After recently making a starter for a rather large brew day, I got to thinking: there’s got to be a use for all of these White Labs vials. So, let’s hear it – what’s the best use of the vials once they’re empty?
best use i’ve found so far is recycling…I tried every chemical in the house to get that sticky label glue off but to no avail.
I was going to say exchange the labels for yeast coupons at http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/homebrew_customerclub.html.
However, I’ve never gotten around to trying to get the labels off. From tony’s post that may be easier said than done.
I just throw them into a box when I’m done with them for some unspecified, future use.
Tap handles.
They’re about the right size for saving seeds.
You just blew my mind.
When the Spousal Unit packs me a salad for lunch, she uses an empty vial for salad dressing.
+1. That’s the best use I have found for them as well. I saved the for years in order to do the mail in/free yeast thing but they just piled up and I ended up throwing most of them away.
If you have good samitation, you can refill with starter wort, you will get a small amount of clean yeast that can be bumped up for another beer.
The LHBS collected the 5000 vials and had Chris White come out for a day.
I had no idea this was even an option! Awesome!
My wife has used them for her salad dressing for years now.
Hold on to them until you have enough to turn in for merchandise from White Labs.
Chris White is totally going to have to come to my house.
Getting the labels off is easy, but you end up leaving some backing paper and glue behind. I’ve never had any luck getting the glue off either so I pull the labels off, stick the labels in an envelope, and then recycle the vials.
At one point I figured that trading for free yeast coupons was the ideal way to go. You don’t have to pay shipping on the coupon unlike everything else (I doubt you have to pay shipping on the 5000 label prize)
i have cleaned them and put yeast from a harvest in them with a little beer. saved for the next starter.
i have used them as tubes for some of my smaller cigars. try wd40 to get the glue off, but it will of course need a thorough cleaning.
I make a big batch of super secret special dry rub for my boston butts and store individual use portions.
Something happened to my post. I have used goo gone to remove the glue after a soak, works pretty well.
Awesome. It says shops can serve as collection points for the 5000 vial reward, so I assume clubs could do the same!
I’m in the process of moving my yeast bank from mason jars to preforms (White Labs tubes) using something like this:
Should take up a lot less room in my fridge.
One thing I don’t like about the WL vials is that you can’t boil them for sanitation. Well you can, but they get all cloudy.