Removing labels from beer bottles.

[unionrdr]

Yeah,some time after my March post I started using an overnight soak in PBW then a dobie & bottle brush to finish them off real quick.
Easier for me...

 

[bigbeergeek]

I soak them in bath tub w/ a scoop of Oxy. I do 50 bottles at a crack. Let them sit in the solution for 2hrs. Some labels fall off w/o any help (New Glarus), other lables need some finger nail help, some need a flat razor scraper.

Last phase is to rub them down with a scotch-brite scrubbie. No glue residue.

--james

Save your nails. Soak overnight and you'll never have to scratch again.

 

[porterguy]

Anybody ever find an easy way to get off the labels on Crispin Cider 22oz. bombers? My local watering hole saves them for homebrewers. But IF you can get the label off (soak for 6-8 months first) the glue sits there laughing at you.

I've gotten it off with a razor blade, and then cleaning up the residue with mineral spirits. STILL not easy...and a lot of work.

I just gave away 4 cases of them 'cause I didn't want to deal with them. Nothing I've seen on this thread so far works for them.

 

[bigbeergeek]

Anybody ever find an easy way to get off the labels on Crispin Cider 22oz. bombers? My local watering hole saves them for homebrewers. But IF you can get the label off (soak for 6-8 months first) the glue sits there laughing at you.

I've gotten it off with a razor blade, and then cleaning up the residue with mineral spirits. STILL not easy...and a lot of work.

I just gave away 4 cases of them 'cause I didn't want to deal with them. Nothing I've seen on this thread so far works for them.

Use other bottles!

 

[Zamial]

Anybody ever find an easy way to get off the labels on Crispin Cider 22oz. bombers? My local watering hole saves them for homebrewers. But IF you can get the label off (soak for 6-8 months first) the glue sits there laughing at you.

I've gotten it off with a razor blade, and then cleaning up the residue with mineral spirits. STILL not easy...and a lot of work.

I just gave away 4 cases of them 'cause I didn't want to deal with them. Nothing I've seen on this thread so far works for them.

Perfect = Bench grinder

Near perfect = angle grinder or a drill

Use a wire wheel, With safety goggles/glasses and be gentle. ALL labels, including the painted on variety, will be off the glass in about 30 seconds...make sure the bottle + label are dry or you will sling sludgy stuff everywhere...

Everything else gets a few hours soak in Oxyfree, then with a SS scrubby/brillo pad they come right off.

 

[iaefebs]

Save your nails. Soak overnight and you'll never have to scratch again.

Depends on how the label was applied. Your method won't work with all bottle labels.

 

[bigbeergeek]

Depends on how the label was applied. Your method won't work with all bottle labels.

No. Just 99 out of 100. Ditch the stubborn ones. Nails saved.

 

[jjotmo]

Well, this is one of those threads where I say "I use PBW," and then someone chimes in and says "PBW is too expensive, you should use Oxi-Clean" and I say "My water is too hard, Oxi-Clean will leave a white film on the bottle, so I'm gonna keep on using PBW." There. That should save some posts.

Also- all bottles are not created equal. Saranac bottles are a bitch, Sam Adams are (as detailed in earlier posts) easy. I think there may be a post somewhere with a list of hard & easy labels. Easiest bottles are those that have peel-off or shrink-on labels. Guinness bottles are a dream. Just slice off the shrink-on label, and use a pair of needle-nose pliers to pull out the plastic spaceship inside. Two Brothers are peel-off, also easy.

I have hard water also what is ONE. OXY leaves a film on my bottles also

 

[jjotmo]

Sorry auto correct I meant what is PBW

 

[unionrdr]

Sorry auto correct I meant what is PBW

Powdered Brewer's Wash from 5 star chemical.

 

[camiller]

Powdered Brewer's Wash from 5 star chemical.

I think it is Powdered Brewery Wash, though I don't doubt some brewers need a good cleaning occasionally.

 

[camiller]

Anybody ever find an easy way to get off the labels on Crispin Cider 22oz. bombers? My local watering hole saves them for homebrewers. But IF you can get the label off (soak for 6-8 months first) the glue sits there laughing at you.

I've gotten it off with a razor blade, and then cleaning up the residue with mineral spirits. STILL not easy...and a lot of work.

I just gave away 4 cases of them 'cause I didn't want to deal with them. Nothing I've seen on this thread so far works for them.

Goof off. The rare instance I have a bottle that the glue won't come off I dampen a bit paper towel with goof off and rub the glue off the bottle with it. I only really bother with bombers.

 

[unionrdr]

I think it is Powdered Brewery Wash, though I don't doubt some brewers need a good cleaning occasionally.

