Removing labels from beer bottles.

[dragon555]

=p

 

[aubiecat]

oxyclean free in hot water.

+1

 

[othevad]

I didn't read through all 10 pages *_* But absolutely the easiest way?
Run a huge load of bottles through the dishwasher. The labels fall off (for the most part)
Some leave some glue residue and some don't. I usually run about 30 though the bottom part of the dishwasher and it's awesome. Also, it's a nice way to preclean before sanitizing.

 

[enotzkie]

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

Spray or soak it with Liquid Solution like Mr Muscle or any bathroom cleaner and then after 3 to 5 min. scrub it with cloth. It will also remove the residue or the adhesive of the sticker in the battle.

 

[bigbeergeek]

Spray or soak it with Liquid Solution like Mr Muscle or any bathroom cleaner and then after 3 to 5 min. scrub it with cloth. It will also remove the residue or the adhesive of the sticker in the battle.

I'd recommend against using harsh bathroom cleaners on/around food storage containers, my two cents.

 

[chetduggan]

A decal remover from the auto parts store works wonders on even the most stubborn of labels.

[/LEFT​

 

[Toymaker]

I get empty plastic kitty litter buckets and put as many bottles as i can fit in it pour in about 1/2 cup of bleach, and fill with hot water. Then I let it sit. For a month! The kitty litter buckets are nice because you can stack them up, even full. After a month you can wipe the labels off if they have water soluble glue. I have run into a few that require a scrub brush. They are just a PITA..

 

[NineMilBill]

I 'wish' the labels off my bottles.

 

[sdclong]

Oxyclean. Just put dos equis, saranac, and grolsch bottles in a bucket with oxyclean for a few hours, and the labels all literally fell off... no scrubbing.

 

[IPAFAN1]

The real problem... Lets all get on the same page, glue or lables? Is everyone here an oxyclean sales rep? Why add anything $$$ just to soak off a paper label? Just plain old water soaks off labels. Hot, cold, doesn't matter. Heck, how many times over the years have we all reached into a cooler full of ice to grab a cold one that's been in there half the day, and the label slides right off? :smack: I believe the REAL problem most people are looking to find an answer to, is removing the glue that's left behind. Still trying to figure that out myself. You need the right solvent to dissolve it so it washes away easily. I'm not going to sit there and scrub for hours. This is where the REAL problem lies. It stands to reason that different bottlers likely use different types of adhesive, so there will be no one-size-fits-all solution. The bottles I'm trying to clean from GLBC, water doesn't work on the glue. Neither did mineral spirits. I'll try veg oil next, and if needed, ammonia after that. Maybe it'll be a citrus based solvent. It really depends on the nature of the adhesive. Something out there will do the job. I'm not scrubbing!

 

[jflongo]

I just use a couple capfuls of my sanitizer, and fill my sink with luke warm water, and fit as many beer and wine bottles as i can in it. I then let it sit for a few hours. 75% of the labels I can peel off cleanly. The other 25% I usually have to use my nail, or a plastic scraper and scrape them off. If it doesn't come of perfectly, I personally don't care

 

[iaefebs]

The real problem... Lets all get on the same page, glue or lables? Is everyone here an oxyclean sales rep? Why add anything $$$ just to soak off a paper label? Just plain old water soaks off labels. Hot, cold, doesn't matter. Heck, how many times over the years have we all reached into a cooler full of ice to grab a cold one that's been in there half the day, and the label slides right off? :smack: I believe the REAL problem most people are looking to find an answer to, is removing the glue that's left behind. Still trying to figure that out myself. You need the right solvent to dissolve it so it washes away easily. I'm not going to sit there and scrub for hours. This is where the REAL problem lies. It stands to reason that different bottlers likely use different types of adhesive, so there will be no one-size-fits-all solution. The bottles I'm trying to clean from GLBC, water doesn't work on the glue. Neither did mineral spirits. I'll try veg oil next, and if needed, ammonia after that. Maybe it'll be a citrus based solvent. It really depends on the nature of the adhesive. Something out there will do the job. I'm not scrubbing!

Welcome to HBT. And your first post. PM me your address and I will send you a couple empty bottles to delabel. You can post what ever works and end this discussion forever.

 

[grtechguy]

I'll break the "oxyclean" name brand trend. I bought a knock off brand from Dollar Tree. $1 for 1lb of LA's Totally Awesome Power Oxygen Base Cleaner. (same thing essentially).

