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Cider Digest #1100
From: cider-request@talisman.com
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Subject: Cider Digest #1100, 22 December 2003
Cider Digest #1100 22 December 2003
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
removing labels (Mark)
issue for digest (SkyviewCider@aol.com)
Removing labels from wine bottles (Re: #1099) (Chaad@aol.com)
Re: removing labels (Terence Bradshaw)
removing wine labels ("wintermead")
Re: removing labels ("Pat Maloney")
BJCP Examples - Cider? (allan.boyce@usbank.com)
Re: Cider Digest #1099, 20 December 2003 (Jack O Feil)
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Subject: removing labels
From: Mark <scaffnet@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 20 Dec 2003 20:39:42 -0800 (PST)
Hi Jason,
Wow, 300 bottles. Never attempted that all at once.
FWIW, I have actually (somtimes)tailored my choice of
beverage to the ease of removing the label! Sometimes
this is an easy choice (West County Winery bottles
release their lables easily in hot water and the cider
is great) or hard (Berkshire Brewing Co. labels are
held on by some kind of 25th century super
adhesive...drink the good beer but return the
bottle...)
I generally soak in hot soapy water and then attack
the label with a hard plastic dish scraper. It's a
square with rounded corners and once the top layer of
paper is scored, sometimes the label will deteriorate.
I have had the unhappy situation of using a steel
scrubbie to take off the adhesive...which works in
that the adhesive is off the bottle. But whatever you
scrub with that scrubbie next, it gets a coat of nasty
adhesive.
For collecting purposes I always look for Pellegrino
bottles (with the crown caps). Good size, and labels
come off easy. Pretty much my holy grail of bottle
scrounging.
I have also heard that lighter fluid dissolves most
adhesives but I don't want to get that stuff near my
beverages.
Good luck!
Mark
------------------------------
Subject: issue for digest
From: SkyviewCider@aol.com
Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2003 09:21:38 EST
Commercial Cidery
Perry Christmas and a Cider New Year To All ! !
Working on business plan for a commercial cidery in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Looking for partners, contributors, suppliers, vendors and buyers.
If you are interested please send and email to SkyviewCider@aol.com
Thanks!
Bruce Kahn
Skyview Farm
Marshallton, PA 19382
------------------------------
Subject: Removing labels from wine bottles (Re: #1099)
From: Chaad@aol.com
Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2003 13:19:07 -0500
My weapon of choice for removing labels is a Rubbermaid bin with a fairly
strong (2 or 3 cups per large-sized bin, but I tend to go overboard)
bleach solution. I put a racking cane or piece of tube just along the
inside of the bottle neck a couple inches down or so (letting the air
out fills it quickly without gurgling-a bottle can be filled in just
a few seconds)and submerge to fill the bottle so it will stand up in a
solution level that just covers the top label. Then I put the cover on
the bin to keep the bleach smell down and give it a couple to a few days.
On all but the most stubborn, you can pull the bottles out of the label
just by picking them up. One the others I use the back of a knife or a
kitchen scrubber sponge (some foil ones pu up a bit of a fight). I reuse
the solution until it gets too weak or becomes too cluttered with labels.
Two critical factors are to wear old clothes and RUBBER KITCHEN GLOVES
(even if you are only doing a couple bottles). I had a paper cut turn
into a week-long recurring open wound after doing "just a few" unprotected
(finally stopped it with Krazy Glue).
The added bonus is that the bleach will also take care of any lees or
dried wine or other crud that is in the bottle as well.
------------------------------
Subject: Re: removing labels
From: Terence Bradshaw <madshaw@innevi.com>
Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2003 15:24:56 -0500
Jason:
I have cleaned thousands of bottles over the years and finally have a
really good system down. I have a Laundry sink which has maybe a 25 gallon
capacity; maybe 2' X 2' X 18" deep. You can see a picture of it here:
http://www2.innevi.com/~madshaw/ciderroom.html (very slow to load). I keep
a Jet Carboy and Bottle washer attached to the faucet, although I will
probably put a brass quick-disconnect on soon so I don't have to mess with
threading the thing on and off. I also keep an 18" long piece of 3/8"
tubing which I can push down over the bottle washer and spring clamp on to
allow for a hose.
First I plug the sink, then fill with bottles- I can fit about 30 750 ml
standards. Using a syringe, I put a little squirt of bleach in each
bottle. Then I fill each bottle at least 3/4 of the way with the bottle
washer hose using HOT water. This keeps the bottles from floating up when
I fill the sink with HOT water next. Most bottles will completely submerge
in a filled sink and any slime mold snots will float up to the surface. I
skim this crap off. Now I can scrape each bottle with a standard
razor-blade paint scraper. I have a sense for which labels come easiest
and scrape them first, allowing tougher ones to soak. Often a hit with
steel wool will remove label residue after the main label is off. After all
labels are off, I drain the sink and drain each bottle, then hit it with
the bottle washer. Bottles rarely need brushing, especially if rinsed
after use. Some other tips:
1. 'Glossy' labels can be really hard to get off, or their glue anyway.
2. European wines fall into two categories; melt off with no work and can't
get it off with industrial solvents.
