Finally, labels for my beer.

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andre the giant

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I used to label my beer, but got a little turned off by the work it takes to remove the labels. My wife got some free time and made labels for my brew. It took a couple hours to label the 250 or so bottles I have. We used regular paper and used gluestick to affix them. When the labels get wet, they come right off, no residue, no fuss. Hooray! I think it makes the beer taste better. You know, presentation counts for something.

Now I don't have to answer questions like, "What is batch #27? What is batch #34? Do you have any Pale Ale? When did you brew this one?" It's all right there in front of my guests' faces.
 
ttiwwp.bmp
 
If anyone is ever looking for a nicely designed label, I'd be happy to create a template. For a reasonable price of, say, a sixer of your favorite, I'll even print them off and mail them to you. I'm a graphic designer / web designer by trade, so I just happen to have all the software and knowhow.
 
I like Kim's Chocolate Porter #31's label. "You can't get beer from a water fountain" That's awsome, and it gives me an idea about a cool tap. You might not be able to get beer from a water fountain...but nobody said you couldn't turn a water fountain into a -beer- fountain.
 
I use a diluted PVA adhesive/sealer/glue from DIY (the one I use is called Polybond) to apply labels - slap it on with a brush. It washes right off as well. You can even seal the label to stop it from running when wet. great stuff.
 
BTW, what SW does everyone use? I'm using TheGimp these days, cos its freeware and it's pretty powerful. Only difficulty I have with it is trying to get curved text :(
 
My wife uses Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to make the labels. She was a designer for five years, so that layout stuff is pretty quick and easy for her. She was going for a simple, consistant look. She threw these together in a hour or so. It took much, MUCH longer to print them out, cut them, and stick them to the bottles than it did to design.
 
I Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. One of my hats is that of a designer, so I'm pretty handy with a pixel.

So now I'm a photo geek, developer geek, designer geek and home-brew geek. At least with home brewing, if I'm ever on a deserted island I know how to get the party started.
 
And I thought I was the only one that makes labels for his brew! Yours are great! I like the consistent look, which is important to me. I have a ribbon banner on each one with month and year of brew and the statement "Hand Crafted by Fred" With root beer it is "Hand Crafted by Grampa", then the rest of the label changes with the variety.

Glue stick or rubber cement (with the little brush) works good because they wash off so well, but damn, what a pain to cut the labels and paint the glue. I bought shipping labels, and will deal with the hassle on the other end instead.

Brewing this weekend:
1) Oatmeal stout (1st try of this kind)
2) Outback Amber (a clone of the local Mac & Jack ale)

Bottle conditioning:
1) HefeWeizen
2) Czech Pilsner
 
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