Fill the bottles with warm water and throw 'em all in an empty trash can. Fill with warm water and your choice of chemical, let it sit for a couple hours. Best way to get labels off 100+ bottles is to go big. (If you use nasty stuff life bleach, do so outside or in the garage!)
Label Removal Thread
- Thread starter BierMuncher
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JediJoel
Well-Known Member
OxyClean all the way! Harp labels are my PITA to get clean. The label comes off okay but the glue requires some good scrubbing. Also, I found that year-round Sam Adams labels are tough but the seasonal ones come of easier.
Definitely agree there- Oxiclean worked no problem for a few cases I had of different Sam Adams, but I have a six pack of Boston Lager 25th anniversay (where they changed the labels to more of a foil looking type) and its a PITA with glue residue...
bigbadbrewskiman63
Active Member
ive just let the bottles soak in the warm water without any chemical for a while. the labels come right off and then it just takes a little while with a razor blade to get off the adhesive that is left... not the quickest but it works for anybody not looking to use chemicals
I apologize in advance as I just did a search on the thread and didn't read the whole thing. New Glarus Bottles are by far the easiest to clean that I have had. 10 minutes or less in Oxiclean and the label peels right off. By the time you have peeled off 12 labels the glue wipes off the first bottles. No scrubbing at all. Mixing Oxiclean with hot water makes things even easier. Bell's and New Belgium are not to bad either. Hated the Left Hand Brewing and Magic Hat Brewing bottles. I find it works much better to peel the labels off as soon as you can so the glue is exposed. Probably not a problem is you let them sit overnight. Not really an option for me though.
soundsandsuds
Well-Known Member
Hey Revvy,
I google mapped you and you're damn close to Sarnia, ON. You should make a trip over there, stop in at the Beer Store and bring back a 24 of Red Cap Ale. http://www.thebeerstore.ca/Beers/branddetails.asp?id=3012 Very drinkable and inexpensive (for Canada) Ale. It comes in stubbies and has paper labels.
Also keep an eye on craigslist in Sarnia and London for stubbies/stubbys. We used them for a long time up here (it was legally required, you can't swing a stubby by the neck in a bar fight) so there are a lot still floating around.
I'm definitely going to buy a bunch of stubbies and try to switch to all-stubby bottling soon.
decided to try oxyclean free for the 1st time. used about 2 scoops for 10+ gallons of water and it is working perfectly. thats it, 2 SCOOPS IS ALL! man...
Edit* seriously, i just did about 6 cases and i am absolutely astounded at the amount of time it cut off from how long it would normally take. I LOVE THIS FORUM!
Edit* seriously, i just did about 6 cases and i am absolutely astounded at the amount of time it cut off from how long it would normally take. I LOVE THIS FORUM!
Good to hear! I recently got another tip from a different forum. The Mr. Clean magic eraser does a good job to remove sticky glue residue from bottles...even better than acetone actually, and none of the bad smell.
Dishwasher gets the paper off, just don't use the heated dry cycle, strip them while still wet.
Then, get B12 Chemtool from Autozone, for cleaning carburetors. Don't get it on your hands or fingernails, and use in a ventilated area. It's an aerosol spray, just spray them down on the glue residue, let it soak for a couple of minutes, and wipe them clean. Then wash your hands.
Then, get B12 Chemtool from Autozone, for cleaning carburetors. Don't get it on your hands or fingernails, and use in a ventilated area. It's an aerosol spray, just spray them down on the glue residue, let it soak for a couple of minutes, and wipe them clean. Then wash your hands.
wow that is a lot of work when you could just let them set in oxyclean
bottle labels have a chance of killing your dishwasher pump as well
msumike2001
Active Member
I just started cleaning bottles and so far just soaking them in plain water in a cooler gets the label to come off. Then a sponge with a scrubber on it for pots gets the glue residue right off.
