Beezy
Well-Known Member
Cwetherford said:
I have done whole cases of both. Oxy clean has the labels floating in the water. Work smart not hard.
This sucks 1st time bottling
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I have done whole cases of both. Oxy clean has the labels floating in the water. Work smart not hard.
PHillBrewCo
Well-Known Member
Definitely save yourself the grief and invest in some oxy clean and a plastic tub. I let them sit for a day or two and then scrub with a coarse sponge under hot water to finish them off if needed. You can also do something kind of crazy and wash the inside of the bottles with a bottle brush if you're skeeved by dead horse byproduct. Imagine that, cleaning your bottles not only on the outside, but on the inside as well. 
I remember when I started making beer about three years ago and decided I needed bottles. A buddy gave me about 25 cases of MGD bottles he had in his garage. A lot of them had mould, cigarette butts, etc. Plus even with Oxyclean and superhot water they were just miserable to de-label. Spent an entire weekend on it (about 20 hours) but got 'em clean.
Worst part of all that was, of course, that they are clear bottles. Didn't know any better at the time. Hardly use any of them for beer anymore but do use them for wine coolers. Man, that weekend sucked!
Worst part of all that was, of course, that they are clear bottles. Didn't know any better at the time. Hardly use any of them for beer anymore but do use them for wine coolers. Man, that weekend sucked!
i havent had issues with founders but i only drink the Dirty Bastard rarely
gratus fermentatio
Well-Known Member
I used to soak bottles in hot soapy water overnight, then the few labels & glue that didn't fall off got scrubbed off with a green scrubbie pad...
Then I discovered flip-top bottles & bought several cases new; they make bottling a breeze! With flip-tops, I can bottle twice as much in half the time...
Worth every penny.
Regards, GF.
Then I discovered flip-top bottles & bought several cases new; they make bottling a breeze! With flip-tops, I can bottle twice as much in half the time...
Worth every penny.
Regards, GF.
Jota21
Well-Known Member
+1 for oxyclean... but the water doesn't even have to be hot.
I use a rubbermaid tote and just keep re-using the same water until it gets a little nasty. I fill the bottles with water too so they stand upright under the water and i can fit more, then i throw the lid on it and slide it under the laundry room table until i have time to get back to them (1 day - 2 months...) pull the bottles out of the water and most of them are spotless. Touch a green scratchy kitchen pad to the ones that still have some residue.
Give them a quick rinse and set them out to dry, then put them in a case and leave them until bottling day.
In the event that the labels dont come off easily, just throw those in the recycling... you'll soon have enough empties that it wont be worth your headache of scraping a stubborn lable with a razor.
I use a rubbermaid tote and just keep re-using the same water until it gets a little nasty. I fill the bottles with water too so they stand upright under the water and i can fit more, then i throw the lid on it and slide it under the laundry room table until i have time to get back to them (1 day - 2 months...) pull the bottles out of the water and most of them are spotless. Touch a green scratchy kitchen pad to the ones that still have some residue.
Give them a quick rinse and set them out to dry, then put them in a case and leave them until bottling day.
In the event that the labels dont come off easily, just throw those in the recycling... you'll soon have enough empties that it wont be worth your headache of scraping a stubborn lable with a razor.
bonzombiekitty
Well-Known Member
Another vote for oxyclean. I can fit two cases of bottles in my kitchen sink. Bottles, a scoop or so of oxyclean, and hot water. Let sit for a couple hours and most labels will just fall right off. Some brands take a bit more effort than others. I swear some brewers use cement.
I just don't know where my de-labeled bottles have gone to - I seem to be missing a bunch.
I just don't know where my de-labeled bottles have gone to - I seem to be missing a bunch.
Dons
Member
As you've seen, there are a million methods to label removal. I personally don't like labels on my brew. Also, it REALLY depends on the glue used by the bottler. One thing not mentioned above that I saw is that if you opt for 22 oz bottles, you need to know that they are often/generally of much thinner glass than the standard 12. If you have over-carbonation due to timing issues, contamination or just luck, these are going to blow first. I've been there. Of 10 22oz bottles, I lost 8. All of the remaining 12s were fine - course I've made better beer......