Just looked it up,it is indeed "brewery" wash. Since today is retiree payday,gotta order a pound. Those little bags of it from the LHBS go too fast.

 

[HollisBrewCo]

Best way to remove labels. Get some buddies tell them unlimited home brews available while they are de-labeling.

 

[chrislehr]

soak in a cleaner/hot water mix
use a credit card (I use sample ones from spam mail) to scrape anything remaining.

 

[unionrdr]

I have to do that with the last couple of Thirsty Dog bottles. Darn lacquered comp labels...I use an old paring knife I got from mom that we used since I was a little kid. Seems to me Sapporo,Smithwick's,& great lakes had to be soaked overnight,then scraped off.

 

[Jcmccoy]

Cooler + Hot water + oxyclean + times = no labels

 

[Brewratt]

Deschutes Brewery... their labels come off easy and clean after ten minutes in plain hot water.
Sam Adams... never, ever, many SA bottles in my inventory still have bits stuck to them.

Any more... I just buy swing top bottles from the brewstore, I like them better anyway.

 

[unionrdr]

PBW always soaks the Sam Adams labels off in no time for me. Great HB bottles. I noticed the Thirsty Dog bottles are shaped a lot like the Paulaner bottles. I like that shape,but TD's labels are a pita to get off.

 

[MisterGreen]

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

PBW and hot water for 15-20 minutes. Labels just fall off.

 

[organikbrewer]

I used to buy a chlorine tablet at wal-mart for 95 cents and put it into a tote of cold water and let the bottles sit for a day or two, and all the labels would all fall off easily and there would be no glue residue. And I was able to use the water a few times before I dumped it.

 

[ChillWill]

What is PBW? Is it chlorine based?

I've got cleaner/sanitiser powder called dwp and I think it's chlorine based. Is it the same stuff?

 

[DHUKILL]

I use Sun (oxyclean knockoff) that I pick up at the dollar store. Works like a dream.

 

[iaefebs]

Put them in a cooler with some ice, let it sit for an hour, and as you crack one open pull the label off. If you need to do more than 12 a day invite some friends over.

 

[rico567]

Easiest: Michelob crafts, any flavor. Soak a while, they float off.

Most Deceptive: Two Brothers- you'll never soak them off. (Tip: it's a peel-off label, easy as pie.)

My favorite: Tall Guinness Draft bottles with the plastic torpedo in inside (not short Special Export bottles). Label is shrink-on, takes two seconds to slit with a knife and it falls off. Plastic torpedo inside is easily removed with needle-nose pliers. Great bottle.

 

[Recluse]

Having a heck of time with some Brooklyn Oktoberfest labels. Soaked in hot water/Oxyclean. Other labels came off fine..but the Brooklyn are still resistant. Might have to try boiling them.

I rinse several times with water to get rid of any Oxyclean residue. Sometimes I do an additional soak/rinse with acidic water (water + white vinegar). Not sure if it is necessary, and then I have to rinse with water again... Is general consensus that water is enough to get rid of any Oxyclean residue?

 

[camiller]

What is PBW? Is it chlorine based?

I've got cleaner/sanitiser powder called dwp and I think it's chlorine based. Is it the same stuff?

No, it is not chlorine based. Active ingredients are sodium metasilicate and sodium carbonate. Similar to oxyclean, with some chelating agents to work better in hard water.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/media/downloads/311/PBW Tech Sheet.pdf

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/media/downloads/312/PBW MSDS Sheet.pdf

 

[jplee888]

I am so tired of scrubbing off labels! I had almost gotten to the point where I would just buy new bottles so I didn't have to hassle with it. Until I read the thread here about Oxy-Clean! I soaked these stubborn bottles with ultra sticky labels in the Oxy-Clean and left them over night. And THAT's IT!!! All done. No scrubbing or scraping. No more hassles! Thank you!

 

[PollardsVision]

It's not as hard as I thought it would be. I don't find the need for any cleaners or chemicals.

I soak 24 bottles at a time in a bucket of hot water. In about an hour, the label peels off easily.
Then I use a razor blade to get the glue off.

90% of my bottles are Sierra Nevada and they are pretty easy.

I love all of their beers and they also happen to be the cheapest, most sensible way I can buy 12 bottles in a nice sturdy cardboard carrying case for storing/stacking homebrew. (Other than SA or Fat Tire, but I don't like those nearly as much).

Highland and Blue Mountain labels also come very easily.

I stopped buying Loose Cannon Hop3 because the labels are such a pain to get off, even though the beer itself is fantastic.

 

[tmanno1]

My first post and I can give some great advice here: Guinness bottles! Razor the plastic label and needle-nose out the widget and you're done.

There is one terrible flaw to this though, as the bottles are only 11.2oz. Sigh.