De-labelling bottles - An idiots guide

[Parky]

Hi folks,

Whether you're recycling bottles donated by the neighbours, or just want a particular style of beer bottle for your brew - de-labelling can be a pain in the rump 

The plus side of de-labelling is you get bottles for free, there are lots of shapes and sizes available, and you can personalise them with your own labels. I took a few pics of my last 'de-labelling day' which some of you might find of use - and feel free to add your own tips or tricks!

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Here I'm both cleaning and de-labelling the bottles, as they were stored away for some time -

1 - Fill a bath tub with warm water and give the bottles a good soak for about an hour. I add a few spoons of VWP steriliser to the water, although OXI or Milton will do just as well. Make sure that all bottles are filled, and covered with water.



2 - You will notice that after an hour the labels will have come off the bottles to varying degrees (depends on the label type). Some will literally slide right off, others will come off but leave a layer of glue, and others will be less forgiving.



3 - For paper labels which don't come off easily, a paint scraper will do the job nice and quickly.



4 - Next, you will need to remove the layer of glue that held the label on. Even for those bottles where the labels slip off easily, this step will help get rid of any residue. I use a metal pot scourer, as it seems to cut through even the tackiest glue, without getting clogged up.



5 - After you've removed all the residue from the outside, now it's time to give the inside a clean. You can do this by giving each bottle a once over with a bottle brush, making sure that no bits of paper from the labels has gotten into the bottle while sitting in the water.



6 - Give the bottles a final rinse under the tap if required and place aside to air dry, preferably on a bottle tree if you're got one.



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We've had varying success with de-labelling, and some bottles just aren't worth the effort. Unfortunately some of the nicer bottles have the toughest labels (Hobgoblin for example), but here's a short list showing the successes of some of our de-labelling efforts - (Feel free to add to the list).

Floats off the bottle - Anything from O'Hara's; Leffe; Fullers IPA

Requires some effort - Franziskaner; Paulaner; Erdinger; Spaten; Tyskie; Blue Moon; Hoegarden;

Forget about it - Franciscan Well (Rebel Red); Hobgoblin; Smithwicks and Smithwicks Pale Ale; Weston's Wyld Wood Cider;

[Garry]

Great post Parky 

[Chris]

I have no problem with hobgoblin but any of the plastic labels are a disaster

[Qs]

Founders and SN are great for coming off easy.

I've never found O Haras slide off. Always give hassle.

[Qs]

Oh and Erdinger slide off in hot water rather than needing Oxi.

[DEMPSEY]

My vote is for Fullers bottles. They are the mutts nutts when it comes to removing labels. Ye think they knew that it would be a selling point for their beer .

[Damien M]

Great post Parky.

For the Forget about it class... If the bottle really worth it ( WhiteGypsy 750mls and such )  a Stanley knife will plane it off in a little longer than the time it takes to scrub the German types. but will remove all label and  glue!

[imark]

For plastic labels it's best to peel them off dry. If they have the metallic paint on them it's not too hard to remove with a scouring pad and a good soak.

[Parky]

Thanks for the additional tips everyone, that's all very useful feedback! 

It's interesting to hear people's different experiences with de-labelling, and I'll certainly have another go at the Hobgoblin Chris, as those bottles look great for serving up dark ales 

[LordEoin]

I've linked this off the Wiki if you don't mind.
It's something that pops up quite regularly, but this is the first time I've seen it as a how-to guide

[Parky]

No probs LordEoin, feel free to include it in the the wiki, and hopefully it's something that can be added to over time

[Kevco5]

More than once I've used a potato peeler for removing labels!

[shweeney]

Tyskie labels come off very easy.  I've so many bottles now that if a label doesn't peel off easily after an hour in the sink, I just recycle the bottle - life's too short...

[Qs]

I've a couple of big Rogue bottles at the moment, I like the size and shape so I was wondering is there any way of getting that painty stuff off the bottle semi-easily?

[Blueshed]

The Galway Bay btls and St Austell btls are a pain to remove labels.

atm in de labelling btls, have a small plastic bucket that 9 btls fit in nice n tight. i half fill the bucket with cold water then add 250g of caustic soda and stir .

then fill the btls with water and place in the bucket, cover the bucket for 24hrs. remove btls and wash in hot water.

10mins every evening and getting nice clean btls. just make sure no kids or pets can come in contact with the bucket or contents.