Favorite Bottle to Recycle?

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pr0cess

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Santa Fe, NM
Just wondering what bottle people like to recycle? I really like Santa Fe Brewing Co. Pale Ale bottles because the lables come off in one piece after about a 2 hour soak in water. I also get some Deschutes Brewery bottles when they are on sale at the local store because the lables aren't too tough to remove (although they do leave glue lines that get scrubbed off) and they have a really pretty embossed (?) hop and vine design around the top of the bottle. So far those and some Grolsch swing tops have been the 'long term storage' or special occaision bottles with the SFBC bottles cycling through a little quicker.

Any other neat looking bottles or exceptionally easy to remove lables out there?

-dylan.
 
empty ones...

I'll second Deschute's though. I like those bottles.
 
DFH Fort.
42723.jpg

Big, heavy, brown, and takes a regular cap.

EDIT: Also Orval, but they're teeny.
 
Santa Fe Pale Ale! I was just down in ABQ and tried some.

My favorite bottles are New Glarus. About 5 minutes in some hot water and they're floating....but you probably don't have any New Glarus in Santa Fe.
 
I like the flip top ones, but they seem to be few and far between.

I also really like those ceramic bottles that some breweries are using.

beaus.jpg


The labels on those seem to be screened on somehow, it'd be nice if you could get a white bottle like that with a removable label.
 
Sierra Nevada bottles for me. Labels come off super easy and I like the shape.
 
I have a Stone (I think) earthenware flip top like moxie's up there, I wonder if a quick go through a sand blaster would remove the paint without harming the integrity of the bottle?
 
DFH Fort.
42723.jpg

Big, heavy, brown, and takes a regular cap.

EDIT: Also Orval, but they're teeny.

Those big bottles are awesome...I've got about 4 of them and they are great for taking up a bunch of a batch and cellaring.

I'm not too picky with which bottles I use....anything is fine! If a label is too difficult to remove it's off to the recycling bin with it.

As for the ceramic swing tops....I still have two Rogue XS ceramic swing tops that I just couldn't bring myself to toss out when I ditched my empty bottle collection (sad day that was...) and have been thinking about re-using them for homebrew.
 
Starsan works well for getting the screen print off of bottles.

My favorite bottles are probably Martinellis.
 
Have you tried this on Red Stripe bottles? How long does it take for the screen printed bottles you have done?

Never tried it on Red Stripe, but it worked in 24 hours on Stone bottles, and took everything but the gold off of Alesmith bottles in the same timeframe.
 
schlafly also has the 750 ml bottles that use a regular cap. i just put to down that pulled froma batch of double stout. i added chocolate while it was in a 1 gallon glass fermenter and parked it for 3 more weeks. bottled cond. 2 weeks and cellared. 4th of july weekend will tell how it came about.
 
Jolly Pumpkin Bottles... (similar to the Dogfish bottle posted above. Holds about 25 ounces, same as a belgian cork style bottle, but accepts a regular crown cap)

NO8lX.jpg


I also quite like the bottles that North Peak Brewing uses. They are a little more stubby than Red Stripe, and the labels come right off.

ytzLu.jpg
 
+1 on the Sierra Nevada bottles, especially the bombers. The labels fall right off, the bombers are short enough to fit on the top shelf of my fridge at home, and I can stack an extra row of 12oz cases in my fermentation fridge for conditioning.

I have about a case of the champagne style bottles like DFH uses for some of their brews. I use those for special brews that get aged for a long time or when giving beer as a gift.
 
I like Sierra Nevada and Anchor Steam 12oz bottles because there is less head space when using a bottle filler. But obviously bombers kick the crap out of all 12oz bottles.
 
Favorite Bottle is O'dells, neat design, fairly heavy bottle, and the label comes off well with a couple minutes of soak.
Favorite labels to remove are from Tallgrass brewery (Manhattan, KS). They don't need to soak at all. Run them under hot tap water for about 10 seconds and they peal right off in one piece. Very plain bottle, just like the blanks from the LHBS.
 
Favorite Bottle is O'dells, neat design, fairly heavy bottle, and the label comes off well with a couple minutes of soak.

Share your wisdom, I usually avoid those bottles because the labels are such a PITA. I usually have to soak for a couple hours and still go at it with a scrubber :confused:
 
OK, maybe not a few min :eek: , sorry, longer soak and fast removal... If they paper is soaked through the glue is easy. I just drop them in the hot sink of water and at the end of the night the paper comes off in one piece and the glue is just one quick rub with the hand or green scratchy.
Worth it to drink their good beer and have the pretty bottle :) .
 
I like these a lot as well. From a local craft brewery called Garrison. A lot of their beers are in normal commercial beer bottles, but their special brews come in these.

Black+IPA.JPG


Garrison is pretty good, although there are better local breweries in my opinion.
 
+1 on the Odells bottles. I get the labels off pretty easily with just soaking in hot water and a green scrubbie, plus I like the decorative leaves embossed around the neck.
 
