Labeling Bottled Homebrewed Beers

You have a lot of options when it comes to labeling bottled homebrewed beers.

  • Write on the cap with a permanent marker
    • PROS: cheap; easy
    • CONS: if your handwriting is anything like mine, it might be hard to read. If you are entering beers in competitions, you will have to black out the entire cap with a permanent marker. Writing on 48 caps is tedious
  • Use a reusable label like a GrogTag
    • PROS: professional looking
    • CONS: expensive
  • Print your own labels and attach them to the bottles with skim milk
    • PROS: relatively inexpensive, professional looking results
    • CONS: time consuming; I'm not much of a graphic designer; will fall off if left in an ice chest
  • Print small Avery labels and attach to the caps
    • PROS: easy to read; cheap; easy to attach; won't fall off in an ice chest if the bottles are upright; easy to remove if entering bottles in a competition; no sticky residue to remove from the bottles
    • CONS: none that I can think of

I use Avery 5408 labels and print them on my laser printer. They will work with ink jet printers as well. The labels come 1008 to a pack, and at the time of this writing a pack costs $5.33 on Amazon, making each label cost about half a penny each.

Avery has a downloadable template on their website, or you can use the template I put together.

Finished product:

Labels