Re-Using Shop Bought Beer Bottles

[puravida]

There's nothing stopping me re-using beer bottles from regular shop bought beer is there?
Had a big family party last weekend and I am looking at a pretyt good stash in the recyc bin at the moment and wondering if it is worth fishing them all out??

 

[Runwell-Steve]

Nothing at all to stop you reusing them. I think thats what most people do.

Some bottles are better than others though.

Personally I keep all brown glass 500 or 568 ml bottles. The ones Ale or Cider comes in, except for those ones where the labels won't come off.

Some of the little green glass bottles are not particuarly strong so you might want to be careful with them.

Wychwood bottles are only really cappable with a bench capper due to the strange shape of the neck of the bottle.

 

[puravida]

So a soak for half an hour in oxi clean. A good rinse and then a spritz with star san?

 

[Phil_MG]

I've kept quite a few bottles, I asked some people to save bottles for me though but should really have specified what sort 'cos I've ended up with box after box of those tiny 275ml and 330ml bottles which aren't much good. 500ml brown bottles are the best ones to keep. I've got some of the 660ml bottles too, but you seem to end up wasting a load as you can't fit it all in a pint glass, and you can only do it in one pour without it disturbing all the sediment.

The other thing that's a pain is washing all the labels off, you need nearly boiling water and soak them for 10 mins each. Some of them will just peel straight off in one go, others won't come off for love nor money.

I've actually thought about buying some new bottles because of all the hassle of washing the labels off, plus they'll all be of a standard size and shape which looks a lot more pleasing to the eye.

 

[Fender Precision]

Thats what I do, 500ml bottles washed and re-capped. Hobgoblin bottles cant be re-capped with the hand held capper I use which is disapointing as I like the bottle design. I don't bother with long neck 330ml bottles as its a pain in the **** getting 23lts into them(almost 70 bottles) and 500ml fits my favourite glass perfectly. :

 

[Moley]

I've got some of the 660ml bottles too, but you seem to end up wasting a load as you can't fit it all in a pint glass

I use the 660s (clear, Weston's / Kingstone) for juice wines (home consumption) because they look quite nice, are closer to wine bottle size and crown caps are cheaper than corks.

For beers I collected a lot of brown bottles of various shapes and sizes, but now I can afford to be choosy I only collect Magner's bottles, proper pints and the labels soak off easily. Most of my 500s have now been recycled or are used for giveaways.

 

[puravida]

I'm heading out to the recyc bin righ tnow with a torch

 

[shocker]

When I re started last time round I was working up in bristol so went to the bottle banks of big supermarkets on sunday afternoons as this is when it seemed they were overflowing and many people came to drop off .That way I could pick through the ones on the floor ,often in handy boxes and ask people who were dropping off if they wouldnt mind me taking theirs to directly re cycle .

Before I go any further I should mention that there is a legal aspect here ,so have a read before you go out with your torch mate !

...its a bit of a legal grey area but if police or shop managers want to be arsey its worth considering things first .These bottle banks are the property of someone and so is the land they stand on .Law in this country is very much based on property ownership . Very strictly speaking one can become guilty of "theft by finding" if taking waste from skips etc without permission .You have a legally defensible position in that rights of ownership were implied to be given up by the placing of items in a recognised waste container .However ,the view could be taken that since the "waste" was to be recycled at profit by owners of the bottle banks who presumably have some kind of (maybe financial) arrangement with the owners of the site then you could be accused of depriving the rightful owner of their goods .Also asking people who are dropping off for the bottles could be seen as "wandering abroad to beg alms"....begging ,an offence.

Now you may read the above and think "what a load of ********",,.....and you would be right .But some people REALLY do think that way so its worth considering . Why do I know this half arsed pseudo-legal ill informed ******** ?Because I have been on the wrong end of it .

Soooo....dont let it be said that this forum or its members encourage or condone any unlawful activity .Cos it dont .

All the above said ,I still think it one of the most productive and responsible means of acquiring bottles . At the above mentioned stage I also went to the LBHS in bristol and bought ,actually BOUGHT (I know ! Me! Spend money !Shudder !) some brand new ,unused brown glass bottles and they were thinner and flimsier than most of the ones from the bottle bank .That said ,some were better than others .Further ,I read on a new beer bottle the other day that they were using thinner glass in the interest of reducing waste....so thats a consideration too .

Like most things a sensible balance can be struck ....if tesco object to you taking the bottles ,go elsewhere .Ask at your local brew shop as they often buy job lots of old kit - you may come by some really pukka old ,thick flagons .Look at freecycle and local smallads papers for people clearing out grandads shed .The bottles are out there ,just waiting for you ..... :thumb:

 

[sheffieldlad]

Pubs are a great source of bottles.
There are 3 pubs in our village, two are willing to let me raid the bottle bins.
I haven't asked in the third pub cos I don't drink in there.

-Paul

 

[shocker]

That too ,with the added possibility of swing top grolsch bottles and CO2 scrounging ! :thumb:

 

[sheffieldlad]

That too ,with the added possibility of swing top grolsch bottles and CO2 scrounging ! :thumb:

correct.
an obliging landlord can soon do away with the rent on a co2 bottle from boc :party:

-Paul

 

[Dave1970]

Some of the labels just slip off if you run them through the dishwasher. I can confirm this works on Fullers, Bulmers, Newcastle Brown & Shepherd Neame bottles.

Unfortunately it doesn't work on my own home made labels, anyone know where you can get computer printable labels that do wash or peel easily

 

[shocker]

I printed onto plain copier paer and used a few dabs of pritt stik to fix labels on .The good point is that they came off easy and clean ,the bad point that if left in the shed the ink tended to run and since I had bought a job lot of misprint crown caps all the same colour ,after a while things got a bit random on what beer was what ! Maybe a gloss paper ? Or colour coded crown caps as a back up ?

 

[artyb]

beware some producers are using lightweight bottles,
that may not be tough enough for bottle conditioning...

 

[ingypingy2]

Some of the labels just slip off if you run them through the dishwasher. I can confirm this works on Fullers, Bulmers, Newcastle Brown & Shepherd Neame bottles.

Unfortunately it doesn't work on my own home made labels, anyone know where you can get computer printable labels that do wash or peel easily

I print off labels just done on publisher and printed on normal paper, then brush the back of the label with a thin layer of milk and stick on the bottle - (a tip I got elsewhere on the forum) - the labels stick well, the milk doesn't go off or start to smell - and they come off easy as pie when you soak the bottle for a min :) cheap, easy and practical :)

 

[Dave1970]

I printed onto plain copier paer and used a few dabs of pritt stik to fix labels on .The good point is that they came off easy and clean ,the bad point that if left in the shed the ink tended to run

I had that with inkjet ink, if I use the *whispers*colour laser printer in work it's a dry toner so no ink runs. I'll give Pritt Stick a go, and thanks for the milk idea, I'll give that a try too.

 

[WelshPaul]

+1 for the milk as label adhesive.
I use Microsoft Publisher for my label designs and milk keeps them on just fine.

 

[shocker]

Well I'll be etc'd....milk ! What a great idea ! :thumb:

 

[SE10PAT]

myself and a mate use this site to make up our own funky labels http://www.beerlabelizer.com/

Cut them out and then, like the other guys say, brush a bit of milk on the back and away you go!

 

[oldbloke]

Wychwood bottles are only really cappable with a bench capper due to the strange shape of the neck of the bottle.

True as a true thing from true town