About to bottle question

I hopefully will bottle my first mr beer tomorrow.

Question is though, I have accumulated bottles from Sam Adams etc.

Do I need to soak these to remove the old labels before I sanitize them prior to bottling?

Will it affect anything when soaking them etc? Just trying to get things lined up so I dont run into any last minute issues.


THanks.

 

You don't have to soak the labels off, but Sam Adams labels come off so easy in hot water that it will make yer head spin. Just soak them for a few minutes in hot soapy water and the pratically fall off.

I always remove the labels and thoroughly clean my bottles before bottling day so all I have to do is a quick sanitize at bottling time.

 

Toss a 1/2 cup of bleach in that hot water and you can take care of the sanitizing process at the same time.

 

I could do that or i could go ahead and rinse them with Star San, but then I would have to cover the tops until the next day, which isn't all that much of an issue. I tend to remove labels and clean bottles in small batches rather than doing them all at one time. After I get my bottle stock built back up, I'll have a large enough collection of bottles that it will be a non-issue.

 

For draining/storing, I find a milk crate with two layers of clean paper towels on the bottom are perfect. Just place the freshly rinsed bottles upside down and let them drip dry. A milk crate holds right at 25 bottles. No need to cover anything and the paper towel keeps the necks of the bottles closed up to prevent anything from getting up in there.