Favorite Beer you buy to save the bottles?

[knarfks]

I'm with you on the german bottles, really thick and heavy. Great since I have a bench capper. I dumped the wing capper after 2nd batch.

Also anything at my recycling center that isn't twist top...free is the best bottle.

 

[EdWort]

I like 32 oz. bottles from Tecate or Carte Blanca. With a lime, they go down easy on a hot summer day and the bottle just rocks!

 

[mrhead]

Heineken/Heineken Light have good bottles. They use plastic labels which peel right off after soaking in water for an hour or so; and they leave no glue residue of any kind. They have a solid rim which makes for easy capping with a wing-capper, and are pretty thick. They are green, but I've never noticed any off flavors.

 

[Milhouse]

I like O'dells beer bottles. They have little hops imprinted on the top of the glass bottle.

 

[Saxmk6]

Well, I really Like Bells. Oberon is awesome, and I just receintly found Bells Double Cream Stout.....wow.....

 

[bigbellybrewery]

Microbrewery nearby sold me 10 cases at cost. Most mico's seem HB friendly if mot overloaded with request.

 

[Pez]

Sam Adams, unless they are the ones with glass shards that got recalled...

 

[BuffaloSabresBrewer]

Funny Man.
Funny Man.

You are being funny right?

Right????????

Seriously...You don't really drink that do you??? You just dump it and use the bottles for Apfelwein right?

Very much kidding!

 

[comj49]

My brother works for the company who makes Sam Adams bottles (his plant wasn't the one with the little shards), so far he had gotten me 5 cases of brand new sam bottles AND a case of 22oz Sam bottles (all free of course), never knew the 22 existed. I will be using the 22's on the Stout I just brewed last night.

 

[elkdog]

Anything brown besides beers from the Tractor Brewing Company- never had a harder time getting a label off- Oxyclean only helped a little. Luckily I only had one six-pack to deal with.
Sam Adams, Left Hand, Smuttynose, Sierra Nevada, Troegs's- all of them come clean really easily.

 

[Limited Visibility]

I really only use three types of bottles, Deschutes is my favorite for the 12oz, I will use some new belgium too. But I have been collecting the 22oz Stone bottles, those are my favorite and they are also going to be housing my first APA I have brewed.

 

[fratermus]

Heineken/Heineken Light have good bottles. They use plastic labels which peel right off after soaking in water for an hour or so; and they leave no glue residue of any kind.

I have never been able to get any plastic label off, no matter how long the soak. So I don't try.

I had a bunch of corona and heiny bottles saved up that I just put Apfelwein in (since they are clear/green).

 

[bigjohnmilford]

Anchor bottles are s-e-x-x-y, but they changed to twist-offs not too long ago...

I thought they changed back to pop top?

 

[MikeyP]

Hobgoblin ftw. It seems like their bottles are twice as thick as ordinary brown bottles. Breckenridge 471 IPA bottles are sweet too. Awesome IPA, and no worries about getting the sticky label glue off since its all painted on.

 

[BigKahuna]

I have never been able to get any plastic label off, no matter how long the soak. So I don't try.

I've been fighting this a lot lately...6 bottles at a time...Fill with the hottest water you can find. When all 6 are full, start peeling the label from the first one you filled. Start at a top corner, then work your way across and pull the whole thing DOWN! Most of the sticky will come with. Then a 24 hour HOT soak with 2 scoops of Oxy clean in a cooler full of bottles filled with HOT water. Then a quick scrub with a green and yellow sponge...good to go.
Fill the bottles with hot water and try not to get any oxyclean in them, as it is a pain in the Winkey to rinse.
For the super sticky spots, Acetone and a paper towel works well

 

[foonder]

If you label your own it's a bit tricky to make one that fits, but Guinness bottles work very well. Draught bottles have plastic that can be cut off very easily, and you can remove the widget with a pair of needle nose pliers much easier than I ever would've thought. The widget comes right out when you have the least bit of grip on the end. Extra Stout bottles also de-label in water pretty easily, and have a nice shape.
And Guinness is tasty

 

[MrFebtober]

I really only use three types of bottles, Deschutes is my favorite for the 12oz, I will use some new belgium too. But I have been collecting the 22oz Stone bottles, those are my favorite and they are also going to be housing my first APA I have brewed.

I came in here to say Deschutes bottles are my favorite, too. Great beer plus I really like the hop bine relief around the top of the bottle (great for IPAs). I also cherish my New Belgium bottles, but that's mostly b/c i now live East of the Mississippi and can't get them any more.

I still buy a lot of craft beer to try new things and revisit old favorites, so obtaining bottles has never been a problem, but I with the exceptions above I just like hanging onto plain, dark brown, long necks, most of which now come from Great Lakes or Bluegrass Brewing.

Also, my brother in law has been saving his alu. bud select bottles for me. As soon as I get a benchcapper I look for to using those for camping.

 

[web250]

Sam Adams aren't bad at all to use. I also like using Dogfish Head

 

[BigWhitey_FrostBox]

Most of my beer purchases are based on whether I can re-use the bottles or not. (I feel the need to support Texan brews).

This is why I try and use bottles from Real Ale Brewing Co. in Blanco. Plus, the labels come off very easily with a soak in warm water.

I also like to use Sierra Nevada bottles 'cause the beer is very tasty.

 

[gwood]

I'm sure it's been mentioned but, Samuel Smith are the BEST pint bottles on the planet! Twice the thickness it seems and just dark as night. Great lines as well.

 

[Revvy]

I'm sure it's been mentioned but, Samuel Smith are the BEST pint bottles on the planet! Twice the thickness it seems and just dark as night. Great lines as well.

My LHBS had a used bottle sale to clear out the back room before big brew day, and I scored 3 cases of old Straub and Stoney's Pint bottles in heavy duty Carling Black Label boxes for dirt cheap. They're really thick glass. Since I doubt that Straub's bottled in pints anytime in the last 2 years or so, I'd say they were from the 80's or 90's...

 

[SRusnack]

I find myself buying bottles with the intent on reusing them, I buy Sam Adams. I like the six pack holders as well.

 

[huknbuk]

I've just started with homebrewing, but I've chosen New Glarus bottles. I find that the bottles seem thick and sturdy, and the beer inside of them is delicious.

 

[javedian]

My favs are Trader Joe's beers made by Gordon Biersch, as well as GB beers(particularly their WinterBock). Lables come off quite easy, and no imprints for sending to comps, and damn good beer inside. I miss my Yuengling pint returnables I had while back in college - 16 oz beats 12 oz anyday, and came in a heavy-duty hinge top box.

 

[BlindLemonLars]

I like Pepsi bottles.

 

[Kevin Dean]

Smithwick's.

Though, I primarily use 1L EZ Cap amber bottles, but a 12 pack of them leaves some need for smaller bottles.

 

[pktshc]

I like Sam Adam's bottles. Very easy to remove the labels. I HATE Bell's bottles. The labels are impossible to remove. Great Lakes bottles also use a glue that is easy to remove.

 

[Trencher]

I get bombers with moderate frequency so I can build a stock of the larger bottles, but it seems every brewery uses heavy laminated or plastic labels with lots of glue. They are quite tough to remove but I have yet to try very hot water and peeling before the OxyClean soak. Usually seems worth the effort since I always get good beer in them.

 

[nathan]

I love Schlenkerla's Rauchbier (their Helles is one I would kill for). The bottles are also perfect for homebrew.

 

[paranode]

I like the Guinness Draught bottles. Like the beer and the label is not glued on and easy to remove. The little widget comes out easily with needle-nose pliers too.