do you HAVE to remove labels?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
C

coyote

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2007
Messages
193
Reaction score
0
dumb question, but (other than aesthetics) is there any reason to remove labels from bottles of store-bought brews before re-using?

have a Belgian I'm working on (and another planned) and don't want to tie up the kegs while they age.

thanks.
 
No. They can stay on. I've taken alot of them off, but I've left a few on, too.

Consider it a surprise package to unsuspecting consumers! It says "Sam Adams" on the label but Aha! it's a stout. :D
 
Funny you mention Sam Adams. . . I've found that those labels come off REAL easy after a quick soak.

Not so with Harpoon labels. Those things are tough.

I find myself choosing commercial beer (on the rare occasions that I buy it) by how easy the labels are to get off.
 
I never bother to take the time to remove labels from commercial bottles that I use. It doesn't have any impact on the beer that's in it, so why bother? If I need to identify bottles, I write a code on the cap.
 
I have pretty much quit taking off labels, it is such a PITA. After using them 2-3 times and soaking them in Star San each time, they really start to dissolve anyway.
 
I usually pick away at the labels while I'm drinking the beer, some come off easy, some don't.

I figure I'm drinking my brew from a glass, not the bottle, so it doesn't worry me :D
 
Remove them if you feel like it ... if you wanna save the effort just don't do it. Some brands' labels come of fairly easy like Sam Adams, Kona, etc. sometimes even when you just clean them.
 
I leave them on as well. I had heard that trying to get the labels off why soaking them could leach some of the label glue into the bottle, which would screw up bottling. I can't confirm it, only heard it.
 
I have found that Sierra Nevada Labels come off super easy. Just soak in hot water and rub the glue with a sponge you have spotless brown bottles.
 
I just soak 1 bottle at a time in a pitcher of oxyclean....that way it's not a case or 2 to worry about.
 
On my first bottling day I figured I'd just scrub the labels off 50 bottles and get everything done in a few hours. WRONG!

Now I mix a weak-ish few gallons of Oxy-Clean and let a dozen bottles soak for about a day. They're upright and filled with tap water, so I don't worry about rinsing. I'll have enough bottles for a batch done in no time with about 20 minutes of work each day.

Oxy-Clean does a great job with every 12-oz. label I've used, with the local Carolina Brewing Company being the easiest. They use less glue on their labels and they fall off in a few hours. For some reason though, every 22 I've de-labeled has been a huge hassle. They're all laminated, some better than others.
 
I like to remove the labels for a few reasons - first, because it's my beer, not someone else's that is occupying the bottle, and I sometimes like to make my own labels. Second, because label glue tends to gum up my sanitizing solution after a bit. And lastly, I usually run my empty bottles through the dishwasher before putting them away for a lengthy period of time, and the labels make a mess of it (yes, yes, now argue away about Jet Dry and the fact that the dishwasher doesn't reach the inside of the bottles...I'm well aware...).

Try Guinness Draught bottles - the curvy ones with black labels. The plastic labels have no glue - just run a razor blade down the side and they practically fall off. A pair of pliers makes short work of removing the widget, and you have a nice looking bottle for re-use.
 
Mulcahey's Brewing said:
I leave them on as well. I had heard that trying to get the labels off why soaking them could leach some of the label glue into the bottle, which would screw up bottling. I can't confirm it, only heard it.
Click to expand...

I did this once right before bottling and I had to dump the whole batch. now I remove the labels with oxyclean and not on bottling day. I let the bottles soak in a bucket for about a half hour and the labels almost always just fall off.:)
 
Yuri_Rage said:
Try Guinness Draught bottles - the curvy ones with black labels. The plastic labels have no glue - just run a razor blade down the side and they practically fall off. A pair of pliers makes short work of removing the widget, and you have a nice looking bottle for re-use.
Click to expand...


I'm a fan of the Guinness bottles, I don't buy them very often but a friend of mine supplies me with about a case per month.

I always remove labels because I soak all the bottles that I acquire from friends/neighbors yo clean them and the labels usually start falling off from that. I have a big cooler that I can soak about a case and a half at a time in. Leave 'em overnight, give a quick scrub with a green scrubby and the labels are gone
 
So I can just leave the labels on, put the bottles in the dishwasher, and I will be fine - and no glue will get in my bottles?
 
bbriscoe said:
So I can just leave the labels on, put the bottles in the dishwasher, and I will be fine - and no glue will get in my bottles?
Click to expand...

