What do you write on your bottle caps?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Ralelen

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2011
Messages
166
Reaction score
1
Location
West Hartford
It'll says it all. I put a batch number on mine. For example today I bottled batch 1117, an American stout. The 11is for the year, and the 17 is the 17th batch of the year. I keep the batch number with the corresponding beer in my log book.
 
Initials of what the beer is. Simple. I'll always know what IPA, PA, BR, A, P, and S stand for. Any more complicated and I'd go blind.
 
I just do straight batch number (see sig). I've only been brewing for a few years, so the numbers haven't gotten too high yet. Works great!
 
I use different color stickers, them place the corresponding sticker on the white board with the beers description
 
I get the little white stickers and write the actual names of the beers.. they peel right off. I keep a excel spreadsheet for dates, notes, etc.
 
I used to write the initials as mentioned above, PB for peach berlinerweisse, BT for belgian tripel, etc. Eventually i got beers with identical initials( plus my handwriting on a bottlecap sized space is terrible) so i went to batch numbers. the hassle there is you always need a decoder sheet.

now my answer is : nothing. I keg.:D
 
i also put a number on my caps, no labels on the bottles.

the number is my batch number. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. it is written on a piece of masking tape. i can go to my brew log if i want more details on what #5 means.
 
I use nail polish (hey I'm a girl) ie single red dot = holiday, orange dot = Octoberfest,
black dot = stout, pale green = lager. That way I know without referring to the brew log..
 
i also put a number on my caps, no labels on the bottles.

the number is my batch number. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. it is written on a piece of masking tape. i can go to my brew log if i want more details on what #5 means.

out of curiosity, why bother with the masking tape? A sharpie will write just fine on bottle caps.
 
I actually produce a label with autocad that I stick to my caps. I include IRB (Indian run brewery) the beer name and crucial statistics (starting gravity, final gravity, ibus, and abv). Pretty happy with the system as I can get the benefits of a label without having to scrape it off later. I also get 4 cases of labels out of one 8.5x11 label sheet. It does kind of suck cutting out all the circles but if I was so concerned about time and effort I wouldn't be a homebrewer anyway.
 
They are Avery 5408 3/4 round. There are 24 labels per sheet and 42 sheets in a package for $7 at staples. Works great and takes 5 minutes to write label and print!
 
I do different signs. A slash, an X, a dot, a triangle, a square. Different colored caps and differnt colored markers and the variations are endless. Put them in my brew log so I can easily look up the ones that have been aging for a while.

Simple and easy.
 
One thing I've always loved about homebrew is that one can make it as simple or complex as you want, as long as you're having fun.

I like to think up witty/stupid names for all my beers, and design labels. I have nearly as much fun labelling my bottles as I do brewing the beer
 
I go with batch numbers in the format year number-batch number. For example, I made an American Amber last week that what the 14th batch of this year so it got numbered 11-14.

I used to put an initial on it but that got a little confusing. My girlfriend wanted to give some wit to someone and assumed BW stood for Belgian Wit. They were very surprised to get an American Barley Wine instead of a wit.
 
I just do numbers which will go up and up. Sharpie. I always remember what's in em. Don't need notes. I'll probably start doing stickers soon tho. Wife got new ink for the printer finally.
 
My wife prints the avery 3/4" round labels for me. I use the beer style and month and year bottled as a standard. My wife and girls try to come up with names to go with it.
 
Batch number on caps and now that I'm kegging I just got nice badge holders that I put index cards in with the number, name, and date. All of my batches are numbered with full details in iBrewmaster on my iPhone for quick reference.
 
Hmmm...I wonder if I could work out a system to print out a label with batch number and a bar code. I'm imagining scanning the bar code with a smart phone to get all the details on the brew. My geekiness knows no limits!
 
I just use a sharpie for initials on the cap,like APA,IPA,SA,PA,etc. We only have a couple batches bottled at any one time. So it's not hard to decipher.
 
I get the colored dot stickers, and make a legend on a separate piece of paper!
 
Everything I brew I give a name and then use initials on the cap that relate to the name. I can remember what all of the initals are....can't remember my SWMBO's birthday but...
 
My wife and I try to name all our beers so I write down the beer name and then we use a sharpie to write initials on the cap. Sometimes I make experimental batches that don't deserve names and I just put initials for what it is.
 
So far I've just used a sharpie and placed the initials of the style, or if the beer has a name I've put the initials of the name.
RHP - robust honey porter
'55 - pennant ale '55
SW - summer wheat
Wit - wit (ok this is a full name, but it was easy to fit)

After reading about the Avery labels, I will do that
 
Mostly I will just write the batch number with a Sharpie, but if I am doing a beer named for someone who I will be sharing with I will print a bottle cap label for them in order to make it a little more special.

I LOVE naming my beers, but I can take or leave all the labeling.
 
Batch number (corresponds with my log) and date (mm.dd.yy), not much room for anything else.
 
Sharpie indicating style and bottling date. If I am thinking ahead of time I will write them all out prior to sanitizing and capping the bottles. Much easier to write on them when they are all laid out on my desk then trying to balance up on top of a bottle. Plus sharpies dont like condensation that occurs after bottling cold beer.

Usually I forget to do this and end up chicken scratching something.
 
Back
Top