Suggestions for removing bottle labels

[r4dyce]

Wondering if anyone has good suggestions for removing labels from used commercial bottles?
I've tried all kind of dish soaps, hot soaking for literally days, Goo Gone spray. Seriously nothing seems to work to get the labels off and the glue off except attacking each one profusely with a razor blade steel wool or some kind of abrasive sponge. I'd prefer to recycle my used bottles for Homebrew but at this point it's almost worth the hassle to pay for new bottles.
Does anyone have a magic solution that I'm missing?

 

[jdauria]

Soak them in OxiClean and hot water for a few hours or overnight. 90% of labels will fall off except for the real stubborn ones.

 

[brewgar]

+ 1 on the Oxiclean/hot water soak.

 

[ancientmariner52]

Hot water and clear ammonia work for me. IIRC I read it in one Charlie Papazian's books. About a cup of ammonia to a kitchen sink bowl of hot water. Most labels float free in an hour or so, a few require minimal scrubbing to get rid of glue residue. If that doesn't shift 'em, they get recycled.

 

[beermanpete]

I use TSP and warm water. As ancientmariner52 hinted at, some brands use labels and adhesives that come off easier that others. I have found that a lot of the imported beer labels come off very easy but the domestic beer labels take more time and effort. After soaking, peel the paper off and then use a scrubby (Dobbie is my favorite) to get the adhesive film off. I favor the bottle used by Firestone and Sierra. Their labels come off with minimal to moderate effort after soaking for an hour or so.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

+2 On the Oxiclean/hot water soak.

For screen printed bottles you can use a heavy solution of StarSan in an overnight soak. Paint smears right off.

 

[medixlux]

Oxiclean the best

 

[schatzke]

From my experience some bottles are not worth the hassle. Find a beer you like and who's bottle labels fall off with minimal efforts and you are good to go.

Or just give kegging a try

 

[RM-MN]

New bottles cost about a quarter each and can be reused many times. How much is your time worth trying to remove labels?

 

[KonservativeJay]

I use Arm and Hamer washing soda. Half a cup in five gallons of hot water, soak bottles for 30+ minuets and labels fall/float off (except the stubborn ones of course)

 

[Mothman]

Ditto on Oxyclean soak.

 

[Calder]

I usually just drop the bottle in the sink with the dishes. Most labels just come off, some take a little more effort and some are a *****. Unless you really want the bottle, and the label is being stubborn, just toss the bottle and move on to the next one.

However, something I did find out recently; some labels come off easier if peeled off dry. I bought 24 Bruery bottles (25 ozs'ers). I really wanted the bottles because they are large (less effort filling), and thick glass. The first bottle I just tossed in the sink as usual; it took me days to get the label off and required lots of scraping. With the second bottle, I thought I'd just see if I could peel off the label dry. It took a little effort to get the corner to come up, but once I could get hold of the label it was easy to slowly peel it right off and left minimal glue on the bottle. probably took about 5 minutes total. I've gone thru about 15 more of these bottles, and all the labels came off fairly easily when peeled off dry.

 

[AJinJacksonville]

Oxiclean all the way. The hotter the water is the better.

 

[triethylborane]

New bottles cost about a quarter each and can be reused many times. How much is your time worth trying to remove labels?

If I cant get the label off with a 3M pad and a few seconds, they get the trash can.

 

[Nagorg]

I used to use OxyClean until it left residue on my bottles. Been using PBW ever since with no troubles. Buying it in bulk helps ease the sting but you cant beat its effectiveness. It even made an old SS coffee mug that my wife wanted me to toss look brand new! I sware by the stuff!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/oxiclean-ruined-my-bottles.378635/

 

[JPBrewLI]

I've just been using left over one-step sanitizer.
soak 1-3 hours labels come off easily, glue rubs with gentle pressure off using solution.

 

[coffeecontact]

I agree that if they do not come off with a soak or OXY, then just toss them. Tried soaking, scraping, scrubbing, heat and peel, Goo-Gone, wd40, peanut butter, veg oil, and dozens of sprays, cleaners, etc.. However if it is necessary to remove the nasty glue the best I have found is liquid paraffin (lamp oil).

 

[kh54s10]

New bottles cost about a quarter each and can be reused many times. How much is your time worth trying to remove labels?

Unless I am actually doing something where I would get paid.... My time is worth exactly $0.00.

Free bottles are better than $12 dollars for 24 of them which works out to be more than $.25 each.

A soak in any of the above mentioned solutions, if the labels don't come off fairly easily - recycle.

 

[Barath_68]

Another vote for Oxi. Mild solution, hot water, soak for a few hours. Occasionally I may need to use a scrub brush for stubborn glues.

 

[r4dyce]

Or just give kegging a try

I do keg as well but I brew enough that I'm always using bottles too and I have a backlog of bottles I haven't been able to get labels off.

Thanks for the input all. I'll try an oxiclean or pbw soak.

 

[Sailingeric]

I am an Oxyclean user too. I give it a heave dose and them soak in a pot. I do stand them up and fill the bottle with water so no Oxyclean gets in them. Like others say, if the label does not come off, move on to the next bottle.

