Need to pop open a cold one without waking up the munchkins? Click here for tips on how to open your beer without making a sound.
You want to enjoy a refreshing can of beer, but you don’t want to wake up the ones around you… or you don’t have enough to share! How can you open up the can without making a sound?
By slowly pressing down on the can’s seal or lifting the pull-tab, you can keep the volume of the noise when opening it to a minimum. Other methods that help keep the noise down include chilling the can and opening it from the bottom.
In this article, we will go over the various tips and tricks you can use to open a can of beer. Quietly.
We will also go over things that can prevent you from opening a can of beer quietly, what other cans can be opened this way, and why opening cans of beer is not necessarily the quietest of events.
How Do I Open a Can of Beer Without Making a Sound?
There are several ways to prevent your beer can from making too much noise when opening it.
The biggest tip to remember is to open the can slowly. Apply pressure with your thumb on the smaller half of the tab that presses on the seal of the can. Slowly lift the tab so that the seal is opened a little bit at a time instead of all at once.
This way, air can escape gradually—instead of all at once.
Alternatively, you can jiggle the tab a bit before pressing down on the seal. This can prematurely break the seal so that it isn’t broken all at once.
If you put your can of beer in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, the lower temperature will reduce the pressure built up inside the can. When you open the can slowly using one of the methods previously outlined, there will be less noise as the seal breaks.
The last suggested method for opening a beer can quietly is by puncturing a hole in the bottom. This can make a mess and you will have to drink your beer from a glass if you’re not shotgunning it, but it will guarantee a quiet method for opening the can.
What Can Prevent You From Opening a Beer Can Quietly?
There are a few things that can prevent you from opening a beer can quietly.
When you open the can by quickly breaking the seal with the tab, the can emits a loud pop followed by a hissing sound.
Anything that increases the pressure inside the can before opening will prevent you from a quiet opening. If you shake the can or rub the top vigorously, the small amount of trapped air in the can will build up pressure. The natural inclination is to release this pressure. So—when you open the can—the escaping air will be very loud.
Try not to unnecessarily jostle or toss the can around or place it in a warm area such as in direct sunlight or near a hot stove as both of these can increase the pressure in your beer can and prevent you from opening it quietly.
What Other Cans Can Be Opened Quietly?
You can use the same quiet opening method for other beverage cans including sodas, seltzers, and spiked sodas.
All of these kinds of drinks follow the same basic physics principles as a can of beer. Any carbonated drink that is stored in a can will have pressure built up inside due to the excess carbon.
If you want to open a can of Coca Cola, ginger ale, or Mike’s Hard Lemonade, apply the same slow opening as you would for a can of beer. Put pressure on the seal and slowly open it to release the air pressure gradually so there is no loud pop and hiss.
Try it out on different kinds of beverages. Drinks with more carbonation will have more pressure built up so they have a better chance of making more noise. Research the amount of carbon in your drink before opening so that you know how careful you should be when opening the can.
Why Do Beer Cans Open So Loudly?
You may have wondered why opening a can of beer, or any carbonated drink, is not a quiet process.
Since cans of beer are vacuum sealed, no air is exchanged between the inside and outside of the can. The trapped molecules of carbon create pressure inside the can that is higher than the environment outside of the can.
When you open a can of beer, the release of pressure can be heard in the hiss as air escapes into the can to normalize the inside pressure. The seal also pops when it breaks because it is under pressure. The seal is the only thing separating the pressures inside and outside of the can so it can take a certain amount of force to open.
Thus, the release of such as tight seal is accompanied by a loud noise if it is broken suddenly. If it is allowed to be slowly released, the sound can be dampened.
Summary
Opening a can of beer is not a quiet affair, but there are ways to make the process less noisy. Stick the can in the freezer for a few minutes before trying to open it. When you do open it, jiggle the tab or apply pressure on the seal with your thumb and slowly pull the tab to open the can.
Don’t shake the can before opening it because the more the pressure builds in the can, the louder it will be to open it. You can use the same quiet can opening methods to open other carbonated canned beverages such as soda and seltzer.
The reason beer cans are noisy to open is because of the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the can. If you relieve the pressure, the sound will be quieter.