Can most bottles be recycled, Heineken perhaps? That is my main purchase when I buy at the store, if I can recycle those I might never need to purchase bottles.
 
Grolsch and Fischer swingtops.....cheap and somewhat easy to find, and fit nicely in milkcrates :)

also use a few pry off bottles, but these are harder to come accross in my area. Use 500ml Picaroons bottles, as well as the Garrison bottles that were already posted above.
 
I need to get my hands on some dogfish head bottles. Swing top bottles are my favorite. A lot of times I'll buy beer just because it comes in a swing top. Even if I don't like it at least I still have the bottle. I just wish it was easier to find big swing tops.
 
Orval, but it's going to be a while before i accumulate enough of them for a full batch.

The wide-shoulder Sam Smith Victorian pint bottles (18.7 oz) are awesome, as are the Anchor bottles.
 
I like SNPA and sam adams bottles because they are easy to come by, but I am starting to build my stash with some unique bottles that look really cool. Fullers are at the top of that list and boy are they thick and heavy. Hoegardden is another favorite with a unique look. Bass also has a neat skinny longneck look. I just like the shape of the different bottles, I think it adds a little something extra.
 
Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada are staples for me.

Pacifico is also great because it's real cheap and the bottles are plain brown unmarked longnecks.

Also, other threads indicate that a short soak in a CLR type cleaner will take off even the most stubborn silk-screened labels.
 
Bombers from Alaskan. Love the 22oz bottles and the labels float right off after only a few hours in hot water and PBW.

I agree also with Deschutes 12's, the scroll work at the base of the neck is great and the labels come right off, residual glue scrubs off with a green Scotch pad.
 
Those fort bottles look just like Cigar City bottles, and I just got access to 36 of them. Hoped a regular cap would fit them well.

Also, I like the 24 ounce SN bottles, like from the hop harvest series, etc.
 
I love Hoegaarden bottles. But since I am new to the hobby I have whatever I can get my hands on (Hoe, Sam Adams, Stella, Sierra Nevada, Red Hook, Miller Light twist-offs). I would love to get a standard bottle but I can't justify buying bottles when I have my friends saving all their empty bottles for me.

Although I would be using those Jolly Pumpkin bottles if I could find those around here.

hoegaarden_beer_bottle.jpg
 
+1 on the Sptaten Optimator/Franziskaner bottles, I really like the shape and they are about the perfect size. I also like the DFH 12 oz bottles, there is just something about them, how they kind of look like the new bottles from the LHBS but more refined.
 
DFH Fort.
42723.jpg

Big, heavy, brown, and takes a regular cap.

EDIT: Also Orval, but they're teeny.

I bought out my local Whole Foods' supply of the Dogfish Head "Squall IPA" and it is the same bottle as the Fort. Have been using them to cellar beers and love them!
 
DFH Fort.
42723.jpg

Big, heavy, brown, and takes a regular cap.

EDIT: Also Orval, but they're teeny.

Does that DFH bottle take a "regular" 26mm crown or the 29mm crown? I've been collecting the Boulevard Smokestack Series 750ml bottles that are corked from the brewery but will take the larger 29mm crown. Also my LHBS stocks the same bottles new.

http://www.blvdbeer.com/smokestack/
 
The Dogfish bottles take a regular 26mm cap. I've found a few other brands like that, but I can't remember what they are.

Lots of American champagne/sparkling cider 750ml bottles do likewise, though they're not often brown.
 
I like these a lot as well. From a local craft brewery called Garrison. A lot of their beers are in normal commercial beer bottles, but their special brews come in these.

Black+IPA.JPG


Garrison is pretty good, although there are better local breweries in my opinion.

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but must concur that Garrison (and most German import 500mL bottles) work fantastic for capping, my favourite volume and rarely get a bad seal with my cheapo wing capper. Less capping than all 12oz bottles but more practical than bombers
 
New Belgium come right off. Sam Adams are good too. Schlenkerla are good as well.
 
I think I was in this thread somewhere in the past, but will chime in now too.

Fullers bottles are awesome, built like tanks!!!!!

SN, Sam adams are long time staples.

I have been trying to get my hands on something a little different. The new red hook bottles are awesome, anchor steam bottles are cool. I would like to get the paint off of a bunch of redstripe bottles I own, but that is a different story.

New belgium bottles are cool, love the hoegardden bottles, and the short squatty belgium bottles (from various breweries) and nice.

I have recently got my hands on a few champagne type bottles like posted above that take 26mm caps and they are really cool. I plan on using them if we are invited over to a dinner party or something like that. Instead of bringing a bottle of wine for the hosts I will bring a bottle of home brew for them, if I think they like beer that is. I am going to make my own labels for them as well.

No need to buy bottles when there are so many options from commercial beers, plus you get the bonus of them already coming with beer in them!!!!
 
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