Physics of Beer Tapping -- Lower vs. Upper Bottle

2020/02/07 by Johann Ostmeyer, Ostmeyer, Johann
Engineering · Materials Science · #FOS: Physical sciences #Fluid Dynamics (physics.flu-dyn) #Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer #Fluid Dynamics and Mixing #Pickering emulsions and particle stabilization #Popular Physics (physics.pop-ph)

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2002.02896

openalex publication_date 2020/02/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

"Beer tapping" is a well known prank where a bottle of carbonised liquid strikes another bottle of carbonised liquid from above, with the usual result that the lower bottle foams over whereas the upper one does not. Though the physics leading to the foaming process in the lower bottle has been investigated and well documented, no explanation to date has been provided why the upper bottle produces little to no foam. In this article we describe the reasons for the entirely different behaviours of the two bottles.

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