What labels tell us about a brewery

[Ajhutch]

In a fit of vanity I decided I wanted to bottle my Celebration Ale clone for Christmas into bottles without the old commercial labels on. So this afternoon I soaked a couple of dozen 'dead soldiers' in hot PBW in the sink and this evening set about them with some steel wool.

It's not perfect, but there's a strong correlation between the ease with which the label came off and the quality of the beer which was in there in the first place. Siren, Wild Beer Co, Thornbridge, Fullers were all very easy. The cheap junk from Lidl or Aldi (80p for the bottle, 19p for the beer) took some work.

There's one anomaly to my very scientific method - a certain brewery run by two guys in Scotland known for their aggressive beers and aggressive marketing. The Jet Black Heart label has left a disgusting glue residue that I just can't shift. If I was being cynical I'd say they don't want their bottle to contain the rubbish I make after it's had holy water in it.....!


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[Leon103]

The labels on those Swedish ciders falloff when you look at them

 

[sdt7618]

The Williams Bro ones are pretty tough to. The 660ml brew dog ones though come of in one piece if you pull hard enough

 

[jceg316]

Those two Scottish guys have the glass bottle embossed as well. I much prefer my bottles to leave no trace of their predecessors.

 

[Linalmeemow]

In my experience anything German or Belgian the labels will slide off once submerged in water. An absolute breeze. Also Banks's - terrible beer, easy to remove labels.

Most "craft" beers use way too much glue, or horrible plasticky labels.

 

[Saisonator]

White spirit will remove any sticky mess left from an awkward label.

 

[britton]

White spirit will remove any sticky mess left from an awkward label.

WD40 will get most stuff off as well

 

[RichieBeer]

Just had one of those Guinness Dublin Porters - I don't normally drink this sort of thing but it was only £1 in Morrisons. The drink itself was average but after 5 minutes in the washing up bowl, the label slid off as easy as any bottle I've had in the last few months. It's a nice shaped bottle too. Short and dumpy. A little like myself.

 

[Snakeshack]

Just had one of those Guinness Dublin Porters - I don't normally drink this sort of thing but it was only �£1 in Morrisons. The drink itself was average but after 5 minutes in the washing up bowl, the label slid off as easy as any bottle I've had in the last few months. It's a nice shaped bottle too. Short and dumpy. A little like myself.

The Guinness milk stout is nice too,and the labels are just as easy to remove