Removing Labels...

[gremlin]

usually the soaking tips whatever that most folks have mentioned here work great. but i have some bottles from paper city brewery in holyoke massachusetts. it sems that they use rubber cement for label glue.

it usually comes off after a long soaking, but i have to scrape the label into pieces to remove it. how can i get the label off in one piece for my collection? i've never seen such sticky stringy gummy label glue!

i guess this is more about label removal and preservation than just pure label removal. anybody else have this problem?

barrett

 

[snaproll]

Did you ever try heat?? like from a hair dryer??

 

[Mad Scientist]

Ahhh the perils of bottling. I got a six of Rogue Red Ale and a six of Magic Hat IPA and I plan on using them to bottle. Last time I removed labels I just soaked the bottles in real hot water and scraped them off with my fingernails (not fun). I just wanted to know if anyone has a relatively painless way of doing this or if I simply have to pay my pennance for not kegging. I thought I read somewhere on this forum that they soak them in an ammonia/water solution and they slide right off, just wanted to know dilution factor of the ammonia:water. Thanks fellas.

Joe

I finf that after a soak on hot soapy water, a razor blade takes the lable off and most of the glue too, and no messing around with amonia

 

[Indiana Red]

I have a bucket of Oxyclean water in my brewery/cellar and I just drop in a couple more every so often. At the same time I pull up some and which ever ones have no label on them anymore, get rinsedoff and put in the bottling queue.
After a long time, I dump the wather (and the few doxen labels at the bottom) and start a new batch of soaking solution.
Takes a while but I never scrape or scrub any more. Stubborn ones go in the trash.
Lagunitas is the easiest Ive found.

 

[brewhead]

well i wouldn't consider bottling a peril - i thoroughly enjoy bottling.

i have a big rubber maid tub on the porch of my brewshed filled with oxyclean and water. i deposit any bottles there that i may collect. usually about once a month i will go through them and the ones that the label hasn't already floated to the surface or can be scratched off with my hand, i will put aside and the others i will hit with my power sprayer. i really refuse to scrape any bottle. to me if i have to go that far i might as well but a case or two of bottles.

 

[Sephro]

A friend and I gathered about 180 bottles. Stopped and each picked up a 12pack... When I woke up I had a headache and a bunch of clean bottles

We soaked them in the tub with the hottest water we could get. His tap water is about 145F so after they soaked in there for about an hour they would just come right off. Then the glue could be sponged off. There were a few evil brands 22oz bottles but I can't think of it right now...

 

[bikebryan]

I have a bucket of Oxyclean water in my brewery/cellar and I just drop in a couple more every so often. At the same time I pull up some and which ever ones have no label on them anymore, get rinsedoff and put in the bottling queue.
After a long time, I dump the wather (and the few doxen labels at the bottom) and start a new batch of soaking solution.
Takes a while but I never scrape or scrub any more. Stubborn ones go in the trash.
Lagunitas is the easiest Ive found.

Cool, but how often do you add Oxyclean to the bucket? The power of oxygen-based cleaners only last a couple of hours. If you don't add more oxyclean every few hours, all you are basically doing is soaking your bottles in water. Save a few buck, just use the water!

 

[Beer Snob]

I just wanted to know if anyone has a relatively painless way of doing this

Yup. I have a real painless way of doing this.... I buy new bottles and don't use full labels I label caps. I put labels on a few before, thought it was fun and all... but man.... for all the complaints of bottling, this is the biggest pain in the A$$ part of it.

 

[jcarson83]

I put about 8 in a pot standing up so I can pick them out with my fingers and bringto a boil. Take one out put one in to replace it, peel off the label, rinse, repeat. New Belgium brews work the best.

 

[Beer Snob]

You know when I started brewing it was not thought to be good practice to use recycled bottles. The thought was that the glass was thinnner then what we would use if we had boughten them. Was this a understanding to some of the older brewers here? What changed... bottles or attitude?

 

[Schlenkerla]

I cleaned 4 cases last weekend. I followed Charlies Papazian's instructions 1 cup ammonia for 5 gallons of water. I made a double batch. I have a kegger tub that holds 1.5 cases. I put the bottles in for an overnight soak, outside. Took three nights

In the morning, using rubber gloves, I lifted them out. I would say half the labels fell off the others wiped off. Bottles were; Sam Adams, Pete's Wicked Ale, Bud & Bud Light. After wiping them off I dropped them in another tub w/ just water to rinse most of the ammonia off. Later I used a jet bottle washer to thoroughly rinse.

This weekend I plan to jet wash again, sanitize, brush, and then bottle my continental pilsner.

 

[cap46]

I use no rince sanitizer in a mop sink. I soak them for a few days to a few weeks depending on how quick I need bottles. Last week on vacation and cleaned labels off after a few hours Worked really well for the ones that don't need a lot of work like New Belgian. Also use a SOS pad to get off the glue.

 

[hoppedup]

just did a bunch of random commercial sixpacks, so im posting observations, cause i asked about this last week before searching and finding this thread

anyway, what turned out to be the easiest to remove was the sam adams everyone had issues with. obviously their label application techniques must not be as consistant as their brew recipies Anchor steam, RedTail Ale, and Blue Heron were almost just as easy. soak 10mins in hotwater with some beerbrite and they just peel right off, and a couple swipes with the scotchbrite pad to get any of the left over adhesive on the bottle off. the only ones i gave up on were the Potomac Patowmack ales. the glue is superthick and sticky/gooey like contact cement. they must use elephant semen on those 'effers geez!

 

[gruntingfrog]

I think the New Belgium beers (Fat Tire, 1554, Sunshine, Blue Paddle, etc.) come off the easiest. 10 minutes in water, hot or cold, and they slide right off.

For all others, I find 30 minutes in room temperature water and one of these razor blade scrapers takes them off with ease.