Yes opening a beer without an opener can be done! This was a talent I mastered out of necessity! Have you ever gotten a beer when heading to the beach, only to sit down on your towel and realize you don’t have an opener?!?!?
I have put together this tutorial for anyone that finds themselves in this same situation. It’s good to practice before you are stuck, so feel free to follow along with me!
Step 1: The Grip
Grip the bottle at the neck, with the side of your thumb against the bottle (meaning your nail facing up). If you grip it with your nail facing out it’s more likely you are going to pinch your skin when you pry the cap off.
2.) The setup
Adjust your thumb to fit the cap of a bottle, you can position your index finger under your thumb for support if you need it. Also, always use a bottle that is more than half full, empty bottles can work but the flex while you are prying and make it tougher.
Step 3: Pry!
Improvise!
There are many objects that can do the same thing, another item commonly available while drinking is a lighter. The lighter is a bit trickier, I learned with a plastic bottle, and then progressed to the lighter.
Notice the interesting lighter we brought home from Mexico
As you can see the cap comes off with some force so be a good friend and yell ‘Heads up’ prior to popping.
Practice
A word of warning: this may look easy, but it will take a night of drinking to get it right. You may end up a blister on the thumb region after a night of popping, but it is a small price to pay to be the hero who can open a bottle without an opener!!!
Related posts:
Travel is what you make it, and in New York City it's easy to make it expensive....
The island of Barbados has a decent transportation system of both public and pri...
Barbados is home to a handful of the beers available on the island. The othe...
Ha Ha – I thought you were going to use your teeth for a while – some Aussies do that (definitely not me or anyone I currently know). Cute Lighter!
budget jan recently posted..Fantastic Friday Laos Rooster
Jan – Ohhh the thought of the teeth makes me cringe! I think the lighter is much safer!
Safe Travels!
Adam recently posted..Cervezas of Mexico!
One of the drivers in Jamaica taught us how to open a bottle with our seatbelt clasp. It really comes in handy for when I can’t find my opener while I am driving. : )
Sara – Love it! The only downside of that is you have to put your joint in the ashtray while popping it open! Gotta love Jamaica, can’t wait to go back!
Adam recently posted..The Bugs of Tulum
ha! you guys made it really special for me. can’t wait to see your next adventures play out.
I had to laugh reading this post because whilst in Africa, we were cracking out everyones lighters to do exactly this! One of us could have just bought a bottle opener and shared it but no, when in Africa – improvise
Toni recently posted..How one post about sex lead to an amazing opportunity and lessons
Toni – It’s way more fun to open em’ with a lighter! Can wait for our time in Africa!
Safe Travels
Adam recently posted..Cervezas of Mexico!
You can always use a door jam, if there’s a building nearby!
allmyprettyones recently posted..NYC activity ideas
Allmyprettyones – I have used all kinds of things as an opener, as long as it is a sturdy object it can pop em’ open! Thanks for the tip!
Adam recently posted..4 months and counting down…
Nice tip there Adam – I’ve used a few techniques over the years myself and I’m pretty bad at this one but will keep practising. I actually carry an opener in my travel bag almost all the time! Jonny
Jonny Blair recently posted..World Travellers: Maria Falvey of Accelerated Stall
Jonny – I always have an opener on my key chain at home but I can never find one while traveling, and have gotten stuck toooo many times. This one take a little while to get good at, and I ended up with a blister after the first day.
Adam recently posted..The Dollar Menu – Tulum, Mexico
Just discovered the site man … great stuff! Is there anything more annoying than this problem. I have used curbs before with mixed results. This is actually one of the main reasons I made to buy the Reef flip-flops with the bottle opener for our trip.
Scott recently posted..Island In The Sun
Thanks Scott,
All my sandals are the Reefs, they are the best in my opinion (The bottle opener is a total bonus!) However I have found some pretty nasty stuff stuck in the opener part of the sandal… I have used em a ton of times but I have learned not to look at the bottoms and just open it!
But if you try the bottle or lighter trick it might take a few tries but once you get it, its like riding a bike!
Safe Travels (and beer opening),
Adam
Adam recently posted..So much to look forward to…