Removing labels from beer bottles.

[jpass00]

What is the best way to remove labels from old beer bottles?

 

[HairyDogBrewing]

Oxyclean Free in hot water.

 

[flyangler18]

Epic thread on the subject: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f46/label-removal-thread-91726/

 

[Shawn Hargreaves]

I just stick my own labels over the top of whatever is already there

 

[Rad-Rabbit]

I boil a 6 pack at a time for about 10 mintues. If the label doesn't fall off in the water I use a semi rigid piece of plastic like a gift card and scrape off the rest. But then you still need to remove the glue from the bottle. For that use a copper pan scrubbie. After a few good shakes with the scrubbie wipe it clean with a towel and it is ready.

BTW- The bottles will be hot-hot-hot when you take them from the water so use tongs to remove them and a thick towel to hold them. Try not to get the towel to wet or the heat will transfer quickly to your hands.

 

[0202]

I soaked 60 bottles in HOT water + Oxyclean for ~2 hours and
all but a couple only needed a rinse. No glue, no labels, nothing
stuck to them.

 

[Joos]

It also depends what brand it is.Hoegaarden bottles get naked like a 5 dollar whore.5 mins in hotwater.

 

[AirRageous]

I just de-labeled a bunch of Mexican beer bottles I got from my favorite Mexican restaurant/cantina. They were a bitch. Tecate, Carte Blanca, DosXX and Negra Modelo were the worst. They use a foil label and superglue. The Modelo also has gold foil up around the neck that is glued on.

I soaked them for about 2 hours in hot water and oxyclean. Then all I could peal off was the outer foil layer which left a paper layer still glued on hard. Another hour soak and vigorous scrubbing with a scouring pad finally got them clean. Then I had to get the old lime wedges out of some of them. Not sure it was worth the effort. But I am a cheap bastard.

Anyone have a better technique for these bottles?

I did a bunch of Sam Adams bottles a while back and the labels just floated off after an hour or so soaking. But in my area, the Mexican cervesas rule. :rockin:

 

[BingBrew]

I'll tell you, the variation in ease of label removal is remarkable. Around here, I've found the easiest labels are Amber Bock (though the bottles have a raised 'Michelob' on the glass, which isn't removable and makes them ineligible for competition), and the gosh-darndest are Saranac, with not a single clean removal out of a sampler pack.

When we were getting ready to bottle our first batch, I invited a bunch of folks over who had expressed interest in consuming the final product, telling them the ticket price for homebrew was a six-pack of pop-top bottles. No one understood my surprise at their Coronas.

That'll teach me, have to be more specific next time.

 

[jpass00]

Well I just did 24 Sam Adams bottles and soaked them in very hot water and most just pulled off. Some I had to scrap with little plastic scraper and washed them with a rag under water. Clean as could be.

 

[steelerguy]

I am in the Oxyclean camp. Oxyclean + hot water + a couple hours (or even overnight if you have the time) and most labels are floating. Rinse the bottle and you are good to go. If the label it still stuck after that...into the recycle bin it goes.

 

[schweaty]

A good soak in LD Carlson's Easy Clean worked like magic for me. The labels and most of the adheasive just fell off. I tried Oxyclean using the same method but the results were not as good.

 

[PavlovsCat]

I tried the Oxyclean, but it tends to leave a film on the glass even with multiple rinses. I had to go back and rewash the bottles. I just soak the bottles overnight with regular dishwashing soap. What doesn't come off with the soak, comes off easily with a scrubby. If there is a stubborn glue that is hard to get off, I then use GooGone - takes off any adhesive. I rarely have to resort to this though. It's a petroleum based product (like everything else in our modern world), so just make sure you wash the bottles after application.

 

[BingBrew]

It is my understanding that you're supposed to avoid using regular dish soap with brewing supplies because it leaves a film that can wreck your beer. Is this not commensurate with your experience?

