Beer Labels
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Some people will tell you to soak the bottles overnight in hot water and PBW or Oxyclean. That'll work but I prefer my method.
I go to my LHBS and buy a case of empties for about $12.00.
I go to my LHBS and buy a case of empties for about $12.00.
I have a tub that's been filled with water and oxiclean for about 2 weeks. Anytime I've come across new bottles, I just toss them in there and forget about them. After a few days, I come back and all the labels have fallen off. When I pull them out, I use a towel to vigorously dry them off to make sure all the adhesive (which now feels like jelly) comes off. It's super simple and pain-free.
If you're in a rush, you can use much hotter water. I've seen the labels fall off in as little as 6 hours using that method.
If you're in a rush, you can use much hotter water. I've seen the labels fall off in as little as 6 hours using that method.
aggiejason
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Besides soaking, also get yourself a razor blade window scraper. I've tried a variety of different methods from the site.the one that is cheapest and works the best for me is to fill them up with water and then stand them up in a bucket of ammonia water. I like to fill them up so I can keep them from tipping in my bucket and keep the ammonia out. After soaking for a few hours (or days) I will peel , then scrape with the scraper. As a final step I use a plastic pot scrubber to clean off any remaining residue. Works great and is easy for most bottles. There are a few brands that work better than others ...
(I'm sure I'll get scolded for the ammonia use but it works for me, I keep it out if the bottle, and all of my bottles get several thorough washes and sanitizes before I use them )
(I'm sure I'll get scolded for the ammonia use but it works for me, I keep it out if the bottle, and all of my bottles get several thorough washes and sanitizes before I use them )
new2brew1221
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Warm water and oxyclean work for me
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jeremytd301
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Hot water and oxiclean free in a cooler. Keeps the water hotter/warmer longer. Let them soak overnight and most labels fall right off. I hit the remaining labels and adhesive with steel wool or a Brillo pad. Comes off with very little effort. But like others have said, certain brands don't even start to peel with this method. Those go in the recycling bin for me. Just rinse the bottles with clean water as you pull them out of the container to get the oxiclean off as well.
jiMithing83
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Oxiclean (free) and hot water. Most of the labels fall off in less than an hour for me, but it's better to let them soak for 2-3 hours to get the adhesive to come off easily.
Bbbeldums1
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Get bells bottles if possible. Soak in a sink, tub, whatever you have for a day. If the adhesive is still on it use olive oil to get that off. I put it in a paper towel and grab a hold and roll lol.
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ShadyBrewer
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Another vote for oxyclean and hot water. After the labels fall off I scrub the glue off with a Scotch-Brite (sp) pad. Works great. I just can't bring myself to buying empty bottles at my LHBS
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If I have a lot of bottles to delabel,I mix a few gallons of PBW in my orange homer cheapo bucket (taking grain bags out first!). I can soak some 13 bottles at a time overnight. Euro bottles,like Paulaner & Franziskaner,come off in about an hour. Up to a couple hours for Sam Adams. The ones I have to scrape are the breweries that seem to use computer labels of some sort. Friggin' super glued the bottles! I use mt exacto knive with the rounded blade edge to scrape those off. And I use a Dobie brand scrubber for the glue,& the bottle brush inside. Rinse really well & onto the bottle tree to dry before storage.
Soak in vinegar and baking soda. It'll remove any label and adhesive. You can also remove stubborn adhesive by rubbing the bottles with cheap peanut butter...
I'm just not sure why folks want to further complicate an uncomplicated issue. Oxiclean or PBW (they're the same with possibly different surfactants, but I haven't seen any definitive proof on what each of them actually contains).
Oxy does NOT work for all labels.. far from it in MY experience. The ones it works well with.. simple hot water does just as well. The nice thing about PBW or Oxy is that is a good cleaner helping that part. Some of the bad ones are metallic or have a thin plastic coating on them.. crazy hard w/o the scraper, knife or other mechanical help.
95% of labels will come off with Oxyclean with a long enough soak. I easily removed foil labels frond a variety of Belgians last week. Those Sweetwater bottles you see have plastic labels and they slide right off.
So far, only inked bottles and a few random plastic labels (Yazoo Brewing Company) are all I've found to remain undefeated by Oxyclean. Even most wine bottle labels slide off.
Honestly all you need is a wire brush, hot water, a scrub pad like for dishes and some elbow grease.
I bought a 4dollar wire brush from the hardware store. Dip the bottle in the water and hit it with the brush. You dont even really need to soak the bottle. Once you get most of the label off take the sponge and run the green scrubber side on it and the glue will come off.
Is it a PITA? Sure I guess, but it's not very hard. Plus you only have to do it once.
You can also soak them for a day and have the labels peel easier but you'll still need to get the glue off so there's no real way to do it without requiring some work aside from just purchasing bottles from your local brew shop.
I bought a 4dollar wire brush from the hardware store. Dip the bottle in the water and hit it with the brush. You dont even really need to soak the bottle. Once you get most of the label off take the sponge and run the green scrubber side on it and the glue will come off.
Is it a PITA? Sure I guess, but it's not very hard. Plus you only have to do it once.
You can also soak them for a day and have the labels peel easier but you'll still need to get the glue off so there's no real way to do it without requiring some work aside from just purchasing bottles from your local brew shop.
Soaking in PBW not only slides the majority of labels off,but dissolves the glue or makes it really soft. Don't work harder,work smarter! 
I'd been using unscented dish soap. Just started using PBW, it works much better. For those stubborn foil or vinyl labels, I pour boiling water over them, then peel right off.
inkman15
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1 scoop of oxyclean in a 5 gallon bucket of warm water. Let them soak overnight or longer and almost all labels will literally just fall off.
Yeah it's pretty incredible. Make sure you rinse it really well to get all the residual oxyclean off the bottles. Mine always feel like a slip 'n slide coming out of the tub.
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