NOW EXPERIENCING:No bottle opener? Here are 7 ways to open a beer without one
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No bottle opener? Here are 7 ways to open a beer without one

Read time 2 Mins

Posted 06 Mar 2024

By
Hilary Simmons

Because no one wants to crack open a cold one with their teeth.

A few years ago, Hailey Bieber showcased her trick for opening beer bottles with her teeth on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Dentists everywhere cringed, but somewhere Justin Bieber saw it and decided she was The One. Frankly, there are few things worse than using your teeth to open things and we highly recommend trying any of these other seven fixes below instead. 
1. Find a table edgeProvided it’s sturdy enough, any table with a defined edge can open your beer. Position your bottle cap against the edge of a table and give it a good whack from the top. But don’t use too much force – you’re not trying to saber it!
2. Use a door frameIf you have a door, you have a wall-mounted bottle opener. The strike plate, AKA that metal bit with a hole that the latch slides into, is just as good at opening bottles as it is at keeping the breeze out. Simply angle your bottle so the cap catches within the space, and slowly pull until it releases. 
3. Try the ring on your fingerA bit controversial, but a thick, durable wedding ring can become a bottle opener in a pinch. Put your ring hand over the bottle cap and find the sweet spot where the edge of your ring is wedged under the ridge of the cap. Pull up and hey presto – the bottle cap will slide off. Just make sure your wedding ring is a durable material that can’t be wrecked by beer cap steel before trying this.
4. Screw it offGot a toolkit handy in the garage? A flat-head screwdriver is all you need to pop that bottle cap. Jam the top of it between the edge of the cap and the lip of the bottle, and then push upwards. The pressure will free your brew. Alternatively, try the claws of a hammer or the teeth of a key (if it’s not yielding, twist the bottle back and forth to loosen the seal).
5. Grab an eyelash curlerYes, you can use a metal eyelash curler in place of a traditional bottle opener. While you might break your eyelash curler in the process, you’ll get your beer open with a bit of careful jiggling.
6. Lighten upAlmost any cigarette lighter can be used to jimmy open a beer bottle. Hold the lighter upside down and at a slight angle under the bottle cap. Using your other hand, push the lighter down until it releases the cap on the other side. YouTube (or that in-the-know mate) can help you here if you’re unsure.
7. Buckle upYou can leave your hat on, but take off your belt for this one. Place the belt buckle under the cap so it acts like a lever. Then you can prise off the cap, just like you would with a typical bottle opener. Just don’t forget to put your belt back on before your pants fall down!
Got a wine bottle you can’t open? Learn how to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew.
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image credits: Charlie Hawks (photography), Bridget Wald (styling).
Authour image
Hilary Simmons Hilary Simmons is a Melbourne-based writer, copywriter and editor whose work has appeared in Time Out, Urban List and Buzzfeed.
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