bottle labels

What is the best way to remove bottle labels

soak in oxyclean?

Oxyclean and hot water for an overninght (min) soak.

Oxyclean soak and razor blade scraper do wonders... You can also scrub the bottles with either BKF or 'goo gone' after to remove any glue residue...

I put my own labels (printed on my color laser printer, using standard paper) on with a glue stick, so removal/cleanup is super easy..

I use this stuff to remove labels. It works great with about a 2 hour soak. The labels just peel off and the adhesive rinses off with water.

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/BREWER_S_EDGE_CLEANSER_P11C58.cfm

NRS

i buy guiness imported extra stout, the one brewed in canada and comes in the stubby bottles, well about 5 minutes in hot water lifts the labels right off and i use a scotch brite to get rid of the residue. but most other bottles will perform the same with some oxygen cleanser and some more time. if the label is more of a decal (I.E. McSorleys) use a hair dryer

I never soak mine...just run hot tap water into the bottle so it warms the inside and overflows onto the label, peel it off and use a rough sponge to get the excess glue off. Works for me, but I only do like 6-10 at a time. I do a 6 pack in about 10 min. To each his own.

DogFace_Brewing said:

I never soak mine...just run hot tap water into the bottle so it warms the inside and overflows onto the label, peel it off and use a rough sponge to get the excess glue off. Works for me, but I only do like 6-10 at a time. I do a 6 pack in about 10 min. To each his own.

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Thats how i do mine. One at a time when ever i finish a beer i rinse it out and strip the label. Works great.

I use regular old Dawn dish soap in a hotwater bath in the sink. Leave it overnight and they come right off when I get home from work the next day. A light scrubbing with a scrubby pad and the glue comes off too.

I wonder what is cheaper in the end...Dawn or Oxyclean?

revvy said:

oxyclean and hot water for an overninght (min) soak.

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+1

Thanks for all the advice. I went and bought oxy clean and started soaking its working great. Another question is I decided to use some bottles out of my recycling bin. When I pulled them out there was some mold and nasty crap on a few of them. I plan on soaking for a few days will this be sufficient or will I need to scrub the bottles inside and out.

Can oxiclean leave a residue if the bottles soak too long? I use Straight A which I have always thought was similar to oxiclean. Straight A will most definately leave a white residue on the bottles that is almost impossible to rinse if it soaks too long.

I soak my bottles in straight A and hot water in my sink for half hour and the labels pretty much fall off. I use a course copper wire sponge brush on the ones that are stubborn. It shreds them off in seconds and does not etch the glass

It seems someone on this forum mentioned ammonia. That works well with hot water and a bit of soaking. A rough scrubber cleans up the residual.

Depends on the brand of beer it is coming from... but a five minute soak in hot water does wonders, soap and other chemicals seem like so much overkill to me.

Sam Adams bottles peel right off in hot water and leave a mild residue that comes off with a blue scotchbrite.

Sierra Nevada's glue is PITA.

Abita's labels come right off with 90% of the glue residue after a short soak in hot water.

Brewdog labels don't want to come off but since they are 11.2 oz I leave most of the label on so I know its not a 12.

I almost want to write Abita and thank them for having easy peel labels.

Revvy said:

Oxyclean and hot water for an overninght (min) soak.

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Ok, this will be the first time, and last I hope, that I ever disagree with Revvy. "Overnight" my arss, I filled an ice chest with the recomended mix fo Oxyclean, put bottles in, walked away for 20 minutes and when I returned the freaking labels were floating. Now when I put another batch of bottles in, they didn't fare as well, solution became deluted a bit I guess, but still were pretty easy, just had to rub the adhesive residue off.:fro:

CHefJohnboyardee said:

Depends on the brand of beer it is coming from... but a five minute soak in hot water does wonders, soap and other chemicals seem like so much overkill to me.

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+1 Amen brother!

CHefJohnboyardee said:

Sam Adams bottles peel right off in hot water and leave a mild residue that comes off with a blue scotchbrite.

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+1

ive been using only Sam Adams bottles and 5-10 min in hot water seems to do the trick. I just peel the label and scrub the left over glue off with a hot wet face cloth. But im sure the big Samuel Adams signature on the bottle is a turnoff for some. I dont mind though, i love the beer.

Nearly all breweries have their logo on the glass. I'm over it. If people complain, they can hand me my bottles back full of my brew or buy me new glass. I scrounged a good three weeks to drink enough beer to bottle my 5 gallons

No one has complained about a logo on a bottle. They are usually too engrossed in the brew to even notice.

Is it bad when you start buying beer because the labels come off with less effort compared to other brands?

I think an overnight soak is a good idea but I have found some breweries use impossible glue and overnight does nothing more than a few hours. In this case I used a non-rusting brillow pad (steel wool). Took off the label and glue after about a 20 min soak in dish soap. Rinsed them real good and let them dry overnight. I will wash them again before bottling. The labels that come off the easiest in my experience is Dogfish. Barely need to have hot water run on them for five minutes and a rough sponge takes 'em off. Getting them empty is pretty fun too.

just stick all mine in a cooler full of hot water, close lid over 24 hours. water is still warm and u'll find labels floating on the top. hoegaarden's come off real easy and the bottles look nice.

some work best after a long soak

some actually get tougher after a long soak as the paper will be removed but the glue stays behind

i've found with Russian River bottles its best to do a really quick soak in hot water with oxyclean (30min or less) otherwise the paper peels off and leaves a really tough to remove glue residue which i have to remove with SOS (steel wool) pad

Use your shower and tub!!! Massive amounts of hot water do the trick in under an hour, with a full 50 sumthin bottles. Try it. The glue wipes almost right off.

I'll post the quick method since no one has posted it yet. If you want to get your labels to slide right off the bottle in only a few minutes steam them. Put about an inch of water in the bottom of a large kettle, probably not your brew kettle, I have a large kettle for canning, bring the water to a boil and steam them for about five minutes. I tried this on two cases of Sam Adams and also on fat tire bottles. The small amount of water boils fast and gets the labels loose in under 10 minutes. Beware, the bottles are very hot when they come out of the kettle. The bottles need to go straight into warm water when you take them out of the kettle. If the labels dry they are harder to remove. It works quick in a pinch. The soaking method is better if you de-label ahead of bottling day. I did this in a pinch when I realized I didn't have enough bottles on bottling day. Rookie mistake.

Definitely oxyclean an hot water for 30 minutes... Do not let the bottles fill up because oxyclean will leave a white film on the inside. I fill my bottles up with water about half way and stand them up in a large pan with hot water and oxyclean. 35 minutes later labels peel off with ease. Not all of the glue comes off so I then spray them with vinegar and give em a scrub. Really easy and the vinegar leaves them super shiny!