Bottle De-Labeling

September 29, 2016 -

This blog is mostly an online notebook for me as I pursue the home brewing process. One trick that I have learned to help save even more money is to de-label bottles of beer that I have enjoyed prior to making some of my own. Glass bottles are wonderful in that you can use them over and over again. It also gives you some pretty cool bottles to put your own beer in.

This process is fairly easy. Rule number 1 is it has to be a pry off top. No twist caps here. The twist caps cannot stand up to the bottle conditioning process. So if you need a "Church Key" to open that bottle, this is something you can do.

Once you have accumulated enough bottles to do a bath it is time to take that label off. For some brands it is simple. These would include Sam Adams and Sweetwater bottles. Others have to go through a pre-step because their labels are coated in plastic. For those, simple warm up some water in a saucepan on the stove. Set the bottles in the simmering water and allow them to stand for a little bit. Once they have stayed in the water long enough, take the bottle out and see if you can peel the label off. If you can't yet, let the bottle sit for a little longer. Once the label comes free, peel it off. There will be some paper and glue residue still on the bottle. That is no problem, at this point the are ready to join the others that you have already set aside that have the paper label.

Get a container big enough to hold all of your accumulated bottles. You will have to purchase some of the OXY CLEAN detergent from your local grocery store. Place one or two scoops in the bottom of the container. Arrange your accumulated bottles in the container. Fill the container with warm water to the point where you are covering all of your bottles. Let stand overnight. Some bottles may need to sit in this solution longer. Pull the bottles and rinse with cold water and set aside.

That's how you can save some money reusing old beer bottles.