# Bottle woes. **URL:** \ **Category:** General Homebrew Discussion\ **Created:** [March 31, 2012, 12:16am UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905 "2012-03-31T00:16:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gmac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@gmac](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/gmac)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 12:16am UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905/1 "2012-03-31T00:16:31Z")
Over a month ago, I contacted my local wine shop where I bought bottles before and asked for 96 bottles to do my NHC round 1 entries.  The Canadian contest has to be there by April 5. They told me that they could get them but that the bottle place was closed for a week to update their computer system.  So I waited a week and went in the shop and they said “Oh yes, we’ll get them for you”. (Bet you can see where this is headed). I called late last week and I was told that the girl who does the ordering was out.  I called Monday and was told that they were on order and would arrive today.  Then, at 4:30 today I got a call that they didn’t arrive and no explanation as to why.  But, regardless I have 12 beers ready to bottle on Sunday to ship Monday and no bottles and no where to get any (busy all day tomorrow and I can’t get out of it even if I found some).  PO’d doesn’t even begin to explain my mood this evening. So, good luck to you all.  I guess I won’t be entering the NHC Round 1 this year.  I only have two beer bottled but I really wanted to shoot for the “Rookie of the Year” award that is only open to first time participants in the Canadian contest.  So, I want to send more than 2.  Guess I’ll be ready for next year and I’ve got a year to find a reliable supplier. ---
**Author:** ![punatic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/punatic/32/13656_2.png) [@punatic](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/punatic)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905/2 "2012-03-31T03:02:22Z")
Buy full ones, empty them, retask them. I have NEVER bought bottles for bottling my homebrew.  Nearly everything I bottle goes in Sierra Nevada or Dogfish Head bottles.  Extra bonus points for bomber bottles (although they are to big for competition). ---
**Author:** ![stbloomfield\_gmail.com](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/stbloomfield_gmail.com/32/2417_2.png) [@stbloomfield\_gmail.com](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/stbloomfield_gmail.com)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 3:19am UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905/3 "2012-03-31T03:19:05Z")
Yeah what’s the cheapest beer you can get? If you have Costco up there, they have their own brand of beer sold here for $17 per 24, not much more than empty bottles. ---
**Author:** ![dzlater](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/dzlater/32/4766_2.png) [@dzlater](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/dzlater)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 10:25am UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905/4 "2012-03-31T10:25:23Z")
I once got a case of empties that were returned for the deposit at my local store for the price of the deposit. You could try that at a store or bar. ---
**Author:** ![gmac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@gmac](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/gmac)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905/5 "2012-03-31T17:09:06Z")
> [@punatic](#): > > Buy full ones, empty them, retask them. I do this as much as I can but I needed about 65 bottles and I certainly didn’t have that many. As for the cheapest beer we have up here…good one.  Clearly you’ve never bought beer in Canada ;)  Problem I have is, very very few of the breweries up here use pry-top bottles.  The only ones that do are our few craft breweries and you’re looking at 50+ dollars for 24.  So, I don’t buy much. Whenever I’m in the States, I always bring back a case of DFH partly because I like the beer but also for the bottles. I’m not really comfortable with the idea of buying back empties that I didn’t drink.  Sort of grosses me out thinking about what I’m washing out of the bottles…ew! ---
**Author:** ![stbloomfield\_gmail.com](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/stbloomfield_gmail.com/32/2417_2.png) [@stbloomfield\_gmail.com](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/stbloomfield_gmail.com)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905/6 "2012-03-31T17:10:07Z")
Well that sucks!  \>:( ---
**Author:** ![jeffy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/jeffy/32/12842_2.png) [@jeffy](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/jeffy)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905/7 "2012-03-31T17:48:54Z")
I try to pick up empties at the finish of local homebrew competitions.  I usually get three or four cases and wash them out with a jet bottle washer and hot water as soon as possible. ---
**Author:** ![euge](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/euge/32/5060_2.png) [@euge](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/euge)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905/8 "2012-03-31T18:00:59Z")
These days I only buy pry-offs and I also avoid brands that have difficult to remove labels- especially foiled bottles. Too bad about the LHBS not stepping up. I’m sure it was just one of those things that wasn’t meant to be at that point in time. ---
