Label Removal Thread

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BierMuncher

...My Junk is Ugly...
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Post your preferred methods for removing labels from beer bottles.

Content can include:
  • What methods worked best for you?
  • What methods flopped?
  • What commercial bottles are the easiest/hardest to clean?
  • How do you prefer to adhere your homebrew labels?

This is a stickied topic so off topic banter will be removed.
 
Hot water with PBW will clean and float most labels off Sierra Nevada bottles in 30 minutes. Dos Equis bottles and most any with foil in the label are a PIA to remove.

I like to use milk or a glue stick for my labels (when I use one).
 
Here are some good reference links to add to this thread:

Getting labels off:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/removing-commercial-beer-labels-57452/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f46/best-label-removal-techniques-85725/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/removing-labels-baking-soda-63663/

Putting labels on:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f46/using-milk-stick-labels-16313/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f46/made-some-milk-glue-new-labels-74895/

Making labels:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f46/what-do-you-print-your-lables-51100/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f46/printing-clear-vinyl-labels-home-86763/

Hope that helps :)


Also, in my personal experience, New Belgium bottles are easiest to delabel - no OxyClean needed, the labels literally fall off in hot water after about 3 minutes. Soak, slide, drain, dry. It's faster than a cheetah chasing a hare covered in delicious bacon.
 
I use oxyclean and hot water, which takes anywhere from a few hours to a couple days, but usually the labels just fall right off.

Some bottles though still leave behind their adhesive on the glass. I have found that the easiest way to remove it is with a "Magic Sponge."

magic%20eraser.jpg


(There are several brands including big box store generics, and they all work fine.)

Sometimes, depending on the hardness or softness of the water there will be a "scale" or white crusty dried soapscum that may be difficult to remove even with lots of rinsing. I have found that soaking them in Starsan at regular dillution dissolves it. Other brewers have recommended a weak solution of vinegar and water. Both are weak acids, and they do the trick.
 
Heineken bottles are a PIA to remove the labels.

I know most of you hate it but I happen to enjoy it once in a while, plus the green bottles add a nice touch to Apfelwein.
 
Soak in Pink powder from the LHBS. The name is Chloriclean (I'd bet it's actually Oxyclean). Most paper type labels float off in matter of hours to a day.
 
Sweetwater labels are laminated and adhered with non-soluble form of mega glue. Oxyclean and other products might help.

Bud American Ale labels fall off right out of the fridge. Good bottles despite what you think of the beer inside. :)
 
The lazy mans technique: Get 1 Cooler, fill with empty beer bottles, fill empty beer bottles with warm, soapy water, fill remaining cooler with warm water, let soak.

After two or three days of soaking most of the labels have fallen off on their own.

Remember to fill the bottles first or else their just going to be a floating mess in the cooler and cut down on the amount you can fit into it.

Edit: On a sidenote, I swear that Sam Adams uses industrial glue for their labels, amazing grip.
 
I let some sierra nevada bottles sit in an oxyclean solution for a day and when I pulled one out to clean off with a scotch brite pad the oxyclean had left scale all over the bottle. I was able to scrub it off the outside but no way was I going to get it off the inside. Had to toss the whole 6 pack in the trash.
 
Hot water and a sponge. I fill each bottle with hot water and let them sit for a minute or so as I fill others. The water softens the glue and then just use the scrubby side of the sponge to get it off or peel it off with your fingers. Doesn't take long, BTW I use this for SA bottles primarily and works great!
 
Label Removal:
1) Allocate an empty container (sink or tub)
2) Fill bottles with hot water
3) Lay bottles upright in container
4) Add a couple oz. of sodium percarbonate (Oxiclean) and dish detergent.
5) Fill container until bottles are covered and wait a few hours.
6) Labels should fall right off or some minor coaxing with a razor blade.
7) Wipe off glue with sponge.

Bottle Preferences:
I find Sierra Nevada bottle labels come off fairly easy (labels hold together). Plus I like them best cuz they're stubby :)
Smuttynose labels tend to fall apart and more of a PITA.

Label Adhesive:
I use Avery 5163/5168 shipping labels which have an adhesive. If you have access to a color laser printer, they come out awesome.
 
Guinness widget bottles have a plastic label that can be removed with the simple slice of a razor blade. No glue, no fuss, no mess. The widget is easily removed with a pair of small needle nose pliers.

An overnight soak in plain old water will remove many labels (including Sam Adams).
 
Also, in my personal experience, New Belgium bottles are easiest to delabel - no OxyClean needed, the labels literally fall off in hot water after about 3 minutes.

