[mikebiewer]

I'm sure everyone has their own techniques for this and I'd love to hear them!

However, when I first started out turning my commercial beer bottles into newly acquired homebrew bottles I had some questions about cleaning them and getting the labels off so that they were ready for sanitation and brewing. I compiled a how to that I've found very effective on my brewing blog that I'd like to share with people new to brewing while still getting feedback from you pro's!

Let me know your thoughts, I'd love to hear what you do!

How To Clean Bottles For Your Homebrew

[Beertracker]

If the dirt & labels are too much for some Dawn & a little "elbow grease" then I recycle them. 

[tygo]

I toss them in an Oxyclean bath.  After a good soak the labels peel right off mostly.  If they don't they go in the recycling.  Give them a good rinse and they're ready to get filled back up again.  I've got a big box of empties downstairs right now waiting for the treatment.

[zee]

hot pbw is pretty good at getting off most labels. the rest i hit with a brillo pad [basically steel wool with some sort of degreaser in it]. not really much elbow grease needed.

[Kaiser]

The link you posted doesn't work for me.

Getting the labels off depends very much on the brewer and the glue they used. I find that most German bottel labels come right off when soaked in water. For others adding baking soda to the water helps a lot. You may get the same effect with an alkaline cleanser like PBW. And then there are the really stubborn ones which I
generally recycle unless I really need them.

Kai

[BrewArk]

I usually clean the keg w/PBW. Once you keg you almost never go back!

[redbeerman]

When I do clean bottles,  I soak them in PBW or the equivalent.  The stuborn ones I take a scrubby to, and the glue comes right off with minamal effort.

[MDixon]

Kai - it took a bunch of tries, but here is what he was trying to link
http://mikesbrewreview.com/how-to-clean-bottles-for-your-homebrew/

You guys are silly, the beer goes on the INSIDE of the bottle. No reason to clean off, nor to scrape labels. 

[bluesman]

When I do clean bottles,  I soak them in PBW or the equivalent.  The stuborn ones I take a scrubby to, and the glue comes right off with minamal effort.

+1

PBW solution to remove labels. Then a hot rinse. Finally a quick soak in Starsan solution and to the drying tree they go.  

[jgourd]

Kai - it took a bunch of tries, but here is what he was trying to link
http://mikesbrewreview.com/how-to-clean-bottles-for-your-homebrew/

You guys are silly, the beer goes on the INSIDE of the bottle. No reason to clean off, nor to scrape labels. 

+1 on not removing labels.  I love seeing the faces of my buddies when they pop open a Heineken only to find a super-hoppy IPA at 95 IBUs and an intense aroma of Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, Columbus, and Simcoe.

[mikebiewer]

The link you posted doesn't work for me.

Getting the labels off depends very much on the brewer and the glue they used. I find that most German bottel labels come right off when soaked in water. For others adding baking soda to the water helps a lot. You may get the same effect with an alkaline cleanser like PBW. And then there are the really stubborn ones which I
generally recycle unless I really need them.

Kai

What the heck? Should be fixed now. Thanks for the heads up! Sorry bout that!

[Hokerer]

What the heck? Should be fixed now. Thanks for the heads up! Sorry bout that!

Nope.  Still not fixed.

[tygo]

You guys are silly, the beer goes on the INSIDE of the bottle. No reason to clean off, nor to scrape labels. 

If you bake them in an oven like Kai that might get interesting...

[wiley]

It may sound funny, but try some ammonia. Most craft breweries (using bottles suitable for homebrewing) use an ammonia soluble  glue. And one thing is for sure - ammonia is a cheap alternative to PBW for the purposes of removing labels!

[dhacker]

+1 on not removing labels.  I love seeing the faces of my buddies when they pop open a Heineken only to find a super-hoppy IPA at 95 IBUs and an intense aroma of Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, Columbus, and Simcoe.

Please, oh please tell me you're not putting a 95 IBU IPA in a green bottle!  

Hot water/ Oxi soak. SS scrubbie for the stubborn ones. Rinse, Iodophor and tree.

Oh . . and good article, Mike. . . Except that you misspelled Ox(i) Clean throughout!