I let them soak overnight in hot water with some cascade dishwasher soap. The label just about fall off themselves. To remove the residue, I use an abrasive pad used for glass top stoves. Works like a charm.
Steven b~
Steven b~
lakeshorebrewer
Well-Known Member
I have found that putting hot water inside the bottle for a few minutes and then pulling the label using a razor to help makes it go pretty fast. I can get 4-5 bottles done per pour of hot water from a kettle. Of course it depends on the type of glue that is used, but I haven't had too many problems. Just a short wash and a scrubby to cleanup the small spots of glue works out well.
I need to try the Oxyclean though. Haven't tried it yet.
I need to try the Oxyclean though. Haven't tried it yet.
Oxyclean doesn't work for everything. A friend donated 4 cases of Sierra Nevada bottles to me a few months ago. I dumped them all in a hot oxyclean solution. The Pale Ale bottles came clean with zero effort. The Torpedo IPA, Bigfoot and Celebration bottles were a sticky mess. For those I had to scrape and soak and scrub; a huge PITA. I have no idea why bottles from the same company would be so different. Seems like they're using different glue for different batches.
For bottles with paint I just used a diluted solution 1:10 of CLR to water. For paper, hot water in a cooler overnight takes care of most of it. I use a nylon scrubbie (homemade and works like a charm!) and some warm water to take care of any leftover glue.
I have found that labels can be easily removed from beer bottles by soaking the bottles in water and baking soda. I'm not sure how much baking soda is required, but I added about a tablespoon to 2 cups of water. After about 30 minutes of soaking, I was able to slide the label right off of the bottle. It worked great.
I have also heard that steaming the bottles or soaking them in vinegar works.
I wish I had found this our earlier. My last homebrew was put in bottles with all sorts of third party labels.
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plrprivatelabelrights
I have also heard that steaming the bottles or soaking them in vinegar works.
I wish I had found this our earlier. My last homebrew was put in bottles with all sorts of third party labels.
====
plrprivatelabelrights
I just use plain old hot water and dish soap...has worked for all of them except Crown Valley Brewing company labels...those things are vinyl and a PITA to get off, so I just left em...I don't really want to use solvents as I have quite a bottle collection now, so removing them isn't all that important...I wish they would spend a little more money on the beer and less on packaging.
smellysell
Well-Known Member
Weird, I've never had any problems with any SN bottles.
The Brooklyn Brewery Belgian-style bottle laminated labels used to give me fits. None of the soaking methods worked so I resorted to using utility razor blades to scrape them off. Took forever for each one...
Then I tried an experiment by heating the labels, and to my surprise they peeled off cleanly with no residue. Now it's simply in the oven for a while and the easiest labels to remove of any brand!
Then I tried an experiment by heating the labels, and to my surprise they peeled off cleanly with no residue. Now it's simply in the oven for a while and the easiest labels to remove of any brand!
250F should work just fine. Usually everything comes off cleanly, but every now and then some of the label adhesive stays on the bottle. paint thinner or goo gone takes it off.
Nova5
Well-Known Member
Hot water soak and the good ol' wire BBQ brush has handled just about anything for me. Gonna have to try the Oxy Clean... Gonna be cheaper than using PBW.
millsware
Well-Known Member
Abita bottles come off really easily. A little soak in cold water (all I have in the basement) and a scoop of oxy and most of the labels were floating the next day.
NOTICE: Do not try to use Abita bottles with a wing capper. Something about the shape of the neck does not work. My friends and I learned this the hard way yesterday. Broke several bottles and could only get a few properly capped.
NOTICE: Do not try to use Abita bottles with a wing capper. Something about the shape of the neck does not work. My friends and I learned this the hard way yesterday. Broke several bottles and could only get a few properly capped.
dos_perros
Well-Known Member
The wife and I just cleaned 56 bottles last night. Soaked them in Oxy Clean Free in warm water in 3 batches. Let them soak for about 1/2 hour then peeled and scrubbed with a scrubber sponge.
