belmontbrew
Well-Known Member
I'm new to homebrewing (in the middle of my first batch), and I wanted to share my experience cleaning and de-labeling beer bottles. I learned that some beers give up their labels easily, but others don't. Here's my list:
First off, my procedure for de-labeling was to put half a scoop of Oxiclean into a big bucket, load with 25 bottles, and then fill with water. After a soak of at least 1 hour, I then pulled off the labels by hand and scrubbed off any remaining glue with a green dish pad.
BEST (labels come off on their own, no glue residue):
Kona Longboard
Carmel
Kirkland Wheat Beer
GOOD (labels pull off easily, little to no glue residue):
Sam Adams, regular
Sam Adam Summer Ale
Trader Joe's Vienna Lager
Michelob Amber Bock
WORST (labels leave paper reside, lots of glue residue):
Widmer heffeweizen
Sierra Nevada
That's it. I also discovered that, if you ask around, you can procure 100 free beer bottles in a week and a half.
First off, my procedure for de-labeling was to put half a scoop of Oxiclean into a big bucket, load with 25 bottles, and then fill with water. After a soak of at least 1 hour, I then pulled off the labels by hand and scrubbed off any remaining glue with a green dish pad.
BEST (labels come off on their own, no glue residue):
Kona Longboard
Carmel
Kirkland Wheat Beer
GOOD (labels pull off easily, little to no glue residue):
Sam Adams, regular
Sam Adam Summer Ale
Trader Joe's Vienna Lager
Michelob Amber Bock
WORST (labels leave paper reside, lots of glue residue):
Widmer heffeweizen
Sierra Nevada
That's it. I also discovered that, if you ask around, you can procure 100 free beer bottles in a week and a half.