Removing Beer Bottle Labels

If you have a heatstick this method works like a charm. Put the bottles in a bucket and heat up the water with a heatstick. Periodically check to see when the labels are falling off. You don't have to bring the water to a complete boil but it doesn't hurt. My friends never rinse the bottles they give to me so this method also helps dislodge the crap growing inside the bottles and makes them easier to clean. Let the bucket sit overnight or add water to bring the temp down before handling. A 12 pack fits perfect in a bucket.

1 scoop of oxyclean or walmarts sun clean (same stuff just half the price) followed by a 12 hour soak and the labels just fall off.

I don't remove the labels because I'm lazy. I don't see why everybody goes through the effort. You don't even usually drink it out of the bottle anyway.

For Stone like bottles where there's no paper label involved, star San works like a charm.

I have found that soaking in an ammonia solution works very good

matt2778 said:

1 scoop of oxyclean or walmarts sun clean (same stuff just half the price) followed by a 12 hour soak and the labels just fall off.

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this. it really works.

DrHop said:

I don't see why everybody goes through the effort. You don't even usually drink it out of the bottle anyway.

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I guess I'm surprised by how much people taste with their eyes. Presentation goes a long way. Plus, a lot of people really enjoy making their own labels.

sweetcell said:

this. it really works.

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second. i just keep a bucket in the garage with oxyclean solution and drop the bottles in after they are empty. When the bucket is full, i just pull them out and rinse them. Takes VERY little effort if you keep a dedicated bucket.

TyTanium said:

I guess I'm surprised by how much people taste with their eyes. Presentation goes a long way. Plus, a lot of people really enjoy making their own labels.

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Yeah, so give them then ones with no labels.

I drink out of the ones with labels still on them. Or I pour them in to a glass for others when they're not looking. I don't tell anyone! I'm sneaky!!

PBW in hot water. Labels fall off in 15-20 minutes.

DrHop said:

I don't remove the labels because I'm lazy. I don't see why everybody goes through the effort. You don't even usually drink it out of the bottle anyway.

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This is the same method I use. Enough trips through the dishwasher and they'll generally fall off anyway.

Honestly, for labels.. I just soak in hot water, peel off and scrub what's left with a brillo.

Skullfingr said:

Honestly, for labels.. I just soak in hot water, peel off and scrub what's left with a brillo.

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throw in a little oxyclean and the job becomes both easier and faster.

All of your problems would be solved if you just move to kegged brew!

Is it true you need to rinse oxycleaned bottles more then once? I hear that stuff is too strong for its own good. I trust willy mayes* and this forum, i just want to be safe.

basilchef said:

Is it true you need to rinse oxycleaned bottles more then once? I hear that stuff is too strong for its own good. I trust willy mayes* and this forum, i just want to be safe.

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I don't. I fill a bucket with enough water to cover the tops of the bottles, then stick 'em in. I make my oxyclean solution a little on the weak side, though.

sweetcell said:

throw in a little oxyclean and the job becomes both easier and faster.

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My method takes about 1.5 minutes per bottle. I don't see any reason to spend money on chemicals when I don't need to.

Skullfingr said:

My method takes about 1.5 minutes per bottle. I don't see any reason to spend money on chemicals when I don't need to.

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Here in Canuckistan wal-mart's oxi clean (Oxi stain remover) is like $4 for a big tub o' the stuff. Literally pennies per use!

1.5 minutes per bottle is actually a long time. I prefer the do-nothing-soak method, and a quick wipe down and rinse - literally like 10 seconds/bottle.

Skullfingr said:

My method takes about 1.5 minutes per bottle. I don't see any reason to spend money on chemicals when I don't need to.

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I would be willing to wager that your brillo pads are more expensive than the amount of Oxyclean I use. The stuff was $8 and one weak (1/4 cup in about 3 gallons) solution stays good for hundreds of bottles.

I fill the garage sink with hot water and a scoop of oxy clean. I usually have around two cases in the sink when I have to de-label. I don't remove labels that often as I wind up reusing the easy unlabled ones over and over again. I just have to pull labels off from the empties in the stack when I brew a bunch and fill all the clean ones (22 ounce bombers first). When I first started brewing this was an issue, but it seems like in the blink of an eye, 12 ounce bottles incubate and reproduce in mass. I actually stopped giving away a lot of beer because people don't have enough courtesy to bring my clean bottles back. I usually bottle in corona bottles for the folks that can't bring back a bottle even though they get free beer. I don't ask people to rinse, but I would at least hope to get the bottles back. /rant

Sideways said:

If you have a heatstick this method works like a charm. Put the bottles in a bucket and heat up the water with a heatstick. Periodically check to see when the labels are falling off. You don't have to bring the water to a complete boil but it doesn't hurt. My friends never rinse the bottles they give to me so this method also helps dislodge the crap growing inside the bottles and makes them easier to clean. Let the bucket sit overnight or add water to bring the temp down before handling. A 12 pack fits perfect in a bucket.

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Wow, great idea. I never thought of that

I don't use that many bottles anymore, but I have found that the key, even with an oxyclean soak is HOT water, especially on stubborn labels.

I'll use a heat stick next time.

I stick em in the dish washer for about 20min, then stop it and I take each lable off. It gets most of the glue off and you can do 50 at a time.

Oxyclean is the answer. I've done ammonia, the dishwasher and hot water. Nothing is as good as oxyclean. A few hours soak and the labels float right off no fuss. Hot water without oxyclean is too much effort.