The Bar Towel

Yes, very much. More like a rubber.

Man, the wax this year isn't just thick, it's very hard and very sticky. The knife on my waiter's corkscrew could hardly get through it and even once it did, there was no peeling it off. You would have to make several cuts to even start getting at that thing.

Instead, I tried a lighter. It worked like a charm. Just hold the bottle sideways and hold one side above the flame until the wax starts to drip (do this over an old newspaper or something) which should get it thin/soft enough that any old bottle opener can pop the top.

Excellent beer inside! It seemed like it had a bit more roast malt character than last year.

That is funny! On my most recent one I thought briefly of trying the BBQ lighter but then forgot and hacked away with a large knife under the cap (the cutting downward to make a flap method was utterly unsuccessful, as the wax is way too sticky as you say). I'm melting my next one!

My experience with heavy sealing wax on bottles (and I haven't tried this year's Tempest, but I'd be surprised if it didn't work), is removing the wax is totally unnecessary. Using a box cutter/razor-knife/pairing knife you hate, nick a 1/2" gouge just below the cap, cutting up towards it. Indeed, you should hit the cap, then just turn the blade to peel it open a bit. Now you have an edge for your bottle opener to grab. Just open like any other cap. A small opener might struggle, but anything from 4" or longer shouldn't have a problem.

I'll try with the next bottle of tempest I get and report. I might even make a video if it still works.

To Jordan's point about waxing (hehe, I only do my back....) I understand where you're coming from. But I really believe in drinking with your eyes, as well as every other sense. Sealing wax (not melted crayons) adds a beautiful visual, as well as a great touch/feeling. Yes, they can be annoying to open, but for a lot of people, that's probably actually part of the appeal. It's sexy to get out some blades and try to open it. It's part of the experience. I totally get why you hate it, but I think you will find that what causes you the most grief, probably is part of the appeal for many folks.

I'll look forward to your report. I hope that is a sturdy knife.

chris_schryer wrote:My experience with heavy sealing wax on bottles (and I haven't tried this year's Tempest, but I'd be surprised if it didn't work), is removing the wax is totally unnecessary. Using a box cutter/razor-knife/pairing knife you hate, nick a 1/2" gouge just below the cap, cutting up towards it. Indeed, you should hit the cap, then just turn the blade to peel it open a bit. Now you have an edge for your bottle opener to grab. Just open like any other cap. A small opener might struggle, but anything from 4" or longer shouldn't have a problem.

I'll try with the next bottle of tempest I get and report. I might even make a video if it still works.

To Jordan's point about waxing (hehe, I only do my back....) I understand where you're coming from. But I really believe in drinking with your eyes, as well as every other sense. Sealing wax (not melted crayons) adds a beautiful visual, as well as a great touch/feeling. Yes, they can be annoying to open, but for a lot of people, that's probably actually part of the appeal. It's sexy to get out some blades and try to open it. It's part of the experience. I totally get why you hate it, but I think you will find that what causes you the most grief, probably is part of the appeal for many folks.

This was my experience with every wax I have ever encountered before Tempest. Good luck.

midlife crisis wrote:I'll look forward to your report. I hope that is a sturdy knife.

I second this. If you do it on video, why not on the Friday Beer Break

Haha, well, the beer break gets filmed a minimum of 7 days in advance, and generally it's 10. Plus we have our beer for this week's recording, so the soonest you would see it, would be two weeks this Friday I know, it's so disenchanting. That being said, I might get time to pop by the brewery today, and grab a few bottles, in which case I'll try to make the recording tonight or tomorrow, and have it up by Friday.

chris_schryer wrote:Haha, well, the beer break gets filmed a minimum of 7 days in advance, and generally it's 10. Plus we have our beer for this week's recording, so the soonest you would see it, would be two weeks this Friday I know, it's so disenchanting. That being said, I might get time to pop by the brewery today, and grab a few bottles, in which case I'll try to make the recording tonight or tomorrow, and have it up by Friday.

You know if you do it on camera, it's going to be Aykroyd's Julia Child, right?

Report: That was marginally more difficult than opening an un-waxed bottle. Here's the rough video that I will use in the "how-to" edited video:


You'll notice my opener slipped once. But I think that had more to do with me trying to do the whole thing while watching the back of my phone while it was clamped to a tripod.

All in all, pretty easy. And yes the bottle was fresh from the fridge, and hopefully you can see that I picked the thickest wax out of the four bottles I got (quite thick) and didn't pre-cut it anywhere.

edit: You'll need to be logged in to facebook when you click that link. I made the video public, but let me know if you have problems viewing it.

Another hobby of mine is taking care of nice kitchen knives. That video made me cringe, but you did make it look pretty easy.

If it's any consolation, I own a couple of fairly nice German knives, but that was not one of them. I'm a trained chef (though I never did my seal), so I take pretty good care of my knives. But everybody needs a few knives that get beat up, just like you need a standard screwdriver for prying junk open.

And yes, opening it was very very easy. I have three more bottles and will give honest reports if any prove to be anything more than mildly more difficult than a plain bottle. After that one, I'm not expecting much challenge......

I'll watch the video, but I'm afraid I disagree with any characterization of them being "very" easy to open, let alone "very very" easy. I still say it is silly and unnecessarily difficult. But perhaps I am missing something. Either way, I'm going with a small blowtorch next time!

chris_schryer wrote:If it's any consolation, I own a couple of fairly nice German knives, but that was not one of them. I'm a trained chef (though I never did my seal), so I take pretty good care of my knives. But everybody needs a few knives that get beat up, just like you need a standard screwdriver for prying junk open.

And yes, opening it was very very easy. I have three more bottles and will give honest reports if any prove to be anything more than mildly more difficult than a plain bottle. After that one, I'm not expecting much challenge......

My beater knives are German and I would never slam them into a bottle cap like that. Maybe the cheapo pressed steak knives my wife likes to use as pairing knives (for some ungodly reason I will never understand) but when I tried it the wax was too resistant for them, they started to bend.

It's probably worth mentioning that even my beater knives are probably sharper than most people (though doubtlessly not yours, squeaky) regular knives. And actually, I would usually use a fold-out razor knife I use for cutting drywall, stripping wire, etc. I just didn't in the video.