Commercial bottles with labels that come off easily ~

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TasunkaWitko

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There might already be a thread out there with this theme, but I'm too tired to look for it.

By "easy," I mean with some simple soaking in hot water for a while, with or without some OxyClean added.

The first two that come to mind are New Belgium and Guinness - Sam Adams seems to come off pretty easily, too.

The most difficult bottles that come to mind are Bayern and Big Sky Brewing, which is too bad, because they both have good beer.
 
Dogfish Head is a pretty easy one. Great Lakes is another. Bells, yet another. All of these I can peel the label off most of the way without anything other than the sweat from a cold bottle being in a warm room.

*EDIT* Port City is another easy peeler.
 
Most paper labels come off pretty easy with oxyclean, in my experience.
 
I assume you can get Odell in Montana. Their labels come off with a simple soak, no scrubbing required. Time to drink some St. Lupulin's while it is back for the Summer!

Also, Odell bottles have some cool embossed hops on the neck of the bottle.
 
Brooklyn Brewery's labels are a PITA. I soaked a few in the same no-rinse sanitzing solution I soaked all my other bottles in, the little paper that did peel off was dry underneath. So, I soaked them even longer, and ended up throwing them in the recycling bin.
 
Firestone Walker, Sierra Nevada, and Anchor all come off easy. Label falls off after a soak, hit the residue with a scouring pad or magic eraser and you've got a clean bottle.
 
founder's labels come off super easily. you can practically sneeze on a bottle and the bottle will slip out of the label in your hand before you're done pouring a beer.
 
Agreed about Firestone Walker. Interestingly (to me) the absolute biggest nightmare label removal glue I routinely run across is Russian River. I'd wager that stuff could hold the space shuttle together on re-entry
 
I've only ever come across one brewery that had by far the worst labels in the world to remove.

Rogue.

If I get any bottles of rogue, I just recycle the bottles immediately. I've soaked them in hot water and oxyclean for 48 hours changing the water and adding more oxyclean and they still will not delable. There are other brands that can be a little annoying but they will eventually delable, Rogue bottles you need steel wool.
 
Agreed that Russian River are the hardest I've ever encountered. Treat them as permanently etched glass.
 
Have you tried using PBW to get labels off? I soak my bottles in PBW and the labels literally slide right off. I cant believe I didnt start doing this sooner

But I do remember all of Southern Tiers 12oz bottles have a weird adhesive that comes right off perfectly if you just run the bottle under hot water for a min. It comes right off in one clean peel after that.
 
Have you tried using PBW to get labels off? I soak my bottles in PBW and the labels literally slide right off. I cant believe I didnt start doing this sooner

But I do remember all of Southern Tiers 12oz bottles have a weird adhesive that comes right off perfectly if you just run the bottle under hot water for a min. It comes right off in one clean peel after that.

That's pretty much what I use exclusively. The Russian River warnings above still apply. That glue is nuclear powered. I've soaked for days on end replacing with hot pbw every day, and you get to a point where a bottle is simply not worth that labor.

For the most part though, I totally agree and find PBW to be the best for label removal.

For the easier labels to remove though, a hot water soak alone can often get it done.

I find Firestone Walker to be the easiest, however, I live nearby and freshness off the labeling line may have something to do with that.
 
I've only ever come across one brewery that had by far the worst labels in the world to remove.

Rogue.

If I get any bottles of rogue, I just recycle the bottles immediately. I've soaked them in hot water and oxyclean for 48 hours changing the water and adding more oxyclean and they still will not delable. There are other brands that can be a little annoying but they will eventually delable, Rogue bottles you need steel wool.

Am I crazy? I thought rogue was silkscreened/painted labels?

FTR, I find a soak in starsan to be a good solution for removing paint from bottles, although I think the heat that is used to bake the paint onto the bottles means some are easier to remove than others. Enjoy By can be super easy or very very difficult for instance.
 
Three Floyds and Bells are my go-to for bottles. A soak in some warm, soapy water and they peel right off. There is a local brewery that has "sticker" labels I guess. With a little effort on starting the peel, they come off super clean. Hey, Im a kegger though...
 
founder's labels come off super easily. you can practically sneeze on a bottle and the bottle will slip out of the label in your hand before you're done pouring a beer.

+1 for Founders, couldn't have said it better myself!

Sierra Nevada labels usually fall off by themselves soaking on oxyclean as well.
 
