Quick bottle question

[web250]

What beer should I buy (brown bottles, non-twist off) that would be the cheapest option for me to recycle?

Thanks

 

[enderwig]

Pete's Wicked is usually pretty cheap for pop top bottles, even though the beer can leave you wanting something better...

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

Sam Adams I think is the traditional choice around here, But I have been finding 24 packs of Fat Tire at sams for $21. If you think about paying $12 for a case of bottles, your getting almost 2.5 gallons of beer for $9!!!

 

[SuperiorBrew]

I get a case (24) of Point Special's at the liquor store with the heavy old style case for $14 and some change

 

[c.n.budz]

Where are you? I've found that I can get regional micros for less than Sam Adams.

 

[Scimmia]

I just bought a 6er of Point Pale Ale, and it used twist off bottles, so if you go that way, make sure to check them.

 

[Chriso]

So far (as a person who has been buying a LOT of 6'ers to up his bottle supply) I have found that the EASIEST bottles to strip, clean, and put back into use are hands-down New Belgium and Sam Adams.

Both brands' labels will come right off after no more than 5 minutes soaking in HOT hot water. Then, a simple scrub-scrub across the glue with a standard sponge, and it's go time. New Belgium wins the contest, their labels come off in one solid piece, after only running hot water over it, no soak! (Except for the 2 Below. I dont know why but they use different glue?)

Honorable mention goes to Guinness 11.2oz (with the widget). No glue - just slice the plastic label with a razor, grab the widget with needle nose (or two veggie peelers used as pincers!) and away you go! No sponge required!

AVOID Spanish Peaks from Montana. Their beer is tasty, but their glue is indestructable!!!!! It takes about 10 minutes PER bottle to scrub. I've actually thought about calling the brewery and tipping them off, because their glue is REALLY really harsh.

And by the way, CURSES to all you Wisconsinites, why won't you distribute Point this far south? It's so good! I am jealous!

 

[Melana]

Harpoon bottles also work!

 

[Bombo80]

I was just going to the liquor store and buying any returnable beer they have. Alot of the big breweries have stopped using returnables, and that pi$$es me off. I need to stock up. I just hate buying beer that I don't need to, just to get the bottles.

Just a suggestion for everyone, ask the manager to save any returnables, if they get any. You'll just have to check in, or give him your number and have him call you when he gets some in. I might try that approach once, just to see if they get any. You got to clean and sterilize them anyway.

Just a thought

 

[john from dc]

in southern california negra modelo can be pretty cheap, depending where you go. maybe that's the case in texas too?

 

[web250]

Where are you? I've found that I can get regional micros for less than Sam Adams.

I'm at the University of Delaware

 

[john from dc]

I'm at the University of Delaware

oops! looked at the wrong location.

in that case i'd say screw cheap, get some dogfish head. it's worth it.

 

[c.n.budz]

Can you get Dogfish Head cheap?

I'll bet you can get Yuengling pretty cheap near you, not sure if they're pop tops though... It's been awhile since I bought any.

 

[gaffrig24]

Buy good beer and enjoy it. Try something you've never had before and see what types you like and don't like. World market is a great place to buy a huge variety of beers. You can mix six packs with anything you want. Just make sure they are lift tops. You can pick up variety packs of Sam Adams at places like BJ's and Costco but sometimes you get some real loser beers in them. That cranberry lambic in the winter pack was F-ing gross.

Keith

 

[fermenator]

If you have a local beer store that has a sampling night thats where I get my bottles from easily. The rep or brewery person(s) that pimps the beers never wants to lug out the empty bottles from the sampling nor does my beer store like to fill their garbage with that much empty glass!

If your lucky enough to have this option just ask the store owners or beer reps if you can have the empties.

 

[web250]

Can you get Dogfish Head cheap?

I'll bet you can get Yuengling pretty cheap near you, not sure if they're pop tops though... It's been awhile since I bought any.

Dogfish Head isn't too cheap, but good stuff.

Yuengling, which is pretty cheap ($14-$15 for a 24), has screw tops. Love the stuff though. My favorite middle of the road "I want decent beer, but dont want to pay a lot" beer.

 

[Goon]

I don't know if it matters to you guys, but I know by almost strictly Sam Adams because the labels come off easy. The Boston Ale is awesome so that helps. I would rather pay a couple extra bucks if the cleaning process goes easy. Harpoon bottles suck to get the labels off!

 

[IowaStateFan]

It's been discussed many times, but all I can say for getting rid of labels is Oxyclean. It works on almost any label out there. And for the very few that don't just fall off with oxyclean, it's a pretty simple matter to scrub them off. For me, that means I can buy the beer I like (as long the bottle isn't twist off) rather than getting beer that has a label that's easy to remove. Life's too short to drink bad beer.

 

[Joker]

I'm at the University of Delaware

I would think if you wandered the dorms you should be able to find a few 100.......maybe 1,000 bottles pretty cheap.

 

[Chriso]

ISFan, I had to put a particular Tsk-Tsk out there to Spanish Peaks just because I had so many problems, even WITH OxyClean as you suggested, trying to get them suckers clean. I actually used a paint scraper on bottles 3-6 because the first two took so long. They were REALLY brutal.

In general, I agree. If something is tasty but not NB or SA, I will still buy it and put up with the labels, even if they're a bit annoying.

 

[EinGutesBier]

New Glarus rocks my world for bottles. Their labels are easy as heck to remove and clean up, plus the bottles are very plain otherwise.