I just went through this myself just last Monday. This is what I did: I got out my 62qt mash cooler, hot tap water and Oxy-clean in mash cooler, put bottles in mash cooler and make sure they fill with the water/oxy-clean, close mash cooler for about an hour. I did about a case of 22oz bottles and a little over a case of 12oz bottles (I did two loads of bottles). Most of the labels came off with no glue left on bottles and only a hand full required scrapping off the glue/labels.
JetSmooth
Well-Known Member
When we bought a baby pool for my toddler son, I never imagined it would double as a bottle de-labeling tub. Until my wife took the kid to her mother's the other weekend.
>100 bottles soaking in (cold) oxyclean water over night + a little scrubbing to get the stubborn labels off = plenty of empties! (two nights to do 100 bottles, that is)
>100 bottles soaking in (cold) oxyclean water over night + a little scrubbing to get the stubborn labels off = plenty of empties! (two nights to do 100 bottles, that is)
Big_Belgian
Well-Known Member
JetSmooth - What do you do with the large Ommengang bottles? Do you use a corker? I've got several of those empties, but only a standard bottle capper.
(apologies for the thread hijack - I soak for a few hours in a tub of hot oxyclean like most do and have no problems with labels.)
(apologies for the thread hijack - I soak for a few hours in a tub of hot oxyclean like most do and have no problems with labels.)
SimonHucko
Well-Known Member
another vote for oxyclean. I keep a bucket of the stuff in a corner of the kitchen. empties get rinsed and dropped into the bucket, labels and glue come right off the next day.
no reason not to go buy some, it's cheap as hell and really works
no reason not to go buy some, it's cheap as hell and really works
Shorts and Dark horse go in the trash. Founders and Bells are super easy to get off. Once you get a stock built up its not so bad. When you pour out a bottle, rinse it with hot water immediately and you won't need to do anything else beside sanitize before bottling next time.
I always have PBW handy. When I had a huge stack of bottles all over the downstairs,I used a 5G home cheapo bucket that holds 12-13 bottles. With just enough PBW to cover them by 2" or so. Let'em soak overnight. Then take a dobie & my bottle brush & go over'em real quick. Rinse & place on bottle tree.
Now that I'm caught up on that,I can use my 12 pack cooler & a small amount of PBW to soak a 6'r at a time. Then,on bottling day,fill the vinitor half full of star-san,& sanitize 45 bottles at a time & bottle.
Now that I'm caught up on that,I can use my 12 pack cooler & a small amount of PBW to soak a 6'r at a time. Then,on bottling day,fill the vinitor half full of star-san,& sanitize 45 bottles at a time & bottle.
Rivenin
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This. And if you do not have a vinator, use a spray bottle, i ususally do about 10 sprays inside.Shake the bottle up and down a few times. Then when i am bottling, i dunk the tip of the bottle into my starsan cocktail that the caps are sitting in.
two local breweries have labels/glue that are homebrewer friendly. New Glarus labels will fall right off and the glue will come off just by rubbing it off with your hand, Lake Louie adhesive labels peel off real easy with nothing left on the bottle. For 22oz, I like Fat Tire bottles, labels come off easy that the glue will come off with some light scrubbing.
bonzombiekitty
Well-Known Member
You could, but for me, it makes it easier to distinguish between the beer I have in my fridge. Less confusion that way. For example, if I'm in the mood for a certain type of commercial pale ale, reach into the fridge and grab one, I'd be annoyed if I pop the cap only to see that it's really a porter I had made. If it has no label on it, I know to look at the cap.
Free is realtive, you've gotta pay for the beer. I realize that not really an issue, but i just wanted to place my $.02
JetSmooth
Well-Known Member
I borrowed a Colonna corker/capper from someone when I corked my Belgian. See the thread in my sig.
Now, I just collect and clean Belgian bottles as I need 'em for the next time I do a beer I need corked. I hope to get a Colonna of my own by then.
BrewThruYou
Well-Known Member
If I get a TON of bottles, I'll soak in a big bin of oxyclean solution. If I get a case or two, I'll use a Homer bucket with oxyclean solution. I think it usually fits 11-12 bottles at a time with the bottles standing upright.