That's pretty much what I use exclusively. The Russian River warnings above still apply. That glue is nuclear powered. I've soaked for days on end replacing with hot pbw every day, and you get to a point where a bottle is simply not worth that labor.

Yeah, I was going to re-use the 16-oz bottles from the couple of PtE's I have tried, and while the paper comes off relatively easy, there is no touching that glue. It's ridiculous.

I ended up recycling them... :(
 
3 Floyds are really easy to rub off w/ just hot water. Also, Ale Syndicate and Metropolitan Brewing here in Chicago are really easy to peel off. Ale Syndicate actually has a little note on the bottom of their 6 pack that says something like "Hey Homebrewers, these labels peel off, please reuse as many times as possible."
 
I wish Half Acre's labels came off easily as I really like their bottle shape. Never seen any other breweries use bottles exactly like theirs.
 
Three Floyds and Bells are my go-to for bottles. A soak in some warm, soapy water and they peel right off. There is a local brewery that has "sticker" labels I guess. With a little effort on starting the peel, they come off super clean. Hey, Im a kegger though...

I find FFF labels vary a lot. Zombie Dust is a nightmare to get off where Robert the Bruce almost jumps off.
 
The labels on the Hoppyum IPA bottle from Foothills brewery in Winston-Salem NC looks to be a plastic label and with just several seconds of running hot water from the faucet for several seconds pulls right off with out leaving any residue behind. Plus it's an excellent beer. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what the availability is outside of NC. In the past I was able to buy cases from the local costco for a decent price. As all things costco, items come and go without warning.
 
Am I crazy? I thought rogue was silkscreened/painted labels?

FTR, I find a soak in starsan to be a good solution for removing paint from bottles, although I think the heat that is used to bake the paint onto the bottles means some are easier to remove than others. Enjoy By can be super easy or very very difficult for instance.

Ah, well, it might be entirely different where you buy them. Here in Wisconsin they have these doom-paper labels. The outer painted paper part of the label comes off, but theres this stick papery crap that sticks to the bottle.
 
+1 on Sierra Nevada bottles. Also sweet water bottles are easy. I yesterday I de-labeled a New Belgium Skinny Dip bottle that almost came off immediately after hitting the oxyclean
 
I can't tell a difference between different beers from 3 Floyds. Just run it under hot water and slowly peel as the hot water pours between the label and bottle. Sometimes I have to scrub with my thumb but never noticed that Zombie Dust bottles are more difficult.
 
never noticed that Zombie Dust bottles are more difficult.

I soaked about 60 bottles with mix of Sweetwater, Goose Island and FFF is hot oxyclean. The only labels not int he bottom of the laundry sink when pulled them out of the water were Zombie Dust...about 9 of them. Alpha King and RtB were not an issue. The Zombie Dust still came off with a scrubby pad but the rest just fell off. I think it might be the semimetalic transfer bits/paint in that label.
 
Ah, well, it might be entirely different where you buy them. Here in Wisconsin they have these doom-paper labels. The outer painted paper part of the label comes off, but theres this stick papery crap that sticks to the bottle.

Ok, I hear ya. Sounds a lot like the Russian River labels. I've gone as far as using Goof-off on them and it's still a nightmare getting them clean. Eventually you can, but really, if I have to go to those lengths, I just toss em into the recycle can.
 
Does anyone use ammonia to remove labels? Smells a bit, but haven't found a label that doesn't slide right off.
 
Boulevard's labels are like they're "glued" on with butter. I got a label off by rinsing the bottle in cold water.

Worst: Russian River and Jolly Pumpkin. No question.
 
Highland Brewing uses plastic labels that you can peel off without even using water and they leave no residue. Good beer too (for the ones I've drunk).
 
Here's a list of the ones I can remember;
Paulaner
Franziskaner
Wernesgruner
Sam Adams
Michelob
Victory
Uinta
Sierra Nevada
Deschutes
Magic Hat
Killian's
....:mug:
 
Most paper labels come off pretty easy with oxyclean, in my experience.

Had a Green Man IPA last night, out of the bottle. Just started nervously picking at the label, found the thing peels right off, leaving no glue behind. This is the first plastic "sticker"-type label I have ever had come off without a fight, if not be downright impossible without some sort of solvent.
 
I use mostly Sam Adams, but have also used Deschutes and even Goose Island bottles. All came off very easily.
 
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