18 replies to this topic

[Stout_fan]

Although I keg, I still remove bottle labels and save the standard 12 oz bottles.Odd thing I noticed, Sam Adams are the easiest to get off. Just soak a few hours and they come right off.Would it be because the Prez is a home brewer and the company runs and encourages a large homebrew competition?hmmmmm... your thoughts guys?

[DaBearSox]

boulder beer is really easy to get off. Odell's not as much...I usually soak all my bottles in a big cooler for weeks (mostly b/c i am lazy) in a water and ammonia solution. That has been my best course of action, usually takes the glue right off.I don't think that is the reason Sam Adam's labels are easy to get off...they have that "Sam Adams" signature on them so they are frowned upon for comps.

[Zulu]

Warm Oxyclean and about an hour soak gets 99% off

[stellarbrew]

B-Brite works fabulously for removing labels. It dissolves the glue and the labels just fall off on their own.

[BarefootBrews]

Although I keg, I still remove bottle labels and save the standard 12 oz bottles.Odd thing I noticed, Sam Adams are the easiest to get off. Just soak a few hours and they come right off.Would it be because the Prez is a home brewer and the company runs and encourages a large homebrew competition?hmmmmm... your thoughts guys?

BJCP (and most competitions) discourage submission of homebrews in bottles with raised lettering. Sam Adams bottles still have raised lettering? No amount of soaking will remove those.

[pods8]

BJCP (and most competitions) discourage submission of homebrews in bottles with raised lettering. Sam Adams bottles still have raised lettering? No amount of soaking will remove those.

Most comps I'm familiar with allow raised lettering from major brand beers because they know most home brewers just reuse bottles. I have such a variety of different brands and don't pay any attention as I'm filling them so its not like I even use the same ones in a single submission.For the OP water/ammonia solution works well with most labels. I haven't done label removal in a bit so I've forgotten preference brands.

[Deerslyr]

Warm Oxyclean and about an hour soak gets 99% off

+1... I boil water, add Oxyfree and soak overnight in a picnic cooler... rinse and sanitize.

[Deerslyr]

BJCP (and most competitions) discourage submission of homebrews in bottles with raised lettering. Sam Adams bottles still have raised lettering? No amount of soaking will remove those.

I think the OP was inferring that since the President of Boston Brewing has a large homebrewing competition, that he is sympathetic to the needs of homebrewers... not that he'd necessarily use the bottles for competition.

[Thirsty]

Leffe bottles are great. A half hour soak and the labels are on the bottom of the sink, bottles bare. I love submitting belgians for comp in these too. I think it gives a subliminal message that your beer is no joke.

[CaptRon]

I put them in a hot pbw soak in my keggle overnight. Come out the next day, and it is rare to have one that either doesn't just slide off or isn't just sitting at the bottom.The worst ones I have ran into are Moylans, and Marin Brewing Company - which is basically the same company. I don't know what kind of glue they use, but good grief they are a bitch.

[Stout_fan]

BJCP (and most competitions) discourage submission of homebrews in bottles with raised lettering. Sam Adams bottles still have raised lettering? No amount of soaking will remove those.

Dave Houseman and I were talking about this. Namely the ignorance and pettiness of judges. Dave had also posted on AHA's tech notes his feelings on this.The rule is written to prevent identification of the bottle as belonging to a certain brewer, and thus the judge giving a bias (either + or -) to said brewer. Since Sam Adams bottles are hardly unique, we have no problem seeing them in comps. Now if you have access to some unique brewery and the odds are very slim that another brewer would be using those bottles THEN it would be in violation of the rules.The fact that some judges are so obtuse really amazes me.Horses mouth.org"BOTTLESTo ensure anonymity of the entrants, we recommend thatbottles be standardized to standard 10 to 14 ounce greenor brown bottles with no paper or ink labels. Any letteringor graphics on the caps should be completely obscuredwith black ink. Encourage entrants to use brown bottles formaximum protection from light. Using only 10 to 14 ouncebottles makes the placement in cases and stacking of casesmuch easier. However, many competitions do accept theodd bottles, placing them in an odd-size case. The entrantsare then notified on the judging form that they provided thewrong bottle size, but since the point of these competitions isto provide feedback, the beers are allowed to be judged."

[3rd party JKor]

BJCP (and most competitions) discourage submission of homebrews in bottles with raised lettering.

Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame.

[DubbelEntendre]

BJCP (and most competitions) discourage submission of homebrews in bottles with raised lettering. Sam Adams bottles still have raised lettering? No amount of soaking will remove those.

I'd be shocked to find a single homebrewer that exclusively drinks Sam Adams beer, and exclusively reuses Sam Adams bottles. If you are submitting to a competition, just pull the bottles without the raised lettering. Problem solved.And to get back on track, Weyerbacher. Those labels come right off and if one happens to cling to the bottle its not a jumbled mess of flaky paper.

[3rd party JKor]

I'd be shocked to find a single homebrewer that exclusively drinks Sam Adams beer, and exclusively reuses Sam Adams bottles. If you are submitting to a competition, just pull the bottles without the raised lettering. Problem solved.

The lame part about it is that you would even have to think about doing something so piddly and pointless. How could that legitimately affect the judging process?

[BarefootBrews]

The lame part about it is that you would even have to think about doing something so piddly and pointless. How could that legitimately affect the judging process?

I agree that it seems piddly and pointless too. It's good to know that based on Stout_fan's post that BJCP competitions should allow bottles with raised lettering. However, it's all to often that many competitions have statements like "the bottles must have no raised markings or labels except the attached competition label." That being said, I have submitted homebrews to competitions with raised lettering and never had one sent back that was not judged because of the bottle.

[3rd party JKor]

I agree that it seems piddly and pointless too. It's good to know that based on Stout_fan's post that BJCP competitions should allow bottles with raised lettering. However, it's all to often that many competitions have statements like "the bottles must have no raised markings or labels except the attached competition label." That being said, I have submitted homebrews to competitions with raised lettering and never had one sent back that was not judged because of the bottle.

I would guess that it's a rarely enforced rule, but it's just kind of annoys me, ya know?

[pods8]

I would guess that it's a rarely enforced rule, but it's just kind of annoys me, ya know?

The BJCP comps out here don't just overlook it unofficially they say if its a recognizable commercial beer bottle they'll let it go.

[Stout_fan]

I would guess that it's a rarely enforced rule, but it's just kind of annoys me, ya know?

The point I'm trying to make JK, is that it is NOT a rule!If you have documentation to the contrary, please present.

[3rd party JKor]

The point I'm trying to make JK, is that it is NOT a rule!

Oh, I guess I missed your point.