My process for cleaning bottles is (this is just for storage...not sanitizing for immediate bottle fill):
1. Jet bottle washer to blast out any deposits
2. Soak in Oxyclean solution
3. Rinse out thoroughly with water
4. Hang on bottle tree
My process for cleaning bottles is (this is just for storage...not sanitizing for immediate bottle fill):
1. Jet bottle washer to blast out any deposits
2. Soak in Oxyclean solution
3. Rinse out thoroughly with water
4. Hang on bottle tree
asterix404
Well-Known Member
So, 100% honest here, I did not read the other posts except the ones on this page. To get rid of labels use 1cup ammonia in 5g of water and let it soak for about 3-6h. This will get rid of everything except metallic labels and plastic sealed one. Those bottles are far more trouble than they are worth. Rinse the bottles and scrub out any crud on the bottom. Rinse them again and look through them to make sure that nothing is on the bottom. Then soak the bottles in starsan for about 5min, rinse and rack. I do this in a 6.5g bucket and I can bottle 60 bottles in about 3-4h. Eventually you have a pipeline of bottles to clean, bottles soaking and bottles to rinse.
The other fun option is to build a kegerator. I hate to bottle and so I built one. Now I filled that up and I am stuck bottling again, but it goes much better with a cold beer in your hand.
The other fun option is to build a kegerator. I hate to bottle and so I built one. Now I filled that up and I am stuck bottling again, but it goes much better with a cold beer in your hand.
I have to agree with the Oxyclean posts, great stuff. Also, you probably know this, but bottles with twist-off caps won't work.
Beezy
Well-Known Member
I don't understand the obsession with grolsh bottles. I have a few I have never used. They are green for one thing and for two I would rather cap em.
Yes and no.
Grolsch: I have a few and use them, but any color outside of dk brown bugs me.
Swing-tops: Love them. I really do. I have a bunch of odd foreign ones of odd sizes. I wish they were all fliptops.
Is it the Red plastic hand capper? I found out the other day, you can pry the metal dies out and flip them around for the bigger bottles. I don't know if standard caps fit or not since I haven't messed with one yet.
There is no obsession, they are free and easy to cap. My beer ages in a dark temperature controlled room so color of the glass doesn't matter.
I have many cases of 12 oz brown bottles that need to be crimp capped that I may never use. My friend gave up on home brewing and gave them to me. I prefer 16 oz bottles. I think common sense says it is less work to flip top seal fewer 16 oz bottles than to crimp 12 oz bottles.
I'm surprised that the drain doesn't clog with this method. I've had to replace the grinders in my dishwashers due to clogging issues. Then again my tenants won't care about how they treat appliances until they own them and have to pay to fix them.
petey_c
Senior Member
Cwetherford, Before you head off to the *mart, they sell their own brand of oxiclean. According to another thread here, it's more product for less money.
PHillBrewCo
Well-Known Member
This cannot possibly be a good thing for your dishwasher...
They actually don't clog, the labels do fall over the drain, but they have never fallen into the drain itself clogging it. My Dishwasher is pretty good though, it will take a good deal of small sh*t to fall though the drain cover I have on there to clog it...
For the love of God, I hope you're wrong. It's the dishwasher in my house, I own it.......
Wat. This is insane. Soap them for a couple minutes, peel the label, then scrub the glue off with steel scrubber. Takes no time, I do it as I drink now. Sam Adams' glue is tough compared to Leinenkugel's, Red Horse, and Newcastle. Still easy.
Guinness draft bottles are awesome. The label is a plastic wrap that cuts right off, leaving you a beautiful brown, shapely bottle.
Guinness draft bottles are awesome. The label is a plastic wrap that cuts right off, leaving you a beautiful brown, shapely bottle.
Copy that! If the old label stays on, it stays on. All of the 'goodness' is inside, after all. What do >I< care if the original purpose label is there?
Hmm... come to think of it, a couple of my kegs still have a PepsiCo sticker on 'em -never bothered me much in that regard either -the keg stays in the kegerator.
Now, if I were sending a bottle to competition, I would choose one without a label (or when I eventually get around to making my own, I'd put it in that one) but for family and friends? No, they don't care anymore than I do.
I do, however, put little round labels on the caps so I know whats actually on the inside (grin).
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