The Easiest Way To Open A Bottle Without A Bottle Opener, Even At A Picnic Or Party

Some people know fancy party tricks for cracking open a beer bottle without a bottle opener, and sometimes these tricks are risky: Trying to open the bottle with your teeth or even your eye (people have tried it) can cause injuries. You're likely looking for something simpler, because you don't want the party to go off the rails before you've even opened your beer. Perhaps you've heard about the method involving hitting a beer bottle against a countertop, but you don't know exactly how to do it without making a mess.

If you're near a picnic table or a countertop, or any flat, sturdy surface where you have enough room to hold the bottle against its edge, the trick is simple: Place the bottle perpendicular to the edge of the table or counter, make sure the rim of the bottle cap is gently resting on top of the surface, and then slam the bottom of your palm into the very top of the cap. It takes practice, and if done wrong, you might hurt your hand or even damage the bottle itself. If you've got no bottle opener and you're in a tight spot, though, this is your best bet. If you've got a lighter on you, that's another great way to open a beer without an opener, but the tabletop method requires no extra tools.

If you're interested in a bit of beer science, this strategy works because of how the cap is connected to the bottle. Most beer bottles are sealed using crown caps, which is the industry name for those serrated, ridged caps you see everywhere. Before the caps are attached, they're flat discs with the serrated edges sticking out. To seal them, breweries apply heavy weight to compress the cap around the bottle's mouth, pushing its ridges down to create a seal. It's effective at keeping oxygen out, which is one of the things which actually makes alcohol go bad. By placing the bottle on a countertop and slamming down on the cap, you essentially reverse the process to break the seal. 

Whether it's a table (indoors or outdoors) or a kitchen counter, make sure this surface is strong enough to withstand the beer bottle without chipping. In particular, wooden or painted surfaces are vulnerable to scratches from the force of the bottle cap. If you went with quartz or stone for your kitchen countertops instead, they might be better suited to stand up to this type of force. Still, you're unlikely to end up in a situation like that famous scene in "Arrested Development" where Will Arnett's Gob Bluth breaks off a giant chunk of a poorly made countertop while attempting this maneuver.