best way to remove labels from recycled bottles

[Malty_Dog]

Hot water/oxy soak (as little as a few hrs or as long as 24 hrs). Regular oxy or oxy free. I rinse pretty thoroughly so I think between a thorough rinse and then another rinse when sanitizing regular oxy should be fine. JMHO.

Toughest label I've had (by far) has been "Old Leghumper" Porter by Thirsty Dog Brewing Co in Ohio. When it showed no sign of coming off after a 24 hr soak I just gave up.

 

[Hello]

OP, I've tried hot water soaking for an hour, works and only a quick rub with a scour sponge to remove the glue. Beer brite worked similar to water after one hour and Oxiclean lifted labels right off overnight.

My problem is the Southern Tier Pumking. I can't get that crap off to save my life. 24 hours in Oxiclean after 2 hours in hot beer brite and I was still scrubbing glue. I am still trying with another bottle but it's too much work. I'll likely bottle the two pumking bottles I have with labels.

 

[eulipion2]

OP, I've tried hot water soaking for an hour, works and only a quick rub with a scour sponge to remove the glue. Beer brite worked similar to water after one hour and Oxiclean lifted labels right off overnight.

My problem is the Southern Tier Pumking. I can't get that crap off to save my life. 24 hours in Oxiclean after 2 hours in hot beer brite and I was still scrubbing glue. I am still trying with another bottle but it's too much work. I'll likely bottle the two pumking bottles I have with labels.

I've found that a double concentration of StarSan will strip off silkscreening and even tough glue. So if you have a lot of bottles, 2 oz for 5 gallons, or 1 oz for 2.5 gallons. Let bottles soak for anywhere from a couple hours to a couple days. You may still need to use a little elbow grease depending on the paint or glue on the bottle.

My "difficult bottle" regimen is an Oxy-Clean soak, followed by a 2x StarSan soak, and if necessary, a second Oxy-Clean soak. Your other option would be to not use those bottles, or not care about the label and use it anyway.

 

[whoaru99]

My "difficult bottle" regimen is an Oxy-Clean soak, followed by a 2x StarSan soak, and if necessary, a second Oxy-Clean soak. Your other option would be to not use those bottles, or not care about the label and use it anyway.

You could probably buy new bottles for less than that, if you put any value on your time.

 

[eulipion2]

You could probably buy new bottles for less than that, if you put any value on your time.

I see your point, but until I moved to Richmond I didn't have a LHBS so I would have had to ship bottles. Now I've moved away from Richmond and the closest LHBS is almost an hour away, so I'm back in the same boat. So it's totally worth scrubbing bottles to save gas. Honestly most of the "work" is passive, so it's no big time suck.

 

[BadMrFrosty]

Water based glue just needs 15 min in hot water and the label will slide off and the glue can be easily wiped away. Oil based glues though are a pain, either soak in hot oil or use a hairdryer to heat the glue and remove the label however neither works that well. IMHO its not worth the effort to remove the labels stuck on with oil based glue, just ditch them.

 

[Hello]

How can you tell if they're stuck on with oil based glue?

 

[BadMrFrosty]

I can't usually tell what type of glue it is until I try to remove the label. I soak all the bottles, if the labels don't come right off I know they are stuck on with oil based glue and not worth the effort to try and remove.

 

[AlCophile]

Couple things:
If you absolutely want the bottle, you can score the label all over, up-and-down, with a razor blade, soak some more.
You can scrape off painted-on labels(Stone), with a razor blade, but, paint MAY contain poisonous metals(cadmium?), so best to collect it on newspaper and into a landfill. Or, call Stone and ask!
Sam Adams bottles are from 10 to 30 grams heavier than the typical 22oz ones, so less likely to burst if overcarbed.