Cleaned 50 some bottles in under an hour. FWIW, Magic Hat labels almost fall off. Founders are a bit harder

 

[DM3MD157]

I just got done removing labels off of Sam Adams bottles. Dropped them in a homer bucket, filled it up with hot water from the faucet up to the top of the bottles and let it sit for about 2 hours. The labels peeled off with ease and the glue was able to scrubbed off with a soapy sponge (rough side). So easy and I didn't have to worry about the deposits left by Oxiclean!

 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeerbeer-]

Wow. It seams no one really uses my method; works great. Stand all your bottles up in the tub, turn the shower on full heat, plug the tub and let the steamy bathroom arise!!! I have had no problems getting the glue right off, and only takes about one hour if you've got two people. I use a strainer after words so no paper goes down the drain...

 

[IPAFAN1]

O.K. I'm over it. Scrubbing ain't so bad. Just turn on some tunes and get 'er done. Got 4 batches in bottles now, and started a second primary this week. Doubled production!

 

[Shoebacca]

All I do is boil the bottles for about 10 mins each. Can usually fit about a dozen in my kettle. Just use tongs to take them out and hold with a rag. Use a magic eraser to scrub off the remaining goo.

 

[RedRaiderDavid]

Greatly depends on the type of label and glue used. After removing the labels from about 3 cases worth of bottles of varying brands I found that different glues and label types had to be treated differently. First off prepare some b-bright or oxy-clean and hot water. Unlike some I will recommend you DO NOT use your primary fermenting bucket as some of that glue will adhere to the bucket and its a real pain to remove from plastic, a sink works. Try to get the label off before doing anything else, if it comes off in one piece all you have to worry about is the residual glue, and that's easy. These area usually the ones with a foil type label which are stronger but they are somewhat water resistant not allowing the cleanser to soak in. After removal just do a quick soak in the mix and the glue comes off with a scrubbing sponge. For labels that don't come off in one piece, which are usually the paper ones they usually will start to fall apart after a quick soak. I got to a point where perfection wasn't my goal, just the label and what glue I could remove, if there was a little bit of residual, so be it. I then ran the bottles through the dishwasher which to be honest didn't do much more than the above process did but for some bottles it completed the cleaning and for others it just removed the stickyness from the outside plus if you use the drying cycle and are ready to bottle your bottles are sterilized, assuming the inside was already clean as the dishwasher doesn't get inside very well.

 

[rowan57]

I actually emailed BrewDog the other day saying it's great you have changed from plastic labels to paper but the paper labels are still ****ty to remove. The guy said he would pass it along but no promises.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[FloppyKnockers]

What's Oxyclean??

I use a few tablespoons of baking soda in a sink of warm water. Let it sit for a few hours and most labels (and glue) come of with a wipe of a sponge.

For labels printed directly on the bottle I will soak the bottle in a mixture of 1 oz. star-san to about a gallon of water. The image will come off with little effort.

If those don't work I'll generally use a shotgun. While the volume of the bottle will exponentially decrease, so will the frustration level of trying to remove a label that was perfectly happy where it was.

 

[MandK]

Using 1/4 cup washing soda in a sink of hot water and soaking for 20-30 minutes depending on the label type. You can buy washing soda or you can make it by dumping baking soda on a cookie sheet and putting it in a 400 oven for 30 minutes.

Majority of labels will float right off of the bottles, others you'll actually have to get your hands wet for but they come off very easily, but again that depends on the type of label.

Any adhesive left behind- just dip a sponge in the detergent water and wash the adhesive right off.

I take it a step farther and sterilize my bottles by covering each bottle opening with a square of tin foil and placing them in a COLD oven set to 360 and let them bake for an hour. The tin foil will prevent contamination inside the bottle while they cool and store for later use.

 

[john901]

I just use warm water a few squirts of dish soap, a few shakes of baking soda and a few shakes of PBW. That and typically 2-3 days up to a week. Then i peel them off and use a scrubby sponge. Most are easy.

I guess ill try oxy-clean one day most people seem to live by that.

I found today southern Tier is the worst I've done. The label comes off fairly easy kinda shreds though. The glue is the worst i've ever seen.
It's like a combination of spider webs, glue, and gum.
It'll come off after a lot of scrubbing and soap and hot water.
Then you just got to clean the sponge after which never comes off.

 

[Tegra]

Seems like the smaller brewers are starting to use plastic labels.

Good news.... The entire label peels right off.
Bad news... The adhesive stays.

If I really like the bottle some olive oil and lots of scrubbing works, but you are 5-10 minutes if the bottle has three labels.

Tom

 

[Tegra]

Tried paint thinner on a few of the plastic labels....

It did work, but was a toxic experience and the bottles had to be cleaned and soaked to get rid of the solvent smell. Olive oil is slower but is something you can do inside, even while watching tv.

Tom