how do you bottle your mead?

[DaveVanO]

How do most of you remove labels from your bottles? I have a lot of bottles I have saved since beginning to brew. Ranging from pop/soda bottles, wine bottles, grolsch, vodka bottles, etc etc etc. What/how do you use to remove the labels from majority of bottles?

Also. I plan on bottle using my Mr Beer keg, rack into it and use the spigot to bottle.

 

[mooney]

Are the brown grolsh bottles from the 70s? I got 2 crates of them off some guy in the pub. Dish washer gets labels off no bother if you get them while the bottles are still hot

 

[saramc]

I just scored a 240 bottle rack off CL for $75. One bottle rests at a slant on top for display and the rest or laid on their sides in each column slot. The burgundy bottles don't play well with others when stored on their sides.

Great finds opus. For the burgundy bottles alternate them neck facing forward, bottom facing forward, then as you build a layer you will find you place the top bottle in the opposite direction. Or just stash neck down in wine boxes.

FWIW, even if you store on side any sediment redistributes into the bottle. But side storage is great for keeping cork moist.

 

[saramc]

Are the brown grolsh bottles from the 70s? I got 2 crates of them off some guy in the pub. Dish washer gets labels off no bother if you get them while the bottles are still hot

They are commercially available still, EZCaps may be one maker/distributor of them, and refers to them as amber. I have a few cases of 1L bottles that you just reminded me about!!

 

[Inner10]

How do most of you remove labels from your bottles? I have a lot of bottles I have saved since beginning to brew. Ranging from pop/soda bottles, wine bottles, grolsch, vodka bottles, etc etc etc. What/how do you use to remove the labels from majority of bottles?

Also. I plan on bottle using my Mr Beer keg, rack into it and use the spigot to bottle.

Plastic decals I just peel off then soak in hot water and oxy to get the goo off. Paper labels will fall of with a hot soak as well. Foil labels are stuck a pain they are not worth removing.

 

[TedLarsen]

Here's what I've found works well for (most) wine bottles and beer bottles. Fill the bottles with hot water (no soap or anything -- the heat just helps melt the glue). Soak the filled bottles in a tub filled with hot water and just a drop or two of dishwashing soap. Be careful not to get the soapy water into the bottles, or make sure you rinse the >heck< out of them (which is probably a good idea always anyway). 10 or 15 minutes later, most labels rub right off.

For me, in my laziness, if they don't come off easily, I don't even bother with working them.

 

[Inner10]

Here's what I've found works well for (most) wine bottles and beer bottles. Fill the bottles with hot water (no soap or anything -- the heat just helps melt the glue). Soak the filled bottles in a tub filled with hot water and just a drop or two of dishwashing soap. Be careful not to get the soapy water into the bottles, or make sure you rinse the >heck< out of them (which is probably a good idea always anyway). 10 or 15 minutes later, most labels rub right off.

For me, in my laziness, if they don't come off easily, I don't even bother with working them.

I clean many bottles with Palmolive, just give it three blasts of hot water with a bottle jet washer and you won't have a trace of detergent.

 

[opus345]

Great finds opus. For the burgundy bottles alternate them neck facing forward, bottom facing forward, then as you build a layer you will find you place the top bottle in the opposite direction. Or just stash neck down in wine boxes.

FWIW, even if you store on side any sediment redistributes into the bottle. But side storage is great for keeping cork moist.

Saramc,

Thanks for the idea. I gave it a try and maybe it is the design of the rack, but those burgundy bottles are evil.