I have a dozen bottles from Shorts Brewery Huma-Lupa-Licious that now have a horrible rubbery label residue that I can’t seem to budge. I’ve soaked them in PBW (that only dissolved the ink into a filmy mess). I then scraped the labels off as best I could, and tried acetone and then mineral oil for the hell of it. Neither of those things worked. I think in the distant past I tried that Goof-off stuff and that sort of worked, but I have none of that on hand and don’t want to waste money on this mess.
Anyway, before I just throw these bottles out (even though I NEED them!), any ideas? Lighter fluid?
Haven’t done this in awhile, but IIRC, Sam Adams labels used to give me some trouble. I would get the hottest tap water I could and use either PBW (or whatever brewery cleanser) or even dish soap and let them soak for awhile. I would slide a very sharp knife over the surface of the bottle and scrape most of the label off and let it soak again and then use a green scrubby (3M or whatever) and scrub the rest off the bottle. Some were easier than others but I was always able to get the label off. Good luck.
Ps. I remember some labels that had foil (like Negra Modelo) and those were tricky.
Some labels are a bitch to get off no matter what. But something that works for me a lot is to soak them in very hot water with white or apple vinegar. After awhile of soaking the labels usually come off much better. I also use a window scraper and then a green scrubby after that.
I see a green scrubby being a theme here. I recall using that on other bottles as well and it would eventually work.
Okay, I’ll try the hot vinegar solution first, then onto to more PBW, then scrubby. I really don’t want to resort to petrochemical solvents as then I have that residue to contend with. Thanks guys!
Hot water and oxy clean has always amazed me. Leave over night. Most will be off we you get back the next. The others I would wipe/rub off with a dry wash cloth.
Goo gone is amazing at this kind of thing. you can pick it up at the drug store for like $5. I was just using this over the weekend for this very purpose.
[quote=“estimac”]I have a dozen bottles from Shorts Brewery Huma-Lupa-Licious that now have a horrible rubbery label residue that I can’t seem to budge. I’ve soaked them in PBW (that only dissolved the ink into a filmy mess). I then scraped the labels off as best I could, and tried acetone and then mineral oil for the hell of it. Neither of those things worked. I think in the distant past I tried that Goof-off stuff and that sort of worked, but I have none of that on hand and don’t want to waste money on this mess.
Anyway, before I just throw these bottles out (even though I NEED them!), any ideas? Lighter fluid?[/quote]
always just use oxyclean and hot water and if they are not coming off after that, there not going to be easy to get off.
IMO way to much of a pain in the ass to try and clean those stubborn ones I would just go buy some more beer and drink it and use those bottles, or buy emptys.
Or get some from a bar or restauraunt or craigslist
Back when I use to do that I would mix water and ammonia and let them soak over night. Becareful when you use ammonia the fumes can mess you up big time. I found that it worked real good. Just make sure you are careful and don’t use any bleach or anything like that with it.
Dang it this must be a Michigan brewery thing, Dark Horse labels are a pain to get off as well. I have at least a case of Short’s bottles that I was just about to de label & sanitize. . . . sigh . . .well maybe I’ll drink a lot of Bell’s this week ,
Anything with a Short’s label on it gets returned in my house. I have used paint thinner, acetone and googone with good luck but it is not worth the effort. That gummy residue is a PITA
For the guys buying Michigan beer, I’ve found that Bell’s and Acadia labels come off pretty easily after a soak in Oxy. I’ve given up on Short’s bottles. Those go back to the store to redeem the deposit.