 

[BlackDogBrewing]

I keep a strong solution of OxyClean in a big plastic storage tub at the bottom of the stairs; when I'm done with the bottle I just submerge it in there. I usually end up leaving them in the tub for a few days, but many labels fall off within a few hours. I also leave a scrubby sponge floating in the tub, to remove any excess gunk. very few labels stand up to this.
Be sure to rinse the bottles thouroughly when they're done soaking.

 

[imaguitargod]

Use your tongue...slowly lick each bottle until label falls off.

 

[QueenCityALER]

I agree. Saranac bottles ars rugged! Sam Adama bottles rule. You notice not all of them have the logo in the glass? Must be bottling at different facilities.

 

[kuphish]

+1 on the oxiclean and hot water combo. Usually after 15 minutes most labels will peal off without a problem. The oxiclean film/residue is easy to avoid. I fill my sink with a solution of 3 capfulls distilled vinegar and approximately 3 gallons of water. Just dip the bottles through the vinegar water, rinse them with the jet washer and put them on the bottle tree. Acid (vinegar) + base (oxiclean) = neutralization and no film.

 

[bucknutbrew]

Sam Adams, Great Lakes and Sierra Nevada are very easy to get off after a 30 minute soak in hot water. Widmer is a little tougher to remove. The top of the Negra Modelo is tough (but a cool little bottle).

 

[imaguitargod]

Sam Adams, Great Lakes and Sierra Nevada are very easy to get off after a 30 minute soak in hot water. Widmer is a little tougher to remove. The top of the Negra Modelo is tough (but a cool little bottle).

See, I find just the opposite for Greak Lakes. Every time I soak them (for at least an hour) the labels finally come off, but the glue is still left behind and looks like acolor negative image of the label . I've given up on their bottles.

 

[bucknutbrew]

I bought a grill cleaning brush at the dollar store and use it on any stubborn bottles. I never spend more than 30 seconds on a bottle.

 

[jpass00]

I to had a problem with Great Lakes Brewing bottles. I could get the lables off but it left like a rubber cement like glue that I gave up on.

 

[Whisler85]

+1 bucknut

i used to soak cases upon cases of sierra nevada bottles to remove the labels

now i just throw them in a container of hot, soapy water and use a stiff, nylon-bristled brush that is shaped like a clothes iron

tears the labels and the adhesive off in seconds, just a little elbow grease, cut down my bottle cleaning time a hundred-fold

ps-saves a ton of water, too

 

[Jewrican]

oxyclean by far.

 

[Hilbert]

just tried oxyclean tonight for the first time and it worked awsome.

i've tried just hot water and soap and the dishwasher and sanitier, etc. oxyclean is the way to go by far.

homebrewtalk rocks!

 

[daverohmfeld]

Hotwater, Oxyclean, and some sanitizer. Most labels will come off after an hour of soaking. I use a Rubbermaid tub and soak them over night. Most of the time, the labels slide off with almost no effort. Some of the more subborn labels have to be removed with an old Sams Club card. After that, I scrub them down with a green scrub pad. To please my OCD ways, I wash them in the dishwasher and sanitize them just before use.

 

[SkewedBrewing]

After every beer I pour, if its a new bottle, I rinse it and then I place it in a cup of hot water.

By the time I get up to get my next beer the label should be ready to come off of the one in the cup. I peel off the label, maybe scrub the excess glue off real quick, and replace it with the next empty and so on.

I often wonder, am I the only one who does it this way?

If im having a party or something then I soak them in oxy clean and water like everyone else...

 

[chrispykid]

I soak in an ammonia and water solution, easy ones peel right off, tough ones take some persuasion with a razor blade, but even there it's a whole lot easier after the amonia.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

I take the really lazy route. I just leave them on and let them naturally come off through repeated use/rinsing/sanitizing.

I've got plenty of label-free bottles for those beers that I want/need to be label-free...but most still have the labels.

 

[KerryD]

Anyone have a better technique for these bottles?

Time. I just did some Negra Modelo bottles and in 12 hours, all I had to do was wipe off the glue under the foil. The labels floated off intact. They were really easy compared to some....