Best method for removing labels?

Whats the best method for removing commercial labels. Some come off pretty easy, while others are really tough to remove. Since I spent money on all my brew equipment, I figured I'd save my bottles to use since I'd be buying beer while I wait for my homebrew anyways. Does anyone else do this and do they have any good tips for getting stubborn labels off bottles?

Soak in PBW or oxyclean for a couple days or so. Does the trick every time.

Nice! just picked up some PBW yesterday for my carboys and what not. I will try this. Thanks

Yep, oxyclean...they'll start floating right off within 24 hrs...then just wipe off the little residue that remains...piece of cake.

So, you know there are some that are easy and some that are hard to take off. Do you have a redemption center near you? I take the bottles that I know are hard to peel, and those *gasp* screwtops and trade at the redemption center. If you tell those folks what you are doing they are usually pretty cool with it. A home brew sixer doesn't hurt either. While your there ask them to save out some 22's for ya.

I use hot tap water and Oxiclean, and they actually come off easily after just an hour or two. This gets 90% of them. There are a few breweries using a more aggressive glue that requires some light scrubbing.

I 've give up on trying to take the hard to remove labels and just leave them on.
Sweetwater comes to mind first. Call me lazy, just don't assume when you reach into my fridge

I like Sierra Nevada bottles ... in fact, my entire stock is SN bottles. The paper labels soak off in plain water after a day or so of soaking. I think they use some sort of starch adhesive.

For the bottles with plastic labels (especially champagne bottles), I peel the label off then use contact cleaner -- takes the sticky stuff off real quick. You can pick up contact cleaner at Frys, etc.

PBW soaking has removed any label that's been on a bottle I want to use. It also works great on removing sediment that someone didn't rinse out (friend that I let try a few of my recipes). Soaking 24-48 hours is the most you should need to remove any label. If it won't come off that way, use a sandblaster. :rockin:

And don't forget Starsan will dissolve Stone's painted on labels. It doesn't seem to work on Lips of Faith though.

I've had good luck soaking in super hot soapy or PBW water for 30min-1hr (I don't have the patience and I do multiple batches). Then I can usually peel easier labels off, if not the scrub off very easy. Sierra Nevada bottles are very easy (and I like the shape). Sam Adams are good too, but you have to scrub a bit usually. New Belgium are about like SA.

I just fill my sink with really hot water (the hottest it can go, which is around 130f), toss the bottles in there, and let it soak for a little bit (usually not much more than 15 minutes). then I just put on some gloves, get some steel wool, and scrub the hell out of them until they come off. some just peel off easily in the heat though

Hot water in your sink with oxyclean and they will be floating off in minutes. PBW also works but oxyclean is cheaper and works just as good on the labels.

I soak in hot water and oxy and usually within 15-20 minutes the labels are floating. For the stubborn ones, I just scrub with steel wool and it takes care of everything.

I simply tried sticking them in the dishwasher on heat dry and sanitizer mode. If I open right away while still hot, the labels peel off easily. A scotch brite pad removes the glue lines easily while hot.

I am sure there are others on here that have an easier quicker method, but here is what I do for bottles:
1. I only use Sam Adams bottles (usually buy a 6 pack after work 3 times a week, they add up quick) (I like uniformity)
2. I do not drink the first sip of a beer (or the next one if drinking out of the bottle) until I have filled the bottle up with water and poured out. I then stick on the bottle tree next to the sink to dry out. This prevent gunk from drying on bottom of bottle makes cleaning easier)
3. Night before bottling I fill bathtub up with water and a scoop of oxyclean and place 55 bottles in the tub. I let them sit there overnight until I get home from work the next day. This cleans my bottles.
4. When I get home from work I fill bucket up with starsan and water. I place next to bathtub and drain bathtub. I then turn faucet to tub on and fill each empty bottle with water until it over fills and then dump out (this rinses them)
5. I dunk 6 at a time in the star san and then empty each and place on bottle tree (that has been sprayed with StarSan.
Then I bottle!!!!!

Stretching over more than one day makes it easier and more tolerable. Day of bottling usually takes 1 hour total (although actual bottling is only about 20 minutes)

Hot soak for a couple of hours, then peel and wash. Usually pretty easy, and any of them that are too difficult I just pitch. It's really not worth it to spend too much energy trying to get the stubborn ones off IMO.

Ravenshead said:

And don't forget Starsan will dissolve Stone's painted on labels.

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Yes! And give the bottles a scrub a couple times through the soak to remove the thicker layers of paint. I got most off with an overnight soak.

60qt igloo ice cube, 3 scoops oxyclean, warm water. Leave the bottles in overnight and the labels just fall off. I then hit the outside with a green scrubber and rinse the inside with a bottle washer. I let them dry on a sanitized tree and use a vinator at bottling time.

I tried a few different things before giving Oxyclean a shot. I gotta say if 95% of your labels aren't literally falling off within 30 minutes you're wasting time.

gomb said:

60qt igloo ice cube, 3 scoops oxyclean, warm water. Leave the bottles in overnight and the labels just fall off. I then hit the outside with a green scrubber and rinse the inside with a bottle washer. I let them dry on a sanitized tree and use a vinator at bottling time.

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That's pretty much what I do to. Never had to scrub any though. Works great on all the SA, Sweetwater, and New Belgium bottles I have recycled. :rockin:

The cooler keeps the water warm the entire soak.

bucket of 2 gallons water plus 1 cup ammonia will cause almost all labels to fall off in about 5 minutes. I make sure to rinse completely and then spray with star san, pack into empty case, and place large sheet of aluminum foil over tops before closing box. On bottling day I remove the foil and give 6-8 sprays starsan to each bottle while still in the case. The starsan gets dumped before filling the beer, then it goes to my capping area before going back to the box.

The easiest labels to peel that I have found are from Penn Brewery in Pittsburgh. If you just run them under hot water to warm the glass they peel off without any residue at all.

I hit them with a scrubbie since after a day soak, the oxyclean can leave some residue and some of the glue always sticks around.

The best way to get rid of the oxiclean film is with a dunk in water with a splash of vinegar. I read another thread where somebody was talking about the pH or some kind of chemical reaction between the vinegar (acid) and whatever is in oxiclean. Works every time... just scrub the glue off first.

I use hot water and PBW. The labels fall off in about 15 minutes and any residual adhesive just wipes off. Forget the overnight nonsense.

I see other folks are likeing SA for good beer and easy to remove labels. I have mainly Sam's recycled bottles. But I also like to have a few clear bottles so I can admire my beer color without filtering. My beer is stored in boxes in the basement so I don't worry about the light on a few clear bottles.

I suppose at the recommended concentration PBW will handle any task in minutes but I've found longer soaks at a quarter or less of that reccomedation does the same job. It's much cheaper that way which keeps the SWMBO happy.