So who here DOES NOT de-label bottles?

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passedpawn said:
If you can't be bothered to clean the outside of your bottles, you probably are not bothered with brewing details either.
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This is a bit presumptuous!

I think there is a difference between being bothered by something and finding something unnecessary..

Just because I don't remove labels from bottles doesn't mean I skimp on brewing procedures!
 
BrewKnurd said:
The easiest way for me to ensure that the inside of the bottle is clean is a soak in oxyclean. So delabelling is no extra cost or time with my process.
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I stand my bottles up when I clean them. Each one gets about an 1/8 of a teaspoon of PBW in it and is then filled to the rim with hot water. After they soak like this for an hour or so I dump them and wipe the mouth of the bottle with a rag and then rinse. I started doing it this way in an effort to save water, since filling a big tub with water is more wasteful. I've tried to do many things to cut down on water use or re-use water. Let's face it... this hobby uses a lot of water! I live in a place where they're getting ready to outlaw watering your yard due to water shortage, so filling a bunch of tubs for cleaning/de-labeling is not ideal...
 
iaefebs said:
Immediately rinse a bottle conditioned beer and report back.
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I've always rinsed my bottle conditioned bottles immediately after pouring and have never had a problem. The yeast doesn't magically etch itself to the glass so it can only be cleaned with pbw or oxyclean. Let it sit a day or two without rinsing and that's a different story. If you hand clean every bottle after use then more power to you.
 
I don't remove anything from the bottles.. Just too lazy. I've bought some bombers, but my collection is growing and my interest is getting smaller in dealing with how the bottles look.
 
Stauffbier said:
I stand my bottles up when I clean them. Each one gets about an 1/8 of a teaspoon of PBW in it and is then filled to the rim with hot water. After they soak like this for an hour or so I dump them and wipe the mouth of the bottle with a rag and then rinse. I started doing it this way in an effort to save water, since filling a big tub with water is more wasteful. I've tried to do many things to cut down on water use or re-use water. Let's face it... this hobby uses a lot of water! I live in a place where they're getting ready to outlaw watering your yard due to water shortage, so filling a bunch of tubs for cleaning/de-labeling is not ideal...
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Sir, I commend you! I also regret to state that I am too lazy for that. I fully acknowledge that I am wasting more water than I need to.
 
I de label bottles but it can be time consuming. I might just skip this now as I'm the only person who drinks out of them. It whats on the inside that counts!
 
I keg now anyway, and I used to spend time taking off labels, designing my own labels and even constructing 4/6 pack boxes. I would still do that for a gift but not for a bottle that will spend all but 3 seconds in a closet or trash bin.
 
Been using an overnight Oxy soak for the labled and unlabled bottles. Then I just rinse as usual. Kills two birds with one soak.
 
I guess I have OCD when it comes to that too. Always de-label and mark the top of my caps with the initials of my beer using a Sharpie.
 
Never. I can see removing labels if the bottles will be gifts etc, but otherwise it seems like an entirely unnecessary task, especially when you pour the beer into a glass anyway.
 
iaefebs said:
Immediately rinse a bottle conditioned beer and report back.
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I do that all the time, works fine. Except for the apfelwein, that yeast is tough. Any bottles not rinsed immediately get an oxi soak and bottle brush.
 
all stick on labels are so easy to remove, I don't know how you'd clean bottles without removing them.
If you were real careful, the label might last one cleaning cycle, but not more than two.
 
amandabab said:
all stick on labels are so easy to remove, I don't know how you'd clean bottles without removing them.
If you were real careful, the label might last one cleaning cycle, but not more than two.
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There are definitely bottles I've had to chuck after boiling, soaking in oxy and using solvent or oil on with a scraper. I still couldn't rid it of a layer of adhesive that was sticky to the touch. Can't remember brand but definitely craft.

Sam Adams labels used to come off if you complained about them too loudly.
 
I remember an hour into scrubbing bottles this question popped into my head.... "Why the fk am I doing this?"
Then I stopped taking labels off.

A buddy of mine was over and we were obviously drinking and he stopped and said, "Why is the label still on this bottle?"

And I looked at him and said, "Why not?"

It was a mind blowing experience for both of us, and then he stopped scrubbing labels off his bottles.
 
0202 said:
There are definitely bottles I've had to chuck after boiling, soaking in oxy and using solvent or oil on with a scraper. I still couldn't rid it of a layer of adhesive that was sticky to the touch. Can't remember brand but definitely craft.
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Hot water and a few drops of dish soap have never failed me, even foil and plastic film labels.
I think people come up with a lot of methods that just don't work as well as dropping them in a sink of hot water. even oxy clean doesn't work as well/fast.
 
Those aren't methods I came up with, those are fairly standard methods of removing an adhesive. Either way, there are certainly bottles that work easier, and I'd usually have a friend over and begrudgingly get to business making bottles available for brewing ;) I want to say the stubborn ones were Sierra Nevada or Victory, but it's been too long to be sure. Ironically I recently removed some labels from larger bottles so I can make some custom ones as gifts and they only required hot water, clean as a whistle.
 

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