I have lots of cases and six-packs and 22oz bottles of different batches piling up. I am looking for advice and suggestions on how best to go about labeling the bottles. I don’t intend on anything fancy, but want to start off right and not look back. I have seen peel and stick and other kits. I have heard that simple wallpaper paste and photo paper in the printer is the way to go. What are you guys using?
I want to make and print them myself and be able to get them off easily for the next batch.
There are several label formatting tools in Word, but those avery labels don’t come off that easily.
I would love to see what you are doing, and how you are doing it.
I just write what it is on the cap with a sharpie.
Stout
Punkin
That type of thing - when I drink it - I just removed the label so to speak and thus - no days trying to scrape them off or anything. I have pry-off caps so it’s not like I’d re-use them.
I was thinking I would be all into creating labels and doing it right when I first got started. After scraping about 4 cases of bottle labels off from the commercial beers, I quickly lost interest. I just put a code on the cap when I do bottle something.
I did the 3/4" cap labels for beer I didn’t care about. For the big beers that I want something nice, I use removble self adhesive labels (6/page) from supcom.biz I got 110 sheets, 6/sheet for about $32 and they peel right off with no mess even years later. I think they look professional because the corners are rounded.
I’ve done the 3/4 Avery labels myself. If you are going to a party where the bottles may be in water, spray the labels with a clear coat of paint to keep the ink from running. Or print them at Kinko’s/OfficeMax/Staples with their laser printer.
[quote=“Nighthawk”]Nice find on the larger labels Greg.
I’ve done the 3/4 Avery labels myself. If you are going to a party where the bottles may be in water, spray the labels with a clear coat of paint to keep the ink from running. Or print them at Kinko’s/OfficeMax/Staples with their laser printer.[/quote]I should mention that I use a color laser printer. I got a great deal 4-5 years ago on a new Dell 3110cn for $275
I use little self adhesive dots, different color for each brew and place them on the caps. Then I create a a guide in Powerpoint and hand that out when a gift beer. I also post a guide on the fridge door.
I use the round stick on labels on the top of the cap. I put the style and yeast number if I have split the batch. Under that goes the starting and ending gravity. Under that goes the brewing month and day. Under that goes the bottling day and to the side goes the year of the brew.
IPA 1968
1.065-12
12-3-11
15
It looks something like this but circular. I use a ball point pen, and it is very easy to read. White works best. I have used colors but they are hard to read if there is any condensation on the cap.
I use Avery 5247 labels on the caps. I format them all the same. Easy to identify clip art from google pics in the center. Beer name, date bottled, & AVB around the edge. The label is thrown away with the cap so no labels to clean off the bottles.
I’ve been using beerlabelizer.com and printing them on regular paper. Get 9 per page. Cut em out and glue them on with a regular kids glue stick with the help of my 4 yeat old. They fall right off when wet (so don’t put them in a cooler).
I’ve tried:
colored stickers (you’re limited in variety to what colors you have)
heat-shrink capsules (same problem)
sealing wax (Ibid)
printable cap labels (favorite)
printable bottle labels (takes some cleaning)
gluing paper to the bottle (same)
writing on the bottle (Ibid)
writing on the cap (hand cramps and sells your beer short)
I typically write on the cap with a sharpie for the few beers that I bottle.
If its a beer that I plan on gifting or for long term storage, I like them to look nice and make labels on the high end laser printer at work. I label most of my mead and wine and either purchase labels or print them at work.
I use stickers on caps but I also make large labels that I print out and tape to the boxes I store my beer in while it conditions. I’ll print these out in bottle size if I’m giving a beer away. Gluesticks work great as an adhesive.
Makes it easy to see what you got when pulling from a box or cooler. And mixing cases is never an issue when the label is right on top.
My only complaint is that they should be just a hair smaller to fit better. The edges of the label have to be pushed down around the edges of the cap and usually peel up a little. Not a big issue, but just a little smaller and they would fit perfectly.
I use return address labels on the cap - 2 labels per sticker, cutting in half with scissors before I remove them from the backing. I stick the info in a label template, sometimes as a jpeg or sometimes typed on. The halves fit niceley on a cap, with just enough info.
If I bring the bottles somewhere or make a gift of them, I paste a paper label on the bottle either using a glue stick (if I’m not re-using the bottle)
or stuck on with milk when I want to recover the bottle.
I’ve also used adhesive shipping labels for bottles
I write on the cap for pry-offs. For swing tops, I just put a square of masking tape on the cap and write on that. The bottles don’t stay filled long enough for labeling to matter much.
One of my brew buddies gives his 4yr old daughter a Sharpie and she scribbles whatever she wants on the caps. I wouldn’t classify that as “doing it right,” though.