 

[TGFV]

Oxyclean or ammonia take off 90% of labels, though to be honest I haven't been bothering with removing many of them. Partly can't be bothered with two kids, working graveyards etc and partly because I don't have any of my own labels made up yet.

Maybe I will start taking them off myself when I get some made.

And where are you finding bottles for .25 each and in what size?

 

[passedpawn]

New bottles cost about a quarter each and can be reused many times. How much is your time worth trying to remove labels?

where?

 

[MplsUgly]

Buy bottles. Do the math on the time to strip labels and it's just not worth it. I did it for a while and then caved in to buying some bottles.

If I could do it all over I would have gone straight to kegs.

 

[RM-MN]

where?

That's what I paid at my LHBS but I see now that the price has gone up. They are still a bargain with the number of times you can reuse them.

 

[passedpawn]

That's what I paid at my LHBS but I see now that the price has gone up. They are still a bargain with the number of times you can reuse them.

I'm not doubting the value, but I vaguely remember laughing when I saw that a case of empty bottles at the online places cost about the same as a case of full ones

 

[r4dyce]

Buy bottles. Do the math on the time to strip labels and it's just not worth it. I did it for a while and then caved in to buying some bottles.

If I could do it all over I would have gone straight to kegs.

Off topic a bit, but I do keg as well and frankly, at least in my case, I think the benefit over bottling is overrated. Is it better? Yea probably, but not dramatically. You still have to break down and wash the keg and lines, still have to wait for carbing. I've found the bottled versions of my beer taste a bit better than the kegged version (same batch). Don't know why exactly but someone told me the CO2 can impart a metallic flavor which I'm definitely getting from the keg and not in the bottle.

 

[grampamark]

The solution to dealing with stubborn labels is kegging.

 

[kh54s10]

That's what I paid at my LHBS but I see now that the price has gone up. They are still a bargain with the number of times you can reuse them.

How long ago was this? I bought some bottles when I started 6 1/2 years ago. $12 for 24 bottles or about 50 cents each. I did that only because I needed bottles fast. I then collected commercial bottles for $0.00 and got to drink what was in them. I had over 700 bottles at the height and paid only $24 for the original few. I have been using the same FREE bottles since then. Remove some labels and have bottles for many years!! Your argument is invalid.

 

[Nagorg]

+1 for buying the bottles with free beer in them!

 

[MaxStout]

I keep a few of those big 32 oz. fast-food soft drink cups next to the big laundry sink. Fill part way with water and add a pinch of Oxiclean. After every time I pour a beer, I fill the bottle with water, drop it into one of the cups. A few hours later I have a label-free bottle (most of the time). Almost no work, no fuss. Free bottles that come with beer! If the label doesn't come off, it goes into the recycle bin.

Over time, I had amassed several hundred that way, and ended up giving some away to new brewers.

 

[UncleAvis]

Unless your entering competition I don't get why labels bother people. The beer tastes the same either way.

 

[Metalhead_brewer]

Baking soda works flawlessly for me, cheaper than oxyclean, half 16oz box in about 30 lts. of cold or warm water (made both with same results) let them soak for a day and labels will come off alone and glue will disolve by itself from the bottle, just a slight rubbing with a sponge for residues, rinsing with clean water and they're ready to go, and if you have a lot of bottles you can reuse the water 2-3 times i've done it and works great every time.
i personally have removed about 48 labels with a 1 dollar 16oz baking soda box.

 

[JPBrewLI]

Unless your entering competition I don't get why labels bother people. The beer tastes the same either way.

Just from a sanitary aspect i considered leaving labels but they get wet / dried repeatedly while using the bottles so it just made sense to remove the label. Putting my own labels on is a different story.

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

Here what I do.

 

[r4dyce]

Unless your entering competition I don't get why labels bother people. The beer tastes the same either way.

It's confusing to other people. I just had this happen with a bottle I was too lazy to take the label off. Someone grabbed it at a party being like oh I love Fat Tire! And I had to explain that it wasn't really fat tire, it was a Homebrew lemon shandy. Oh the sadness lol.

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

I like to have my labels removed because of the way I sanitize my bottles. And it also just looks cleaner.
Just a personal preference.

 

[Queequeg]

Cooking oil
Edit: let me clarify, physically peel off the label the use cooking oil and a rough cleaning pad to remove the glue.

 

[Rhaop]

At least within the last two years anytime i buy a sam adams seasonal pack the bottles get a hot water oxiclean soak and the labels fall off, might need to take a sponge to get off alittle glue but no biggie

90% of my bottles are sam adams Octoberfest bottles that i got cases of from BMC drinking friends that just happen to love it

 

[r4dyce]

At least within the last two years anytime i buy a sam adams seasonal pack the bottles get a hot water oxiclean soak and the labels fall off,

Yea it's funny there's certain labels that come off so much easier. There's a local brewery called Jack's Abby near me and their labels are almost foil-like. They peel off neatly all in one piece dry.