Review: Beer Clings

A challenge that all homebrewers face is, how do you tell the porter from the pilsner, the stout from the summer ale, once they’re in dark bottles?

That’s right, you need labels! But how do you get labels for your homebrew, especially if you don’t want the gummy residue that you find under adhesive labels when you try to remove them? Handwrite the info on sticky notes? (Yes, I’ve done this. If you homebrew, so have you, I’m betting.)

Beer Clings has the answer: Reusuable labels.

To create eye-catching labels that will identify your brew with your own unique brand, all you need is a little bit of inspiration and an account at BeerClings.com.

The company offers several ways to design your labels.

Most simply, you can choose from a variety of pre-made labels, some that you can customize with your own text.

For more customization, you can use the Design Studio, which offers clip art and other elements for use in designing labels. The Studio allows you customize fonts and special effects such as drop shadows for text.

Finally, you can create a design on your own, using the design software of your choice, and upload it to the Beer Clings system.

So, whether you just want a simple way to tell one batch from another or a fully unique label with your own brand and product names and images, BeerClings.com can accommodate you.

It also offers several other products, including labels to mark the gallons on a glass carboy, and wrap-around covers for kegs.

Prices for the labels range from $5.00 for 12 pre-made labels without customization, to $35.00 for 48 fully customized labels using a customized shape. Labels made using the design studio and standard shapes are $6 a sheet, with a variety of sizes available to fit various size bottles.

When I began to work on this review, I had bottled a batch of ale made with juniper berries added during the boil, which I dubbed Jupiter’s Juniper Ale, in honor of the Roman god. Lynda, my wife, made a nice piece of art with found images, and I uploaded her design to the system and ordered 24 labels.

My labels came quickly - less than a week after I ordered them, which means that you can design and receive your labels before your batch of beer is ready to be bottled. They arrived a little rumpled, because they were shipped in an envelope without much in the way of protection, but they were not damaged in any real way.

The design was rendered crisply, just as I had envisioned it. (It is mostly monochromatic, except for the glass of beer -- our design choice, but it gives me little way to assess how BeerClings would do with something more colorful.  I will say that the small splash of color from the raised glass is golden and true to hue.)

The labels turned out to be very easy to use. Peel it off the backing and apply it to the bottle. Simple as that. Made of a special vinyl, the label clings to the bottle with no adhesive needed, and holds firm. When you’re ready to change it, it peels off easily and leaves no residue.

The labels are reusable, too. After peeling it off a bottle, you can put it onto another bottle, or back onto the sheet for later use. This is obviously quite a money saver if you make certain beers frequently and want labels on hand.  The label I received worked well on a 22-ounce bottle and a more standard 12-ounce.

BeerClings.com is a home run. Their products live up to their promise, and give the creative homebrewer one more thing to tinker with.  I expect to be a frequent customer.

Because of the design-your-own capabilities, I can see using these labels for small batches of anything bottled or jarred - homemade sodas, salad dressings, infused vinegars.  Whatever you make, dress it up with a simple to remove, reusable customized label!


The company is offering our readers a 10 percent discount for orders placed during the month of June. Use code RCHCLINGS at checkout to claim it. 

Website: BeerClings.com
Beer Clings on Facebook

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