3. Be real careful with the razor scraper. I change blades at least at the
beginning of a cleaning session, sometimes mid-way through. A sharp blade
peels the label off easier and give less chance of stumbling a cutting
yourself.
4. Put a chain on the drain plug so you don't have to reach 18" down into
140 degree water to pull it.
5. Bottles are easy to find. If they don't come clean or are not to your
liking, bring them to the recycling center and swap for bottles more to
your tastes. I like Bordeaux bottles because they will stack in cases
better than burgundies while lying on their sides, and tall labels will
fit on them better. I think I am going to start tossing burgundy bottles as
well as funny-shaped (Turning Leaf, Vendange) and stick with what I
like. I do sort bottles by shape and color so that I can do whole batches
in similar packaging.
6. I find clean boxes/cases are harder to find than bottles
sometimes. Many wine shops will save them only for buyers of bulk wines,
but a bottle or two of your goods to the right folks should get you a stash
of them. They can be hard to transport in numbers, though, as they take up
a a lot of car space yet blow out of the back of a truck, unless weighted
down with bottles, of course.
Hope that helps. Good seeing you the other day, and a happy holiday season
to all on the list.
Terry B
>Aaahh, December: the cider is in the carboys, safe and sound, the press
>is cleaned and put away, what more does a cider maker have to do?
>Well, remove the labels off of 300 wine bottles, for one thing. Is
>there a trick to doing this neatly and /or quickly? Any suggestions
>welcomed!
>
>Jason MacArthur
>Marlboro, Vt
Terence Bradshaw
1189 Wheeler Road
Calais, VT 05648
madshaw@innevi.com
(802)229-2004
The views represented by me are mine and mine only................
------------------------------
Subject: removing wine labels
From: "wintermead" <wintermead@sbcglobal.net>
Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2003 11:17:46 -0600
In CD # 1099, Jason MacArthur <rotread@localnet.com asked:
> Aaahh, December: the cider is in the carboys, safe and sound, the press
> is cleaned and put away, what more does a cider maker have to do?
> Well, remove the labels off of 300 wine bottles, for one thing. Is
> there a trick to doing this neatly and /or quickly? Any suggestions
> welcomed!
I put them in a deep sink with hot water until they are totally
covered and filled. Then I mix in two cups of "wall cleaner" or
phosphate-free TSP that I get at Home Depot or Ace. Let them soak
over night. Then take a dull paring knife to scrape and a brass
sponge to finish the last of the glue. Some labels come right
off; those secured with rubber cement are a bitch.
Funny you should mention this, I just came up from the basement
after having done just what I described above. :)
Chuck
Geneva, IL
------------------------------
Subject: Re: removing labels
From: "Pat Maloney" <pmaloney@callatg.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2003 11:37:31 -0800
Jason asked: "...remove the labels off of 300 wine bottles, for one thing. Is
there a trick to doing this neatly and /or quickly?"
The best way I have found to remove beer or wine labels is by soaking
the bottles in water that has had automatic dishwasher powder dissolved
in it. Cascade works good. You don't need a lot, maybe 2 tablespoons
to 5 gal or so. Let it soak for several hours, preferably overnight.
Some labels with just float off (I tend to buy more beer and wine with
these kind of labels - are you listening, all you beer and wine
companies??!!), others need some help with your fingernails and a
scrubby sponge and some won't come off at all, e.g. metallic or Mylar
labels that the water can't penetrate. Then I run the bottles through
the dishwasher with just a little detergent to remove any residual glue
residue. I also put the dishwasher into the "Heat" dry mode to sanitize
the bottles.
Not much fun for 300 bottles no matter how you do it! Hopefully someone
else can come up with a less labor-intensive method. Good luck.
Pat Maloney
------------------------------
Subject: BJCP Examples - Cider?
From: allan.boyce@usbank.com
Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2003 14:53:49 -0600
We are preparing for our 2004 BJCP class, and I would like to present some
excellent examples of Ciders for evaluation practice. What commercially
available examples would you recommend for A) Standard Cider, B) Standard
Perry, C) New England-Style Cider, D) Specialty Cider (other fruits or
adjuncts) and E) Specialty Perry? Please provide websites and/or phone
numbers of the cider makers if you have them.
Thanks!
- - Al Boyce
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Cider Digest #1099, 20 December 2003
From: Jack O Feil <feilorchards@juno.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2003 15:43:02 -0800
Jack Feil
Wenatchee Washington
Awhile back( digest # 1093) Mike Ferdinando raised a question
about a carboy of cider that had been sitting for about a year and if the
cider was still OK wanted to prime it with sugar for bubbly. The question
was, after that length of time would you have to add yeast along with the
priming sugar? I didn't see a response.
I have a similar situation, my cider has been in a carboy for
about nine months, it has been racked several times, I will be priming by
adding ten percent fresh cider, do I need to add yeast? The book, "
Making, Using & Enjoying Sweet & Hard Cider" by Annie Proulx and Lew
Nichols reads that after four to six months the yeast will have died. I'd
be interested in versification.
Thanks Jack
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End of Cider Digest #1100
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