Easy Labels to Remove!

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After emptying about 100 bottles of different brands of beer, I have found the ones that have the easiest lables to remove (in my opinion).

Easy - Moosehead

Somewhat Easy - Sierra Nevada

Moderate - Highland Brewing Company

Freaking Ridiculous - Red Hook (let soak for 2 hours, still impossible to get off without scrubbing really really really hard.)
 
Anything by New Glarus will float off like they were stuck on with milk (as most Hone brews are stuck on with).

I don't even bother with hard labels anymore.
 
It will only matter to the NC folk, but I could never get the Big Boss labels off.
 
Freaking Ridiculous - Red Hook (let soak for 2 hours, still impossible to get off without scrubbing really really really hard.)

Really? When I was collecting bottles those labels seemed to always fall off within 20 minutes of an oxyclean soak. Ditto on the New Glarus bottles too. I think they are put on with milk, They are practically coming off when I rinse them.

Avoid AT ALL COSTS Dark Horse bottles. As tasty as their brews are I believe they have used some sort of black magic and fused the labels to the glass. They are the only bottles i have ever just recycled because the hour I spent getting half of one label off was not worth it.
 
I always just soak min in water overnight or for like a day, scrape right of with a fingernail and the remnant glue I just use a scotchbrite pad for a few seconds.
 
Atlanta Brewing Company's labels attach at the molecular level with glass... Two overnight soaks in HOT waster w/ Oxyclean revealed the outer most layer is actually a thin plastic film... After those were removed, the paper portion still required another soak and then a scrape...
 
Believe it or not Budweiser American Ale Labels fall off if you even look at them funny. Less than 5 minute after submerging a ton of bottles in hot oxyclean, the BAA labels were already on the surface.
 
Freaking Ridiculous - Red Hook (let soak for 2 hours, still impossible to get off without scrubbing really really really hard.)

YES! Redhooks used to fall right off in water but when they changed their label design a few months ago I think they changed their adhesive as well. I recently did a soak in oxyclean of a variety of brands and to my suprise the Redhooks were by far the worst to get off.
 
Atlanta Brewing Company's labels attach at the molecular level with glass... Two overnight soaks in HOT waster w/ Oxyclean revealed the outer most layer is actually a thin plastic film... After those were removed, the paper portion still required another soak and then a scrape...
Sweetwater's are tough too.
 
Atlanta Brewing Company's labels attach at the molecular level with glass... Two overnight soaks in HOT waster w/ Oxyclean revealed the outer most layer is actually a thin plastic film... After those were removed, the paper portion still required another soak and then a scrape...


That sounds a lot like Weyerbacher's labels, which I used to hate. After I discovered one little thing, they're now my favorite! I hit the label with a heat gun for a couple seconds and they peel right off in one piece, leaving virtually no residue. No soaking necessary.

You might want to give that a try with those Atlanta labels.
 
Actually, I soak my Corona bottles for about 3-4 days in a slightly concentrated Starsan solution and the paint falls right off.
*I use them for cider, not beer.

Stop ruining the joke dammit!

I've used them for Lemoncillo. A soak for 3 days in B-Brite works great.
 
Red Hook is a snap compared to Pete's Wicked Ale. YMMV

Pete's bottles are awesome, well worth the work to get the labels off. All I do is let them soak with OxyClean for a few hours and they come right off.
 
I've had a lot of success with Sante Fe Pale Ale, for some reason the other styles are harder to get off. Honestly though, I just leave the labels on, I drink out of a glass anyhow.
 
Deschutes labels come right off in hot oxyclean water. Then just a few strokes with a scrubby pad and the glue residue is gone.
 
I got a few Amstel bottles, oxyclean got nuthin on them. I peeled the labels off, and the adhesive is still sticky. I try to give them to people who dont return my bottles :).

Weyerbacher are tough too.

I grew up near the Straub brewery in PA, and can get cases of 16oz returnables in a heavy cardboard case for 1.50 from pretty much any beer distributor in the area. I still bottle some 12 ozers for giveaways though.
 
Alright I'm not sure if the starsan soak for Corona bottles is a joke or not... but I have some Stone bottles that I would like to get the paint off of. Does the starsan (or anything else) work?
 
Weyerbacher are tough too.

That sounds a lot like Weyerbacher's labels, which I used to hate. After I discovered one little thing, they're now my favorite! I hit the label with a heat gun for a couple seconds and they peel right off in one piece, leaving virtually no residue. No soaking necessary.


.............
 
Originally Posted by lustreking View Post
That sounds a lot like Weyerbacher's labels, which I used to hate. After I discovered one little thing, they're now my favorite! I hit the label with a heat gun for a couple seconds and they peel right off in one piece, leaving virtually no residue. No soaking necessary.

Nice... Missed that :)

Now I have to get a heat gun. Wonder if that will work for Amstel and other plastic labels.
 
Stella bottles are a pain the the ars. Anyone know if you can cap a stella bottle with a wing capper? The bottle's shape at the neck looks like it might be a problem.
 
Stella bottles are a pain the the ars. Anyone know if you can cap a stella bottle with a wing capper? The bottle's shape at the neck looks like it might be a problem.

Yeah, you can definitely use a wing capper on Stellas; I just bottled cider into about 20 of them last night. It's a little fiddly to get the capper set correctly, but it works. Also, running the bottles through the dishwasher helped most of the labels come right off, no sweat.
 
Presidente bottles are very easy to clean just 10 minutes in oxyclean and the labels come off with no residue.
 
Problem there is you have to buy the beer first!!

You know, I didn't really mind the stuff when I had it in bottles when it came out, but on tap last weekend, it was really disappointing. Maybe it was the Blue Point Toasted Lager I had first, but the American Ale just didn't taste like anything.

The bottles are really nice, though. Nicer than Sam, even, and the labels do come off just as easily. My favorite bottles are Sierra Nevada, though. I like the stubbies, and the labels just float right off, although they leave a little glue for scrubbing.
 
I have to go with Sam Adams here. They have always been the easiest for me.
 
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