Tempest Wax Seal

[midlife crisis]

Stupid artsci question, perhaps, but how the hell do I open these wax sealed Tempest bottles? Took me ten minutes and just about lost a finger. Is there a trick? Beer inside is terrific but this is borderline not worth it to me.

[JeffPorter]

Stupid artsci question, perhaps, but how the hell do I open these wax sealed Tempest bottles? Took me ten minutes and just about lost a finger. Is there a trick? Beer inside is terrific but this is borderline not worth it to me.

A pairing knife that you don't care about works well.

I have one of these guys and I use the cork screw...

http://www.bigkitchen.com/product/world ... ne-Opening

I find the trick with thick wax is to make a "seam" where the bottle cap ends and then just use a good opener to pull it off wax and all...

[midlife crisis]

Thanks. That was my eventual method but I found it very cumbersome and even a bit dangerous. Melt the wax with a blow torch? The current wax is especially thick and rubbery.

[cratez]

Had this exact same problem the other night. After barely making a dent in the wax I held the bottle sideways, cut near the bottom of the bottle cap with a butcher knife, and once I was able to peel some of the wax off, opened it with a bottle opener. Probably not the easiest or safest way to do it but it got the job done. It's a total pain in the ass - and a first world problem if there ever was one - but you won't have to worry about this beer oxidizing if you choose to cellar a few.

[icemachine]

I slice downwards from just below the collar with a paring knife, I can then grab a flap and tear most of the wax below the cap away

[Belgian]

I like Ice's method, and would do that before chilling the bottle which just hardens the stuff.

I always use a capsule cutter blade. The Trudeau waiter's corkscrew has a well-machined serrated blade, you can just cut around under the cap and then the cap remover has a lot of purchase on the gummy edge of the cap. Hardly need to remove any wax.

A good lifetime investment and you will never struggle with corks again either.

[midlife crisis]

I tried with a capsule cutter but got nowhere. However, mine is not serrated. You're right, that is some kind of tough, plastic-y wax.

[saints_gambit]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I hate waxed bottles. Opening a bottle should require one tool at most. I don't care how good the brewer thinks the beer is. I don't care if it's a special edition. I don't care if it is a six year old bottle of Dark Lord. I don't care if Michael Jackson personally sealed this bottle with the intent of enjoying it during the last moments of the Mayan Apocalypse.

Waxed bottles contribute negatively to the experience of opening and drinking a beer and are mostly an excuse to charge more because "ooh. fancy." I know I'm supposed to come down on the side of the craft beer angels and advocate anything that gives the movement a bit of zazz in the eyes of the public and allows breweries to make a little more margin per bottle, but I freakin' hate waxed bottles.

[Craig]

I don't really feel strongly one way or the other against waxed bottles in general (though I do feel that Amsterdam lays it on a little thick, where the Mill Street I had last night it just popped right off the flip-top) but I have to say that I seriously doubt that they 'contribute negatively to the experience of opening and drinking a beer' for most people. The average buyer probably picked that bottle because the wax looked neat, and even if they struggled with it a bit they probably forgot about it shortly after opening the bottle. Heck, for the average consumer bottle conditioning is probably a much larger negative contribution to the enjoyment of a beer than a wax seal is.

Please don't confuse that with a criticism of bottle conditioning.

edit: Also, this shouldn't be taken as a criticism of people who post here not liking wax. I'm just pointing out how it probably works for the average consumer of these beers.

[midlife crisis]

I might agree with you generally (ie when there is wax but it is relatively light), but there is a shitload of wax on these Tempests. Believe me, it negatively affected my experience for sure.

[saints_gambit]

I might agree with you generally (ie when there is wax but it is relatively light), but there is a shitload of wax on these Tempests. Believe me, it negatively affected my experience for sure.

I think the one I nicked my thumb on was a Great Lakes 25th anniversary something. I realize that people upthread have developed a technique for dealing with the wax, but I don't think this is a transaction that should require you to develop a technique. I don't want opening a beer to involve a steak knife.

[Belgian]

I think a Trudeau Waiter's Corkscrew constitutes "one tool". Get one and be a master of all that ferments.

By the way I agree that the wax is dangerous and stupid, because people will get frustrated and try to hack away at it with all kinds of unsafe objects.

[trub_man]

They bought the wrong wax. Bet the bank they bought wax from Beer Wine Filter and not North Country Malt.

[midlife crisis]

With the benefit of experience, took me less than five minutes to get one open today. Still stupid, pointless and a bit dangerous. But also let me reiterate the beer inside is really, really good. I am loving it. Great job by Amsterdam.

[distr0]

is the wax different than last year? i drank a 2012 the other night and opened it just like any other bottle, using slightly more force to cut through the wax