Clogging your diswasher with paper doesn't seem like a swell idea.
 
I remove the labels and glue completely now. At first I really didnt care and had parts of lablels and glue all over the place.

I only have one friend that homebrews and aside from him a lot of people are skeptical of HB, so when I share one I want the first impression and presentation to be good.
 
The problem I've got, is getting off the labels from Redstone Meadery bottles. Those things are persistant!! I've soaked the bottles in EVERYTHING I could think of, (don't forget, I work in the LHBS) and still have labels.

No, I'm not going to get rid of these beautiful 1L swing tops, just want the labels off. (These are the old-style EZ-Cap cobalt blue footed bottles, and I've got 21 of them.) Yes, I do use them to bottle Mead.

steve
 
HBDrinker008 said:
... when I share one I want the first impression and presentation to be good.
Click to expand...

That's the main issue. If you don't remove labels it just looks sloppy. I guess that's ok if it's beer you're keeping for personal consumption, but if others are drinking it too, it makes a poor first impression if you have crappy old labels on the bottle.
 
I sometimes put about half of my batch in bottles without removing the labels--I just stick my own label on top or just use a sharpie on the cap. This is for personal consumption and for friends who come around a lot.

I'll bottle the other half of the batch in unlabeled bottles--sometimes new bottles that I buy from the brewshop, and make them all neat and presentable for guests, gifts, etc.

chris.
 
Yuri_Rage said:
I like to remove the labels for a few reasons - first, because it's my beer, not someone else's that is occupying the bottle, and I sometimes like to make my own labels. Second, because label glue tends to gum up my sanitizing solution after a bit. And lastly, I usually run my empty bottles through the dishwasher before putting them away for a lengthy period of time, and the labels make a mess of it (yes, yes, now argue away about Jet Dry and the fact that the dishwasher doesn't reach the inside of the bottles...I'm well aware...).

Try Guinness Draught bottles - the curvy ones with black labels. The plastic labels have no glue - just run a razor blade down the side and they practically fall off. A pair of pliers makes short work of removing the widget, and you have a nice looking bottle for re-use.
Click to expand...

+1 on all of that! I take the time to remove the labels because I don't want soggy paper following them around everywhere and I prefer the clean look. I just soak 10 bottles or so in a kitchen sink full of hot soapy water. LEave them for an hour or two and most labels slip right off. The exception is foiled or metallic paper labels like on Tecate 32oz or Young's 22oz bottles. They take longer, but still come off easily when they're waterlogged.
 
yeah, i'm soaking pacifico bottles right now that were given to me. The take lot of elbow grease to get the bottle nice and clean. Its work but you can't beat free. I don't even have to go around collecting them. Once friends heard i was brewing they started saving me bottles, I'll repay them with homebrew of course.
 
I did 2 cases of bottles last night. I usually get about 15 or 16 into one of those big plastic containers with 6 or 7 gallons of hot water and half a scoop of Oxyclean. Let them sit for about an hour and then they fall off.
 
I have spent many a happy hour standing at the sink scrubbing bottles.
They just look a lot better when they are nice and clean. Makes the beer taste better! You only have to do this the once. I have been making some big beers recently that are being cellared for 12 months which is forcing me to increase my bottle collection.
btw Getting 2 kegs next week!!! Got fridge already, cannot wait to keg.
 
What about Heineken bottles, the newer ones with the stinkin' plastic label that won't soak off. Anyone have a decent way of removin' these things? A friend I recruited to save me bottles from a bar has been giving me a bunch of these, and I'm feeling like it'd be kind of bad to just toss 'em since my friend went to the all effort of saving them and delivering them to me. I know the green bottles aren't good for beer, but I figured if I could find a semi-easy way of getting the labels off I could use theses things for Apfelwein.
 
The Heinies have a petroleum adhesive now, not the old gummed labels that many breweries still use. If it won't peel off cleanly, you're in for a lot of work and probably solvent usage to remove them....if you choose to remove them.
 
I rinse my bottles after drinking the beer and set them aside until I have about 12 bottles. Fill the sink with hot water and a bit of Oxyclean and let them soak overnight. Usually the labels just fall right off and a little rubbing while rinsing them takes off the rest of the adhesive. If a label is stubborn I let it soak again with the next batch of bottles. I found that doing 12 at a time takes little time and makes the job seem smaller.

