Hey,
I am curious what everyone uses for labels for their bottles?
I am looking to design some fun labels and then give the beers to friends and family
Thanks
I use FastLabel shrink-wrap sleeves. I print the labels on plain paper, 3 to a page.
I use Beer Labelizer https://www.beerlabelizer.com and Grog Tag https://www.grogtag.com
I use Canva and print on cheap mailing labels. A little matte sealant keeps them water-resistant enough for my purposes.
When I settle into some consistent repeat recipes, I’ll get some nice labels with a blank spot for batch # from GrogTags or somewhere like that.
I use Microsoft Publisher.
Now that there is green painter’s tape there are two choices out there, blue painter’s tape or green. Don’t use masking tape. It’s harder to get off.
Usually I just write an abbreviation in sharpie on the cap. In the rare circumstance where I cork and it’s hard to write on the cage, I use painters tape or masking tape and scribble on an abbreviation. I am too lazy about delabeling bottles these days and many of my bottles have screen prints or labels. I don’t mind bottling as much as a lot of homebrewers but delabeling bottles is my very least favorite part of the hobby.
I have an old desktop card printer from the 1930s (I think) that rolls out postcard sized prints that I’ve always wanted to use to make a handful of labels and then handwrite batch info on them. I haven’t quite figured out how to generate stencils for it or the right kind of ink. Figuring that out has been as much a priority as delabeling bottles.
One of the reasons I like the shrink-wrap sleeves is that there is no adhesive, so taking off the labels is trivial. If I need to take labels off of commercial bottles I have found that soaking them in PBW or Craftmeister for an hour makes the labels just float off, except for vinyl labels which are almost impossible to remove. I don’t even try with those.
I do just that. After a cleaning day, I take the bottles that need labels taken off and put them in the tub. I have found that Bear Republic and Firestone Walker labels just float off after an overnight soak. Russian River and some of the others are a pain so I stopped trying LOL.
Vinyl labels can be peeled off and then Goo-Gone will take off the glue residue.
The really evil labels are the direct-print labels like 3 Fonteinen uses.
Like an earlier post, I also use 3/4 inch circular labels on bottle caps. Remove the cap and you remove the label.
I use their template and design the label that includes the name of “my brewery”, the name of the beer, an illustration, the style, and the ABV.
Like an earlier post, I also use 3/4 inch circular labels on bottle caps. Remove the cap and you remove the label.
I use their template and design the label that includes the name of “my brewery”, the name of the beer, an illustration, the style, and the ABV.
does anyone have any thoughts on EXTREMELY easy-to-remove labels?
Im really not a label guy, but i was just thinking right now how it might be fun to have some, if they were as easily removable as say german or belgian labels are from glass bottles. ie. just warm water for 10 seconds and they slide off, no glue residue.
anyone?
The shrink-wrap sleeves are very easy to remove. There is no adhesive. You just tear the plastic off and the paper label falls out.
You can also get dissolvable labels. Search Amazon for “dissolvable labels”. The ones I have used basically disappear when they get wet. Perhaps not so good for beer bottles that can sweat, but very easy to remove.
I use this recipe when I do labels, which isn’t very often these days. I use a laser printer to print the labels, paint some of this glue on, and the labels stick well. Dunk the bottles in hot water and the labels slide off after a minute or two.
Basic Waterproof Glue
- 6 tbsp water
- 2 packets unflavored gelatin (1/2 oz.)
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- 2 tsp glycerine
Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in gelatin until it is dissolved. Add vinegar and glycerin and stir well. Let the mixture cool slightly and pour into a jar and seal tightly. To Use: This glue is best applied while warm. Apply to surfaces using a brush. Glue will gel after a few days. To re-use, warm by placing the jar in a pan of hot water.
If you use Elmer’s glue stick the labels rinse right off with no residue left behind
I don’t bottle too much any more, but the easiest thing is just to label the caps. They get tossed after use, so no cleanup is required.
I would use these and use Word to design the label for the cap:
When I used to bottle a lot, I just wrote the batch number on the cap and hung a list of #'s with a description of the beers on the door of the fridge.
Friends were told to read the list and pick a beer or just Russian Roulette it and live with what they got. 
Paul
I just ordered some of these to try them out.
I label the bottles after they are washed and dried, but before they are sanitized and filled. Cold bottles sweat and make it difficult to get the sleeves on and the labels into the sleeves, so I stopped labeling after filling. I put the sleeve on, then slip the label inside it. I have a pitcher of near-boiling water nearby and dunk the bottle into the hot water for a couple of seconds. Be sure to hold the top of the sleeve against the bottle as you dip it in or it will pull down as it shrinks. It is pretty easy to use them once you get the hang of it.