pay them deposit for some very heavy duty bottles.

That's one awesome friend! Grab a 5 gallon bucket, add a scoop of Oxyclean and let them soak a bit, the labels will fall right off and then just wipe and rinse! :rockin:

i got probably 200 from my cousin when he switched to kegs. i now have more bottles than i know what to do with. i would like to fill up all the bottles i have in my apartment, but i dream. i must have close to 500 now.

and am i the only one who just leaves labels on? i took off about 100 when i first started, and now i just leave them on. if they fall off thats fine, but its not worth the effort for me to clean them off

Oxy clean is the way to go. Get some super fine 000 steel wool and you'll be able to get the glue off super easy

You owe your friend some of your homebrew!

Yes, MaltMonster is right. That friend deserves some brew.

Good advice about not buying bottles. I purchased my first 2 cases when I first started, but since then, never again. Friends give me bottles, and I have bottles from beer I drink.

Well, scratch that. I did buy some Grolsch bottles from someone on craigslist, but he gave me 60 bottle for like $10 and a couple homebrews.

+1 on the oxy clean. However, I just let em soak in a big plastic container on my porch for a couple of days. I get to them when I can and when I do I don't even need any steel wool... the labels just come right off. (Just did a batch 5 minutes ago...) And I'm assuming that spending that much time in the oxy clean is enough time to clean them thoroughly and all I have to do is sanitize them when I bottle.

And my coworker goes through Sam Adams pretty regularly, so I've been able to stock pile his gifts of glass... (Sam Adams labels come off the best in oxy clean BTW...)

Don't forget about this thread to spread the wealth if you have unused bottles!
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f16/got-free-bottles-give-away-post-em-here-157575/

Wakadaka said:

and am i the only one who just leaves labels on? i took off about 100 when i first started, and now i just leave them on. if they fall off thats fine, but its not worth the effort for me to clean them off

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I too am to lazy to remove the labels. Frankly I just don't care if it has a label or not but I do try to remove some of the label on the neck so I can see while I am filling the bottle.

I did my first two batches quickly so I bought bottles for them. I then talked it up and got enough bottles that I probably don't ever need to buy any more. I currently have more than 500 conditioning and a couple hundred more empties.

A bucket load in oxyclean then wipe off the excess glue at leisure. No problem.

When I get to kegging?? I will look to passing some on.

I thought I was doing good getting used bottles for $.10 each from a local beer shop. I let the bottles soak in hot water w/ baking soda for about 1/2 hr and the labels fall off most bottles. A green scrub pad like the 3M brand gets the left over glue w. very little effort. There is one branded bottle though where I think they welded the labels on hehe. Takes a little more effort to get them off. If I ever get more bottles I will avoid that brand.

Joed15 said:

I thought I was doing good getting used bottles for $.10 each from a local beer shop. I let the bottles soak in hot water w/ baking soda for about 1/2 hr and the labels fall off most bottles. A green scrub pad like the 3M brand gets the left over glue w. very little effort. There is one branded bottle though where I think they welded the labels on hehe. Takes a little more effort to get them off. If I ever get more bottles I will avoid that brand.

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Which brand is it so we know to stay away? I found that Kirkland Brand beer labels fall off, as do Dogfish Head and Abita. Sam Adams need a little coaxing though.

I usually let em soak for a couple days before I get to them. About half are completely clean, a quarter have some glue residue and the rest are like the day they were put in. A little scrubbing and we're good to go.

Clann said:

I too am to lazy to remove the labels. Frankly I just don't care if it has a label or not but I do try to remove some of the label on the neck so I can see while I am filling the bottle.

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I've gotten this way. I'll do a batch of bottles here and there, but mostly, I'll just rip off as much of the label as comes off easy and go with it. Mainly, I just don't want to mix up home with store brew. Not every brewery uses graphic caps.

D_Nyholm said:

Which brand is it so we know to stay away? I found that Kirkland Brand beer labels fall off, as do Dogfish Head and Abita. Sam Adams need a little coaxing though.

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Sorry but I did't recall the brand when I posted. I just found the brand! Thirsty Dog Brewing Company.

For those that are silk screened IE Stone's stuff, Star San will remove them in an over night soak. The ones that dont come off easily.... I usually throw away.

Back. 120 bottles, put in the tub with hot water & Oxiclean (the Sam Adams labels came off really easily with just a washcloth, used the bottle brush on the inside, of course!), then rinsed in a bleach/water/vinegar solution, now drying. Since there's so many, I'll probably oven-sterilize them when they're dry.

And OMG, I'm tired!

Yes, the friend is definitely getting homebrew! From the bottles, she prefers pale ales and IPAs to the sweet stout I'm making, but she can have it! Especially since she's willing to be a constant supplier of bottles. Be still my heart!

Wakadaka said:

i got probably 200 from my cousin when he switched to kegs. i now have more bottles than i know what to do with. i would like to fill up all the bottles i have in my apartment, but i dream. i must have close to 500 now.

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Your not brewing enough.