The biggest PITA labels were Blue Moon, Widermere Hefe and Drifter and Rogue.
Sam Adams, New Begium and Leinenkugels all came off very easily. Even the ones that didnt come off to easy didnt give much of a fight with the scrubber sponge after a second soak.
I chose the Oxy Clean Free becuase I didnt want the scale that can result from some water types as has been mentioned in this thread, although I dont believe we really have hard water anyways. The bottles all came out bright and shiny and clean.
The biggest PITA labels were Blue Moon, Widermere Hefe and Drifter and Rogue.
Sam Adams, New Begium and Leinenkugels all came off very easily. Even the ones that didnt come off to easy didnt give much of a fight with the scrubber sponge after a second soak.
I chose the Oxy Clean Free becuase I didnt want the scale that can result from some water types as has been mentioned in this thread, although I dont believe we really have hard water anyways. The bottles all came out bright and shiny and clean.
GeoffreyKerns
Member
I was getting really frustrated with my first big batch of bottles and just figured I would get as much off as I could and use bottles with label scraps on them. Just before bottling time, I decided to try to use some steel wool that I had sitting around.... WOW!
The steel wool is like a label eraser... Next to no effort and the labels are gone. No long pre-soak; just about 30 seconds scrubbing and you are done. It is easy enough that I have started just scraping the labels off of beer right when I am done drinking it.
The steel wool even took off whatever superglue type crap Avery uses for the foil on the necks of their bottles!!!
The steel wool is like a label eraser... Next to no effort and the labels are gone. No long pre-soak; just about 30 seconds scrubbing and you are done. It is easy enough that I have started just scraping the labels off of beer right when I am done drinking it.
The steel wool even took off whatever superglue type crap Avery uses for the foil on the necks of their bottles!!!
cyclonite
Well-Known Member
I just went through cleaning bottles a few weeks ago for my first batch. I used hot water and PBW soaking in a bathtub (be careful, PBW is some slippery stuff ;-). This worked pretty well for some, but not for others. Here is what I found:
Easy to remove:
New Belgium
Boulder Beer
Odell
Bristol (our local brewery)
Tommyknocker
Dillon Dam
Not Bad:
Sam Adams
Smithwicks
Newcastle
Left Hand
Breckenridge Brewery
Flying Dog
Hard to get off:
Great Divide (holy crap, these don't even soak well, but man is their beer good!)
Rogue
I think I'll try Revvy's OxyClean method next time and leave them for a while to soak.
Cheers!
Easy to remove:
New Belgium
Boulder Beer
Odell
Bristol (our local brewery)
Tommyknocker
Dillon Dam
Not Bad:
Sam Adams
Smithwicks
Newcastle
Left Hand
Breckenridge Brewery
Flying Dog
Hard to get off:
Great Divide (holy crap, these don't even soak well, but man is their beer good!)
Rogue
I think I'll try Revvy's OxyClean method next time and leave them for a while to soak.
Cheers!
X2 on that... the trick is keep the labels wet until removal and only pull out a few at a time the labels dry up quickly and will make removal harder.
Newcastle, Sam Adams, Gordon Beirsch, and Red nectar are all pretty easy to remove.
deadscott
Active Member
Hot water and Oxy-clean will rip those labels off in less than an hour. So far I have not had a label stand up to it.
mrkstel
Well-Known Member
Here is my method:
First soak the bottles for 24 hr in hot water with Oxyclean. After the soak most of the labels will have fallen off. Any that remain, I scrape off with this.
The SS coils glide through the glue and paper like buttah. I cleaned and removed labels from 50+ bottles in less than an hour last week.
First soak the bottles for 24 hr in hot water with Oxyclean. After the soak most of the labels will have fallen off. Any that remain, I scrape off with this.
The SS coils glide through the glue and paper like buttah. I cleaned and removed labels from 50+ bottles in less than an hour last week.
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