Very Simple No Glue Label

Somewhat inspired by another poster who created neck tags instead of labels, I was interested in a no-glue solution that still had the look of a traditional label. I came up with the idea of a sleeve that fits around the bottle and is then sealed in the back with a piece of scotch tape. As it turns out, a strip the width of a standard 8-1/2 by 11 paper fits around the bottle with about an inch of overlap. Not particularly elegant, but beats having to remove labels with Oxy and such.

As a small batch brewer, I also wanted a simple way of conveying essential information about the beer, both for my own benefit and for anyone drinking it. I came up with this template with spaces for Title/Style, Base Grains, Adjunct Grains, Hops & Flavorings, Yeast, Batch #, and Bottling Date.

Anyone who wants to use the template, it is available here.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QjjCgS5U_zsQFvSQ8E6H744cK1Y_PbxAfocO2kQ902k/edit?usp=sharing

Here is how it looks on the bottle:
https://goo.gl/photos/zUuidjn5BoefJKnr7

Thoughts and comments welcome. What would you do to improve this simple no-glue label?

I haven't labeled in a while, but I promised myself the next time I do I'd try a gelatin backed label. I've not had good luck with milk, and the gelatin seems to be the best option for a glued label all things considered.

I have used glue sticks in the past and they worked pretty good as well.

I've also used neck labels that are just a tag with a hole punched you slip over the neck. I think Pappers_ or passedpawn came up with that idea. That works pretty good as well.

I just think the tape seems to give a bad impression, even though it's doing it's job just fine and isn't all that noticeable.

Good point. Next batch I will seal using glue stick on the overlap in the back. Gets rid of the tape but avoids any glue on the bottle itself.

Aristotelian said:

Good point. Next batch I will seal using glue stick on the overlap in the back. Gets rid of the tape but avoids any glue on the bottle itself.

Click to expand...

My concern would be the label slipping up/down or off. You could glue the label to the bottle first with vertical strip of glue, then glue the overlap. That first band of glue should come off pretty easy.

I can attest to gelatin, I have used it now several times and works great. Easy to mix and to apply the labels. The labels come off so easy in hot water, but stay on good in fridge, and in cooler with ice and water. I have had some labels on now for several months and still sticking good!

I also took some ideas on this site to make a template/label that wraps around the bottle, but stops just short on normal bottle. Gives a lot of room for additional info.

Examples:

From what I understand Milk, gelatin, and glue sticks all seem to come off easily with a short soak in hot water. I'm guessing a very diluted white glue mixture would also work ok.

I don't mind a short soak and wipe if the glue scrubs off quickly. I've tried spray glue and it doesn't come off quite easily enough for my tastes. I would not mind finding a spray or wpie on glue that peels off clean like a post-it note.

My experience with gelatin is no residue after about 10 or 15 minute soak in hot water.