 

[RICLARK]

Samuel Adams, Smithwicks, SNPA, Hoegarrden, anything Bell's, Moosehead, Corona, there are many options

 

[lustreking]

I personally avoid Sam Adams bottles. It's just my pride, but I don't like having the Sam Adams (or any other brewery's) name on bottles of my beer. Also, most competitions state that bottles shouldn't have any raised lettering on them.

My personal favorite is a local one, so I don't know how widely that they're distributed. Weyerbacher, from Easton, PA. They have a weird plastic coated label that I used to hate. You'd have to soak it, peel the plastic off, and then soak it some more to get the label off. I recently discovered that if you hit it with a hair dryer or heat gun, the label will peel right off, leaving very little or no adhesive behind, without soaking.

 

[l3uerger]

Not exactly cheap but smithwicks is a delicious beer in a nice tall skinny brown bottle, labels come off really nice too. harp lagers labels come off pretty easy as well, been sticking them allover my utility sink;P

 

[SeanSmith74]

Hey Lustreking, does the label resemble the Amstel plastic label? My restaurant sells lot of Amstel but the stickers are a pain to remove. I haven't tried the heat gun trick yet.

 

[EinGutesBier]

Hey Lustreking, does the label resemble the Amstel plastic label? My restaurant sells lot of Amstel but the stickers are a pain to remove. I haven't tried the heat gun trick yet.

Just soak it in hot, soapy water for about an hour. It'll peel right off without any residue.

My "technique" is to have a container full of hot water where I pre-rinse my bottles and get any remaining beer out. Then, one by one, they go into a huge upright cooler on wheels (not sure how big it is, but it's big) that's filled with hot, soapy water. I close the lid and let my 50+ bottles sit and stew for an hour or more, then I peel the labels off, being sure to get the glue off with a scrub brush. After that, I empty the cooler, rinse it, and fill it with hot sanitized water, then I put as many as my bottle tree will take and go from there.

 

[cclloyd]

Sam Adams I think is the traditional choice around here, But I have been finding 24 packs of Fat Tire at sams for $21. If you think about paying $12 for a case of bottles, your getting almost 2.5 gallons of beer for $9!!!

Count your lucky stars - I can't get Fat tire here at all - let alone at Sam's pricing. DAMMIT!!

 

[zac]

If you can find Baltika Porter, their labels practically fall off after a few minutes in water. About 30 bucks for a 20 pack, but they are 500mL bottles. The beer that comes in the bottle aint that bad either!

zac

 

[ThebrewdawG]

Buy good beer and enjoy it. Try something you've never had before and see what types you like and don't like. World market is a great place to buy a huge variety of beers. You can mix six packs with anything you want. Just make sure they are lift tops. You can pick up variety packs of Sam Adams at places like BJ's and Costco but sometimes you get some real loser beers in them. That cranberry lambic in the winter pack was F-ing gross.

Keith

I really agree with the buy good beer and enjoy it! I have grown very fond of Guinness while collecting bottles. It is so easy to have a few after work rinse and drop for a soak even as quick as the next day they come right out and ready to store till bottling day.

 

[Kai]

FWIW, I bottle mainly in twist-offs (even the micros use them here, it's just imports in pop-tops), and I've had no problem. I might end up with slow oxidation problems or what have you, but they've held and carbed fine. They often even twist off easily.

I also use PET a lot.

Oh, and I'll have you know that $30 is damn cheap for a two four. Freakin' vice taxes. Go ahead and bankrupt the smokers, but I want my cheap beer. It's enough to drive a man to homebrew.

 

[rabidgerbil]

I have seen others comment about when the brewery has the bottles shaped with their name formed into the bottle. I have never received a Sam Adams bottle like that, all of mine have been plain long-necks. I have, on the other hand, had more than 1/2 of my New Belgium bottles show up with their name on them. The worst is the Redhook bottles with the two part labels, and the grain pattern running around the middle of the bottle. It makes it impossible to put your one label on there and have it look nice.

 

[elkdog]

I've had good luck with Sierra Nevada bottles, as well. Not super-cheap, but a case of SNPA ain't exactly purgatory.

 

[fermenator]

If you can get the Great Lakes Brewing bottles they fall right off with no problems at all :rockin:

 

[stevie]

i've had a tough time with some sam adams labels, but others seem to come off pretty easily (the seasonals maybe?)

some really easy labels to come off are guiness extra stout, flying fish, and magic hat. and like elkdog said, sierra nevada!

 

[SeanSmith74]

Thanks for all of the great tips everyone. I have an almost unlimited supply of San Pelligrino and Aqua Panna liter bottles that are not twist-off. I've seen a few break and can tell from the broken glass they seem thinner than most beer bottles. Has anyone had any experience using these? I'm hoping the first two batches i have going will be good enough to warrant drinking a liter at a time.

 

[rabidgerbil]

Thanks for all of the great tips everyone. I have an almost unlimited supply of San Pelligrino and Aqua Panna liter bottles that are not twist-off. I've seen a few break and can tell from the broken glass they seem thinner than most beer bottles. Has anyone had any experience using these? I'm hoping the first two batches i have going will be good enough to warrant drinking a liter at a time.

Aren't those green water bottles?
Not what you want to use, your beer will skunk much faster in thin green bottles.

 

[Chriso]

I would be very cautious of priming sugar grenades. Be safe, and keep the first couple bottles in a box with a trash liner or something to save yourself potential cleanup.