Open a Beer Bottle with a Lighter

A lack of a bottle opener can ruin any party. Unless, of course, you know how to wield a lighter in its stead. Opening a beer bottle with a lighter is all about leverage. You simply use one hand to hold the lighter firmly under the cap, and the other to pop off the top.

Steps

Popping the Cap Off

  1. Hold the beer close to the cap with your non-dominant hand. Curl your index finger just under the cap, leaving only a little bit of space. The closer you can get your finger under the cap and still fit the lighter edge underneath the easier this will be.
    • Your finger will be the fulcrum that holds the lighter under the cap. As you push down on the lighter, your finger will keep it pinned under the cap until it pops off. Thus, the closer your finger is to the bottom of the cap, the better.
  2. Fit the long bottom edge of the lighter underneath the cap. Don't use the rounded corner. Instead, use the long plastic edge of the lighter bottom and place it under the cap. One side will be resting on your left pointer finger, curled around the top of the bottle (if you're right-handed).
    • The lighter should be perpendicular to the beer bottle.[1]
  3. Hold the metal end of the lighter firmly. You want to be able to push down on it with smooth, even force.[2]
  4. Slide your finger up the neck of the bottle so that the lighter is wedged firmly under the cap. Your finger acts as the fulcrum that pops the cap off, so it needs to be firm.
  5. Push down quickly but firmly on the lighter to remove the cap. You should feel the lighter digging slightly into your finger, but quick downward pressure should pop the top quickly. It is exactly the same pressure and firm movement that you would use with a traditional bottle opener.
    • It may help to angle the beer slightly towards the lighter. If so, push down parallel to the bottle to get the most force on the lighter.[3]

Prying the Cap Off

  1. Grip the body of the bottle firmly with your non-dominant hand. Keep it low and out of the way, but make sure you have a nice, firm grip on the bottle so it doesn't slide off. Your dominant hand will hold the lighter, using the thumb to grip the top of the bottle, as you pry the cap off.
  2. Hold the lighter tightly in your fist so that bottom 1/2" is all that is visible. You want to have the lighter firmly in your hand, with a bit of the lighter's bottom poking out of the thumb side of your first.
    • The lighter will be in line with the point of your middle knuckles. In other words, the long side of the lighter bottom will be parallel with your thumb.
  3. Wrap your thumb around the top of the bottle. It should be just under the cap, providing pressure to keep the bottle in place as you pop off the cap. The lighter will be on the opposite side of the bottle as your thumb.
    • If you're right handed, your hand will look a bit like a backwards, lowercase "e." The curve at the bottom is your thumb, the hole in the top is the lighter in your fingers. The bottle will fit in between, in the curve between your thumb and finger.
  4. Fit the long edge of the lighter underneath the cap. This bottom edge will be dug underneath the grooves of the cap and used to push the cap up and off the bottle.
    • Do not use the rounded corner edge, as this is a smaller surface that can slip easily.
  5. Hold the bottle firmly in place as you push up and out with the lighter. Think of rotating your fist up and away from the bottle. Your lower hand should hold the bottle down as you push up on the cap with the of the lighter. Turning your wrist away from the bottle, while leaving your thumb on the other side, will create the torque needed to pop the cap off.

Troubleshooting

  1. Use more force, applied quickly, if only part of the cap pries off. It only a small part of the cap comes of, it likely means you didn't use the force on the lighter quickly enough. Simply rotate the bottle 180 degrees and try again-- you can usually pry the bottle cap off slowly if you've already started one side.
  2. Make sure your finger is tightly under the cap if it feels like you need to use a ton of force. If you feel like you're really straining to to get the cap off, you're not creating enough of a fulcrum. Make sure your fingers are right under the lighter, allowing you to use them to pry the cap off.
  3. Tilt the bottle towards the lighter if the lighter keeps slipping off the cap. Line the bottle edge up under the lighter so that the "teeth" of the cap are touching as many bits on the lighter as possible. If you're doing it correctly, you'll likely end up with little nicks and teeth marks in the plastic.
  4. Try another method if you still can't get the cap off. Luckily, there is a variety of other methods to open a beer bottle that don't require a lighter.
    • Use a door by placing the cap in the frame (the small metal square that allows the door to stay closed) and applying downward pressure to pop the cap off.
    • Use a ring.
    • Use an old CD.



Tips

  • Instead of prying all the way around the bottle cap, optimize your technique by drying off your hands and wiping away the condensation on the beer bottle.
  • Use the big knuckle on your index finger as your fulcrum. This can more lead to a champagne-style "pop" with the cap flying more than ten feet in the air (from the bottle). It's a great party trick.
  • Use the second bone from the tip of your index finger, as the muscle there is pretty tough.

Warnings

  • Don't choke up on the lighter and don't push the lighter towards the beer. If you do and the lighter doesn't pop off the cap in the first try, you can cut your knuckle on the bottle cap.
  • Once you learn this trick, you will be able to open a beer bottle with anything. Do not use a metal object to open a beer this way, as it can chip the top of the bottle, causing the drinker to cut their lips on the broken glass.

Things You'll Need

  • A bottle of beer
  • A soft plastic lighter

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Open_a_Beer_Bottle_With_a_Lighter
  2. ↑ http://www.askmen.com/fine_living/how_to_400/447_how-to-open-bottles-without-bottle-openers.html
  3. ↑ http://lifehacker.com/5296623/open-beer-bottles-with-bic-lighters
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