Today, we are up for a new article about beer. In this article, we will tell you everything you need to know about removing the labels on beer bottles. We’ll give you the top 7 ways, including their steps to do them. “How to remove beer bottle labels?” Find out below.
1. Soaking in Star San
Let’s start our list with Star San. This high-foaming sanitizer is a great choice to remove rigid adhesives, and it’s also odorless, so it won’t have any effect on your beer.
Materials to use
- Star San
- Large tub or sink
- Water
- Protective rubber gloves
- Wire wool or brush
Step-by-step Instructions
- To start, get a large enough tub for all your bottles. Put water until it fills ¾ of the tub to ensure it does not overflow. Mix in the Star San with half a cup for every gallon of water.
- Once your solution is ready and mixed well, it’s time to put the bottles in the tub and ensure they are all submerged. Leave it for an hour to ensure the labels will easily fall off.
- Lastly, put on the protective rubber gloves and take each bottle out. Scrub them clean to ensure no label adhesive is left, and rinse with warm water.
2. Using OxiClean
OxiClean might be a good solution for you if you’re looking for another chemical that you can use to get rid of tough labels. This disinfectant and sanitizer can be an excellent chemical to keep around your brewery as it can be used for general cleaning.
Materials to use
- OxiClean
- Large tub or sink
- Water
- Wire wool or brush
- Protective rubber gloves
Step-by-step Instructions
- The first thing you need to do is prepare the tub and ensure that your bottles can all fit inside it. Next, put 4 to 6 gallons of water in the tub but make sure to leave some space so that the water won’t overflow once you place the bottles in.
- After putting in the water, add one scoop of OxiClean before mixing it. The powder should all be dissolved before you put the bottles in the tub. Leave it to soak for 1 hour overnight for best results.
- Once you’re done soaking the bottles in the solution, wear protective rubber gloves and take them out one by one. Make sure to scrub each bottle clean of any adhesive left before taking the next one and rinse them with hot water.
3. Using a Microwave or Oven
All you need to remove beer bottle labels are heat, and a microwave or an oven can do the job. There are, however, required specifications before you can use one or the other for your process.
Using a Microwave oven can only be done if you’re dealing with paper labels. Other breweries now produce metalized labels, so make sure you know what label you’re dealing with. If you use this for the wrong labels, many things could go wrong, and you wouldn’t want that.
The process is easy for microwaving the bottles. Just put the bottles inside and let them run for about a minute before removing them and scrubbing the label off quickly. Don’t forget to wear protective gloves since you’ll need them for the entire process.
On the other hand, you can use an oven for larger batches of bottles. You can even use a barbeque grill for the process if you do have one. Heat the oven to 100°C or 212°F and leave the bottles for two minutes. You should be able to easily scrub off the label after that.
4. By Steaming
Another process that you can use to get rid of those pesky beer bottle labels is steaming. If we’re talking about a few bottles, you can hold them up over a boiling kettle for a few minutes, and you should be able to get rid of the labels without any problems. However, if your bottle count is more than 10, we suggest following the instructions below.
Materials to use
- Large Pot
- Steamer basket or colander
- Water
- Warm water
- Protective gloves
Step-by-step Instructions
- Prepare the large pot with a steamer basket or colander. Ensure the basket fits right on the middle or top of the pot to place the bottles over the boiling water. Putting a lid on top of it would be better, but we can do without it.
- Place several bottles on top of the basket. Just put enough and do not overcrowd them so the steam can pass through and reach the labels. Let it sit for 30-40 minutes.
- Wear protective gloves before taking each bottle out of the steam. One by one, take each bottle and rinse them in hot water, and the labels should quickly be removed. You may scrub the label part to entirely remove it but don’t overdo it too much.
5. Soaking in Warm Water
If you want to do the most essential thing with less hassle, we recommend doing the following process on the list. You can do soaking if you’re not in a rush to get rid of the labels and have a lot of time to spare; it also involves less work which is a great plus. Find out what you need to do below.
Materials to use
- Large tub or sink
- Hot water
- Brush or wire wool
- Protective rubber gloves
Step-by-step Instructions
- Start preparing a large tub or sink, whichever can fit your bottles. You may also do several tubs and put the bottles in batches if you don’t have anything significant to put them in all at once.
- Put all bottles inside the tub and fill them with hot water. Make sure all of the bottles are correctly submerged. Leave it for at least 30 minutes. You can even leave it for a couple of days to ensure all labels are removed.
(Optional: you can also add baking soda to the water so that it can handle even the strongest of label glue)
- Easy bottle labels will float out on the water once left for a specific amount of time. You must take them out for sturdy labels and scrub them with a brush or wire wool while keeping them wet the whole time to get rid of them once and for all. Refrain from scrubbing them while dry.
6. Using Powdered Brewery Wash
If you haven’t heard of powdered brewery wash before, I suggest you take the time to learn more about it. This alkali cleaner is specifically made to clean glass jars and bottles. In this process, we will discuss incorporating PBW to eliminate tough bottle labels.
Materials to use
- Large tub or sink
- Powdered Brewery Wash (PBW)
- Protective rubber gloves
- Wire wool or brush
Step-by-step Instructions
- Prepare your large tub or sink. Make sure that it can fit all your bottles. Put enough water and measure it so you will know how much powdered brewery wash to add.
- Mix two ounces of powdered brewery wash for every gallon of water. Make sure it is mixed well in the water before putting all your bottles in. The bottles should be submerged in the solution to ensure the labels will peel off.
- Leave the bottles soaked overnight. Once you check up on them in the morning, most of the peels should already be removed. If some labels are left on the bottle, use the wire wool or brush to scrub them off thoroughly. Make sure you’re wearing protective gloves while doing this process.
7. Using Ammonia
Suppose nothing is working to completely eliminate the tough beer bottle labels. In that case, it’s time for you to use Ammonia and dissolve them once and for all. Take serious precautions before handling this chemical, and wear protective gloves since it can have risks when mishandling ammonia.
Once you’re all set, read the instructions below for more details on how to get rid of beer bottle labels using Ammonia.
Materials to use
- Medium-sized bucket with lid
- Ammonia
- Water
- Protective rubber gloves
Step-by-step Instructions
- Before starting the process, wear your protective rubber gloves since you are handling a chemical here. Next, get a medium-sized bucket and make sure that it has a lid. If it doesn’t have one, you can look for anything that can cover the top of the bucket, like a lid. Fill it up until ¾ of the bucket, add ½ cup of ammonia, and mix well.
- Put the bottles in the solution before covering them with the lid. Leave it for 30 to 40 minutes, and the labels should all be dissolved by then. Rinse the bottles thoroughly one by one and get rid of any ammonia left in the bottles.
Summary
As you reach this point, you should already be armed with the many ways on how to remove beer bottle labels. We hope you enjoyed reading through our list and choosing the best option. Hoping for your success in removing all those beer bottle labels.
As a homebrewer, Michael would get frustrated about the lack of brewing information on the internet. After hundreds of gallons of spoilt batches, Micheal had enough. And he founded Unknown Brewing as a resource for homebrewers.