Getting Labels Off Bottles

[Hulud]

well i use the method of oxiclean to get the labels off but i have run into a problem...

i recently inherited about 50 bottles of heineken light bottles and they have the plastic labels. these do not come off in oxiclean im guessing because the liquid cannot penetrate through the plastic.

anyone have any other ideas?

 

[lizardeye]

Got to peel those by hand. It's a royal pain, but nothing's going to get through the plastic. My advice would be to recycle the bottles and save yourself the time and effort.

 

[BrewThruYou]

Yeah, I think Amstel Light is the same way. Had to peel all 4 labels off each bottle by hand, then soaked in oxyclean to weaken the adhesive. Probably could've used goo-gone once the labels were peeled.

 

[Hulud]

Well damn. Not doing that for 50 bottles lol.

 

[solbes]

I'm assuming these are green? They wouldn't block as much light anyway, so theres another reason to save yourself the trouble.

 

[ozzy1038]

It's not worth the trouble IMO either leave them on or pitch them. I chose to leave mine on. That being said, my LHBS has bottles for $12.00/24. I'd rather spend $24.00 than mess with the adhesive on those bottles.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

You could try soaking them in acetone. But again, probably not worth the effort unless you really want green bottles.

 

[blackbear219]

Yeah, I think Amstel Light is the same way. Had to peel all 4 labels off each bottle by hand, then soaked in oxyclean to weaken the adhesive. Probably could've used goo-gone once the labels were peeled.

I tried goo-gone on those and it was a glorious failure. Best bet is to peel the labels by hand then soak in oxyclean to loosen the glue and then it comes off with a little scrub.

So far Amstel/heineken have been the hardest bottles to clean by far. Sam Adams have been the easiest.

 

[ozzy1038]

New Belgium are quite easy as well.

 

[bigbeergeek]

sierra nevada's.
like the shape too.

 

[runningweird]

if it were me I would say screw it. If you have the bottles and need to use them just use them. The green bottle/brown bottle thing has weight but don't get caught up in the light skunking your beer fear.

If you are storing your beer in a box like most of us then putting it in a fridge light exposure isn't a big deal.

I know the labels are a pain but really, if you know whats in the bottles does it matter? use them as is and save your time and effort on finding a kegging setup.

In the future try using ammonia for pealing off labels, works better than oxiclean

 

[blackbear219]

if it were me I would say screw it. If you have the bottles and need to use them just use them. The green bottle/brown bottle thing has weight but don't get caught up in the light skunking your beer fear.

If you are storing your beer in a box like most of us then putting it in a fridge light exposure isn't a big deal.

I know the labels are a pain but really, if you know whats in the bottles does it matter? use them as is and save your time and effort on finding a kegging setup.

In the future try using ammonia for pealing off labels, works better than oxiclean

+1

I stopped caring about the labels on my Amstels. Those suckers aren't going anywhere. I do still take labels off the bottles that have paper labels though, since I use my dishwasher to santize and don't want to have to worry about clogging it with paper that came loose.

 

[bigbeergeek]

I like naked bottles of homebrew -- feels more like "mine." Can't have labels on competition bottles. Furthermore I never give away beer to anyone that's in a labeled bottle -- looks too "commercial" for me.

 

[bigbeergeek]

I don't like paper label floaties inside my bottles in their sanitizer/water soak, either.

 

[eltorrente]

Easy solution for labels.

Fill up a bucket with about a cup of ammonia and 5 gallons of water. Stuff as many bottles in there as you can. After several hours, you'll start seeing the edges/corners of the labels starting to lift away from the bottle. Gently grab the label and pull it off, and the whole thing will come off intact. If there's any residue left behind, it'll wipe off with no effort.

You can actually stick the label on something and the adhesive will take hold when dry. My old roommate and I had literally hundreds of different labels wallpapering our bathroom with this method.

 

[BrewThruYou]

I tried goo-gone on those and it was a glorious failure. Best bet is to peel the labels by hand then soak in oxyclean to loosen the glue and then it comes off with a little scrub.

So far Amstel/heineken have been the hardest bottles to clean by far. Sam Adams have been the easiest.

Yeah, that's what I did for the Amstel Light bottles. Peel labels, soak in oxyclean, and then scrub. Someone gave me a case...I just peeled them while watching TV.

Hardest for me was Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA. It's the only bottle I gave up on...ended up just putting them in recycling. I did a super long soak in oxyclean and that didn't put a dent into their adhesive.

 

[govain]

Got to peel those by hand. It's a royal pain, but nothing's going to get through the plastic. My advice would be to recycle the bottles and save yourself the time and effort.

+1. I won't mess with plastic labels anymore, way too much trouble. I stay away from green and clear bottles also, brown and 5 gal. stainless steel only for me.

 

[Mpavlik22]

I soak overnight in a solution of 1cup ammonia/ 5 gallon h2o. It works awesome. The labels just fall right off the bottles. No scrubbing required.

 

[Hulud]

i know what to do for normal paper labels lol

but yea i am ordering a keg setup on thurs when i get my bonus, so then i just want to save up and get a freezer to convert to a keezer

 

[GreenBoneBrew]

My set up for taking labels off is a few stages at once, but it keeps things flowing until the process is done. I can do 2-3 cases an hour depending on where the bottles are from.
Stage 1
I set up a bucket full of water and fill with bottles, let them soak for a while.
Stage 2
I keep a 5 gallon pot on the stove heated with a water and ammonia solution. Only heat the solution to a temp that you can handle with your bare hands, thats all it takes. Take the bottles full of water from the first bucket and place in the pot on the stove standing up. Labels should be completely below the water line. Make sure the bottles are full so you dont get floaters.
Stage 3
Watch for labels starting to fall off, remove one bottle at a time to take to the sink and scrub the glue off with a sponge. The water inside the bottle helps heat the glue from the back side. Drain the water from the bottle.
Stage 4
Place bottle in the dishwasher to clean.

 

[Skagdog]

I just cleaned 3 racks of Erdinger Bottles. I put 20 bottles in an Action Packer, squirted some soap on them, and filled it half way with hot water. After about 20 minutes the labels peeled right off. I used a green pad to scrub the glue residue off and used the dishwasher 'rinse only' to get rid of any remaining soap. The labels came off in one piece.

Maybe the Germans make labels easier to remove because of the recycling culture over there?