**Author:** ![punatic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/punatic/32/13656_2.png) [@punatic](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/punatic)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905/9 "2012-03-31T18:27:19Z")
Soaking in an oxyclean solution removes bottle labels nicely (and any fuzzies that may have grown inside the bottle too). ---
**Author:** ![gmac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@gmac](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/gmac)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905/10 "2012-03-31T18:57:58Z")
> [@euge](#): > > These days I only buy pry-offs and I also avoid brands that have difficult to remove labels- especially foiled bottles. Shorts in Michigan is by far the worst I’ve encountered.  I think they’re stuck on with some sort of mutant toad slime, then varnished, welded and laminated before getting baked on.  I’ve tried soaking them in Oxyclean, TSP, bleach and a mild phosphoric acid bath - not concurrently - hoping that maybe pH was the trick.  Not coming off. ---
**Author:** ![sathingtonwilloby](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/sathingtonwilloby/32/11966_2.png) [@sathingtonwilloby](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/sathingtonwilloby)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905/11 "2012-03-31T19:01:05Z")
How many bottles does the Canadian comp require? In the US, it’s only one for the first round. Or are you shooting for the Ninkasi and the rookie award. ---
**Author:** ![tonyp](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/tonyp/32/12198_2.png) [@tonyp](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/tonyp)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905/12 "2012-03-31T22:17:48Z")
> [@gmac](#): > > > [@euge](#): > > > > These days I only buy pry-offs and I also avoid brands that have difficult to remove labels- especially foiled bottles. > > Shorts in Michigan is by far the worst I’ve encountered.  I think they’re stuck on with some sort of mutant toad slime, then varnished, welded and laminated before getting baked on.  I’ve tried soaking them in Oxyclean, TSP, bleach and a mild phosphoric acid bath - not concurrently - hoping that maybe pH was the trick.  Not coming off. another beer is Mad Anthony, the labels are impossible to remove without scrubbing each one with a metal brush or steel scrubbing pad, its ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![hokerer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/hokerer/32/266_2.png) [@hokerer](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/hokerer)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905/13 "2012-04-01T00:06:01Z")
> [@tonyp](#): > > another beer is Mad Anthony, the labels are impossible to remove without scrubbing each one with a metal brush or steel scrubbing pad, its ridiculous. add Blue Mountain and Weyerbacher to that list.  Takes a small thermonuclear device to get those labels off ---
**Author:** ![erockrph](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/erockrph/32/13330_2.png) [@erockrph](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/erockrph)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905/14 "2012-04-01T04:24:02Z")
Here’s a list I’ve been compiling in a thread on the Northern Brewer forums. Might be appropriate here to some extent: [quote]By the way, thanks for starting a post about whose labels are easy/hard to peel. I’ve been looking for a list like this. Here’s what we have so far: **Easy to peel:** Samuel Smith, Red Hook, Sierra Nevada, Samuel Adams, New Belgium (warning - possible cracks), Bell’s, Guinness Draught (11.2oz bottle), Three Floyds, Goose Island, Schells, Deschutes, and I’ll add Bass Ale, Ommegang and Saranac here **Hard to peel:** Brooklyn, Summit, Founders, Firestone, Shorts, Mad Anthony, Blue Mountain, Weyerbacher and I’ll add Dark Horse and Harpoon [/quote] ---
**Author:** ![garc\_mall](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/garc_mall/32/12187_2.png) [@garc\_mall](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/garc_mall)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 5:12am UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905/15 "2012-04-01T05:12:31Z")
A lot (if not all) Rogue beers are silkscreened, so are H.U.B. Beers, and the new belgium lips of faith . They are impossible to remove the labels  \>:( ---
**Author:** ![gmac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@gmac](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/gmac)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905/16 "2012-04-01T17:03:37Z")
> [@](#): > > How many bottles does the Canadian comp require? In the US, it’s only one for the first round. Or are you shooting for the Ninkasi and the rookie award. I need 2 for the first round and 3 additional for 2nd round.  So, I was gonna do a 6 pack of everything I was going to enter (some of them are already have little left).  I figured I could drink the bottled ones that don’t move on but if I don’t have them bottled now, there’s a really good chance I wouldn’t have enough left of some.  I have very little willpower when I’ve had a few… ---
**Author:** ![tubercle](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/brewersassociation/user_avatar/forum.homebrewersassociation.org/tubercle/32/6256_2.png) [@tubercle](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/u/tubercle)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://forum.homebrewersassociation.org/t/bottle-woes/9905/17 "2012-04-01T20:04:43Z")
Back to the OP… DO you have anything else bottled? If so, drink a couple, or pour then in a 2 litter soda bottle, and re-use.