Heck, if you're drinking a NB straight from the bottle on a warm day, the condensation on the outside of the bottle is enough to peel the label off without much difficulty!
 
Like others have suggested, I use hot water and Oxyclean to soak bottles in. Within 24 hours even the toughest labels can be peeled or scraped off with your thumbnail. Then I use a little scrubby brush and hot water to scrub off any glue.

This method seems to work well for almost every bottle. 22oz bottles with the sticker type labels like Bear Republic and Harpoon can sometimes be a pain though.

I used to use ammonia and water and that only worked for some labels. Once I learned about Oxyclean I haven't looked back.

For bottles with silk screened labels like Stone and Rogue, I use a solution of muriatic acid and water and soak for about 15-20 minutes. Sometimes the Rogue bottles might need a little scrubbing and a longer soak.
 
For those stubborn hard to remove labels which can also be found on wine bottles, I use a heat gun to heat up the label and glue, then peel the label right off the bottle. It leaves some glue still on the bottle, but it simplifies the removal ten fold. Oh yeah...... watch the heat gun doesn't get to close to your fingers...... it stings a bit sometimes.

I do not have to use this method often, but it sure does work on very stubborn ones.

Salute! :mug:
 
(Sam Adams...)
I've got to say that I've cleaned a lot of these, and a bit of hot water and oxyclean has the labels floating the next morning...

I think the method to the madness is this: Regular, off the shelf, 6pk bottles (e.g. Cream Stout, Boston Lager) are all pretty easy to clean IMO. Soak, and it comes off in a couple hours. It's however the Holiday Pack that are evil incarnate to remove. YMMV of course - this is just what I've noticed.
 
Sweetwater labels are laminated and adhered with non-soluble form of mega glue. Oxyclean and other products might help.

What is with Atlanta based brewers and the labels?

Atlanta Brew Co. labels are the worst... They are laminated and then apparently glued on with some bodily fluid of Satan... Took two oxyclean soaks and a green Scotchbrite to get all the gunk off...

Oxyclean does wonders on the Sweetwater labels...
 
I use a bucket of bleach water to remove labels. Haven't found anything it doesn't work on and just keep reusing the bucket until all the bottles are clean. Set the bottles in and walk away (take a nap, drink a beer, etc.) and the labels wipe off. Rubber gloves are nice. Not earth friendly but....

Milk is my personal favorite. Actually 1/2 and 1/2 creamer. Lots of fat and protein. Labels always come off with no effort.
 
I let some sierra nevada bottles sit in an oxyclean solution for a day and when I pulled one out to clean off with a scotch brite pad the oxyclean had left scale all over the bottle. I was able to scrub it off the outside but no way was I going to get it off the inside. Had to toss the whole 6 pack in the trash.

Love Sierra Nevada stubby bottles.
Never had this problem. I usually soak for a long period of time and get to them when I have time. Peel the label off scrub the softened glue residue and use a bottle brush on the inside (probably not necessary) then rinse with a bottle washer.

I have seen a residue on glass with oxyclean if left too long and dried some. Soak it in white vinegar solution and it will be gone.
 
I am noob here so FWIW...
A soak over night in clear ammonia/h2o solution takes any and every label off except for the Sierra Harvest Ale 20oz's (some kinda funky,foamy glue on them)
I rinse thoroughly, set to dry and ready for sanitation later.
 
Method: Hot water soak, with or without oxyclean, wipe/scrub off glue residue;

Easiest: German or British beers (they fall right off, little glue residue);

Hardest: Laminated labels (Jolly Pumpkin, Allagash, several other craft brewers; the adhesive only seems to comes off with solvents like goo-gone);

How I label: sharpie on cap or printing on 3/4" round stickers and applying to cap (with size 6 font you can squeeze on the name, date, IBU, OG, etc.)
 
The hardest label to remove... Stone IPA :D:D

Nope, Starsan Soak overnight to 1 week and a quick rinse...

Impossible to remove Rogue Silkscreen and half of the redstripe bottles I own...methinks either they changed their paint, or different bottler factories use different paint...Half of them soak off after a couple weeks in starsan, and the other half even a 100% starsan won't remove it...nor the rogues.

But stones are a piece of cake, actually to me easier than paper labels with oxyclean.
 
Sometimes, depending on the hardness or softness of the water there will be a "scale" or white crusty dried soapscum that may be difficult to remove even with lots of rinsing. I have found that soaking them in Starsan at regular dillution dissolves it. Other brewers have recommended a weak solution of vinegar and water. Both are weak acids, and they do the trick.

Hmmm....you think vinegar and water would take the paint off of painted bottles? It'd be a lot cheaper than Starsan, and I've got a lot of 8oz Coke bottles I'd like to get the paint off of....
 
