I respectfully request all breweries to put a pull tab on your beers of you are going to dip them in wax. Without this it takes entirely too much effort and frustration to open the beer without this. I know a bit whiney there, but I ask the BA family. What do you think? Should breweries stop using wax without the pull tab?
I voted for no wax. Too annoying to have anything placed over the cap besides paper. Foil and wax just seem like they both have little pieces that try to break off and fall into your drink.
DING, DING, DING!!! We have a winner!!! Either put a pull tab on your wax seal or don't wax it at all! Can't count the number of broken fingernails, bent butter knives, self-inflicted cuts (but luckily no stitches) etc. in trying to get the sometimes incredibly thick wax seal off the bottlecap without breaking the neck of the glass bottle. Not even multiple attempts with a wine foil cutter made a dent in some of my past, very expen$ive bottles and then there's always the ever-present, "oh damn", there went some wax chunks into the bottle/glass. (.....& thanks wang-dangas BKS for putting pull tabs on your wax seals a couple of years ago!...) Wax on?? NO!! Wax off!!
From what i have seen 95% of drinkers that purchase waxed bottles could use some physical activity. If that is too much effort to drink a usually high abv beer then you have a problem. I think of it as a game . Who's gonna win? This dumbass bottle or me? I usually win
I’ll be the contrarian here. What’s the big deal? Cut out a small notch of wax under the edge of the bottle cap and open your beer. Now wax plus a cork is a mind fuck.
It ain't about the effort, it's about not putting on wax so thick that it takes an arsenal of tools just to make enough of a dent in one side of the wax that you can finally get any kind of bottle opener to have enough of a grip to even release the carbonation, let alone get the cap off and pour the brew. I get enough daily activity with multiple 12oz. curls.
Extra large cigar cutter. Also, put the bottle in the freezer for a bit. It makes the wax brittle and easier to deal with. I use the serrated blade on my Leatherman Wave, and a very sturdy bottle opener. Do a deep score just under the cap, then pry the cap off. The top wax comes with.
I wouldn't mind if they used candle wax, but the plasticized concrete they use now can be dangerous to remove, particularly if you're on blood-thinners. I've worked out how to remove it with a butcher knife and a specific opener that I can push through the plastic once I score it right under the lip of the cap with the butcher knife. Still risking cutting myself, and can get some of the plastic in the beer as I pry off the cap.
...this...notch the wax...knife or can opener blade, makes no difference...just create a space for the bottle opener to hook onto the cap and you're golden...