Also I make sure to rinse the bottles well after a long soak in oxyclean. If you read the instructions on the box it says to rinse with cool water which seems to work better.
 
Removing labels from Bells bottles sucks!!! Especially that tricky label on the back of the bottle. Damn thing just doesnt want to come off!!!!!
 
I like to use Oxy-Clean and warm/hot water. I do a bunch at one time and mix about 1.5-2 scoops of Oxy with about 5 gallons of warm or hot water. After about 30 minutes the lables are floating off and most, if not all of the adhesive is off the bottles. I hit them with the bottle brush to make sure the inside is clean and then rinse with cold water. It works like a charm.
 
I just fill up the sink with hot tap water and soak about 12 at a time in there for about 30 mins-1hr, then the labels should just peel right off. then just use a steel scrubby pad and lightly scrub the bottles down to get the glue and left over paper off, works great
 
I run my bottles through the dish washer before bottling. As soon as the cycle is done I pull out the bottles with labels and remove the labels easily. The glue then comes off with minimal scrubbing. I do have to be careful to remove the labels from the drain in the bottom of the washer but most of the labels stay on the bottles until I peel them off. It is the heat as much as the water and detergent that softens the glue. If I let the washer sit until it cools the labels are stuck just as good as before.
Craig
 
ma2brew said:
What about Heineken bottles, the newer ones with the stinkin' plastic label that won't soak off. Anyone have a decent way of removin' these things? A friend I recruited to save me bottles from a bar has been giving me a bunch of these, and I'm feeling like it'd be kind of bad to just toss 'em since my friend went to the all effort of saving them and delivering them to me. I know the green bottles aren't good for beer, but I figured if I could find a semi-easy way of getting the labels off I could use theses things for Apfelwein.
Click to expand...


I find just the opposite - the Heineken bottles have been the easiest for me; just run your fingernail around the edge, and the clear plastic peels right off (after soaking in water).
 
jmulligan said:
I find just the opposite - the Heineken bottles have been the easiest for me; just run your fingernail around the edge, and the clear plastic peels right off (after soaking in water).
Click to expand...
Maybe I'm doing it wrong? Are you saying to start the edge of the label and then soak? I'd kinda like to re use at least enough of these bottle to return back to my friend, full, as they did go to all the trouble of getting them for me. I guess I wouldn't be so grateful, but since they did give many more bottles than just these Heinies I feel obligated. The Stella Artois ones clean up super easy! You can just about simply breathe on those labels and they fall off.

I'll give these Heineken bottle one more try, and then I'm tossing the damn things.

Thanks,
Matt
 
Matt -

Just to make sure I wasn't bull-sh$tting you, I just tried one of my Heineken bottles. When it was dry, the label wouldn't come off, but after literally 60 seconds in hot water, the labels peeled right off with no problem. Your bottles have clear, plastic labels on them, correct?
 
jmulligan said:
Matt -

Just to make sure I wasn't bull-sh$tting you, I just tried one of my Heineken bottles. When it was dry, the label wouldn't come off, but after literally 60 seconds in hot water, the labels peeled right off with no problem. Your bottles have clear, plastic labels on them, correct?
Click to expand...
Maybe the heat is the key. I'm sure I only used lukewarm water last time I was soaking bottles. I'll give one a shot of steam over the teapot tonight to see if that's the key.
 
ma2brew said:
Maybe the heat is the key. I'm sure I only used lukewarm water last time I was soaking bottles. I'll give one a shot of steam over the teapot tonight to see if that's the key.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure they changed the glue. I use Amstel Light bottles ( i get them by the caseful from the pub up the street) & the last batch was tough to get the labels off....even with hot water.

They were even extremely sticky after I got the label off & soaked them.
 

Similar threads

Lollim96
Sealed transfer of sparkling wine to bottles advice needed please!
Replies
3
Views
546
Bobby_M
Bobby_M
K
Bottle Condition or Keg for Competition?
Replies
3
Views
391
kurds_2408
K
C
Voided Warranty for Disassembling Keg???
Replies
9
Views
1K
mac_1103
mac_1103
Clint Yeastwood
Using Forbidden Yeast?
Replies
19
Views
1K
skunkape
skunkape
millsbrew
Sold Free Belgian bottles and Blichmann Boilermaker/Burner (North Jersey)
Replies
1
Views
357
giraffeman
giraffeman
InkBird 300

Latest posts

Back
Top