Hmmm....you think vinegar and water would take the paint off of painted bottles? It'd be a lot cheaper than Starsan, and I've got a lot of 8oz Coke bottles I'd like to get the paint off of....

I doubt if the acid in vinegar is strong enough...oh I forgot, starsan will not remove the paint of the 6 mexican coke bottles I have either....

I've been thinking of trying muriatic acid on all the stubborn ones, I think it's pretty cheap at the hardware store....

I would like to get all my Redstripe stubbies clean. They would be great for Belgian beers, dontja think?
 
I have had success removing screen labeled bottles with 1 part muriatic acid and 3 parts water soaking for 15 minutes. You can get the acid at Lowes 2 gallons for $9 bucks. I just use a glass vase that fits a bottle at a time and soak while watching TV or something switching out whenever I remember.
 
Nope, Starsan Soak overnight to 1 week and a quick rinse...

Impossible to remove Rogue Silkscreen and half of the redstripe bottles I own...methinks either they changed their paint, or different bottler factories use different paint...Half of them soak off after a couple weeks in starsan, and the other half even a 100% starsan won't remove it...nor the rogues.

But stones are a piece of cake, actually to me easier than paper labels with oxyclean.


Seriously? I scrubbed on it for a second and gave up. Good to know!
 
I tested the vinegar theory on my 8oz Coke bottles.
Straight white distilled vinegar soak, 48 hours later...
not even scratchable. Oh well, that was going to be a SUPER cheap resolution. Muriatic acid sounds like a good bet. Cheaper than starsan and I don't have to drive as far to get it. I really want to use up my 1/2 gallon of free idophor before I switch to starsan. Maybe I'll start giving it away to my brewing friends.
 
When i finish a bottle of beer i rinse it out and toss it in a bucket of bleach water in the basement. It takes of almost all paper labels.

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout labels are made of paper and some kind of super steel epoxy. Trying to remove the labels on these is about as fun as shaving your scrotum with a dull pocket knife. 3 weeks soaking in bleach water and the only difference is they are wet and smell like bleach.

I get a fresh shipment of them from my friend every week. And i have given up on getting the labels off them. I put them all in a box and save them for the occasion that i run out of other bottles.
 
I let some sierra nevada bottles sit in an oxyclean solution for a day and when I pulled one out to clean off with a scotch brite pad the oxyclean had left scale all over the bottle. I was able to scrub it off the outside but no way was I going to get it off the inside. Had to toss the whole 6 pack in the trash.


+1 to that. Even in minimal amounts, I found that crystaline deposit on my bottles, and it has to be brushed out. Now I go with hot water only. No chems to worry about and i only keep bottles whose labels easily soak off. The Euro beers I drink, Belgian(leffe) and German(hefs), seem to have the weakest glue. Finish them off with with a scrubby sponge.
 
Screamin' hot water out of my kitchen tap and a little bit of B-Brite. I let 'em soak about twenty minutes and I've never had a label and glue that I couldn't just wipe completely off with a paper towel.

I grab a huge pot, hot water and b-brite and add a bunch of bottles for 20 minutes. Take another large pot (obviously you have to have two large pots, bins, something) and fill that with room temp water and iodiphore...

20 minutes in b-brite... wipe 'em clean... jet spray to rinse the inside... put them in iodophore pot.

Once the b-brite pot is empty, I load it back up again... and start quick rising and putting the bottles from the iodiphore on a drying tree and by the time I'm done with that, the ones in the b-brite are ready again...

And I just keep going through that cycle. I have pretty good sized pots so I can do about four cases in an hour without a problem.
 
Holy sticky labels, Batman! Has anyone been able to clean a Bear Republic label from a 22oz'r?

I did one, required lacquer thinner. Tossed the other one. That's after a 48 hour soak in hot, very strong Oxyclean.

At least the beer was awesome!
 
On the subject of what brands have easy to remove labels, I had a 12-pack of Sam Adams that I was able to remove the labels after simply running them under hot water for a minute, peeling/scraping off most of the paper with my thumbnail, then rubbing the remaining glue off with a scrubby sponge. If I had several to do at a time I would fill them with hot water and let them sit while I was scrubbing off the labels. Sitting there full of hot water softened up the glue a lot.
 
I've got my entire collection of coke bottles soaking in a muriatic acid solution right now. I'll be honest, I was kind of scared of the stuff. I was worried about what to soak them in, terrified when I poured the acid into the water (NOT THE WATER INTO THE ACID) because it smoked a little...It's scary stuff but I hope it works. It's been about 12 hours, I"m going to check on them.
 

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