Wakadaka said:

and am i the only one who just leaves labels on? i took off about 100 when i first started, and now i just leave them on. if they fall off thats fine, but its not worth the effort for me to clean them off

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Use PBW or Oxi and soak the bottles overnight in as hot of water as you can stand. The next day the label will either already be off or just slide off the bottle. That way you know the bottle is actually clean (ready to sanitize) and that there isn't any s__t left in the bottle (rinse a couple of times after you pull it from the oxi-clean bath).

jborho said:

For those that are silk screened IE Stone's stuff, Star San will remove them in an over night soak. The ones that dont come off easily.... I usually throw away.

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QFTMFT. Stone "paint" comes off very easily after a one day soak in my Star San seconds but if I try to soak them in vintage Star-San stuff it seems to lose its' oomph. #0 and 00 steel wool helps things along a bit.

Monkfish said:

QFTMFT. Stone "paint" comes off very easily after a one day soak in my Star San seconds but if I try to soak them in vintage Star-San stuff it seems to lose its' oomph. #0 and 00 steel wool helps things along a bit.

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For silk screen bottles its better just to enjoy the beer and not worry about busting your hands on them. What you can do is use a bottle cutter and dremmel to make some kick ass personalized beer glasses. Don't have the link, but a google search will help you find it. (You need to prep them after cutting so they dot slice your face open).

Wow lucky. I save all of my bottles. Have had about 500 beers since January so tons of 375 and 750 format bottles. I also have about 20 Russian River 500ML corked bottles. I save all of my corks as well. Are those reusable?

I'm lucky to have Howe Sound brewery close by.

Yes, those are 1 Litre fliptops.

adamjackson said:

Wow lucky. I save all of my bottles. Have had about 500 beers since January so tons of 375 and 750 format bottles. I also have about 20 Russian River 500ML corked bottles. I save all of my corks as well. Are those reusable?

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Nope. You'll need new corks, cages, and a floor corker.

I too have a zillion Belgian corkable bottles and am unable to use them right now.

I get about 50 20oz Sapporo bottles a week from the sushi place down the street.

gmcastil said:

Nope. You'll need new corks, cages, and a floor corker.

I too have a zillion Belgian corkable bottles and am unable to use them right now.

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Darn! I've been saving corks for either Art Project or Re-Use hoping reusing them was an option.

Noted though. Guess I'll have to order some corks and start my art project. This drawer has gotten full in the last few weeks:

I second those who have talked about the oxyclean bath. I have done the same thing with great luck.

Awesome! I buddy of mine, also a fellow brewer just gave me a bunch of bombers and 750ml bottles that were taking up too much room in his garage... assuming SWMBO had something to do with that LOL.

coypoo said:

Oxy clean is the way to go. Get some super fine 000 steel wool and you'll be able to get the glue off super easy

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I don't use anything except heat and time. Put all the bottles standing straight up into a rubbermade tote, fill each with hot tap water (so they don't float around) and then fill the tote to just above the top of the highest label. 24 hours, each label peels off with residue. Another 24 hours and the residue and glue comes off with 3 fingernails. Then they're ready for your usual sanitizing process. Oh, BTW, if you didn't empty them, be sure to peek inside before you sanitize; Sometimes non brewers just empty the bottles and toss them the recycle bin without cleaning them first. Can get kinda furry. Imagine, people not cleaning their trash!!!

SWMBO works with a long time homebrewer. He says he has a bunch in his closet I can borrow if I run short.

william_shakes_beer said:

Another 24 hours and the residue and glue comes off with 3 fingernails.

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The first time I washed bottles I used my fingernails for the glue residue and the gunk packed underneath them so they were sore for days. Now, if I don't have time for a long OxyClean soak, I use an old credit card. It bends to the curve of the bottle and scrapes nice and clean.

bleme said:

The first time I washed bottles I used my fingernails for the glue residue and the gunk packed underneath them so they were sore for days. Now, if I don't have time for a long OxyClean soak, I use an old credit card. It bends to the curve of the bottle and scrapes nice and clean.

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Huh; That is not my experience. I have done Sierra Nevada, Guiness, Sam Adams and Dogfishead with no sore fingers. Did you soak the second day after peeling the label, or just scrape all the residue of after the first soak?

LoreleiHI said:

Back. 120 bottles, put in the tub with hot water & Oxiclean (the Sam Adams labels came off really easily with just a washcloth, used the bottle brush on the inside, of course!), then rinsed in a bleach/water/vinegar solution, now drying. Since there's so many, I'll probably oven-sterilize them when they're dry.

And OMG, I'm tired!

Yes, the friend is definitely getting homebrew! From the bottles, she prefers pale ales and IPAs to the sweet stout I'm making, but she can have it! Especially since she's willing to be a constant supplier of bottles. Be still my heart!

Click to expand...

I used to scrub and brush my bottles but once I started oxycleaning them, not a single scrub or brush is necessary! Oxyclean dissolves any proteins left in the bottles so after they soak, I rinse them very well with warm water then hit them with the vinator and starsan, fill, cap, wait, enjoy!

william_shakes_beer said:

Huh; That is not my experience. I have done Sierra Nevada, Guiness, Sam Adams and Dogfishead with no sore fingers. Did you soak the second day after peeling the label, or just scrape all the residue of after the first soak?

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That was before I started soaking 24 hrs or more. They had been in the water 2-3 hours.