Beer out of a can? Blecch! I hope you’re talking about soda pop.
If a woman is by herself in a bar, peeling off the label give her something to look at instead of just staring into space. My guess it is a sign of shyness or discomfort.
Or - she is so trained to look for prizes on soda bottles, that she is looking for the coupon.
Free iTunes!
Another fidgety female label-peeler here.
Me, too! Also, I like Lipton iced tea in those bottles with the clear plastic labels, and I constantly pull them off. And, if I’m drinking beer from a bottle that doesn’t have a label, I sometimes find myself trying to “peel” it anyway.
Yes, I have a problem. 
For me it’s sitting in a chair that doesn’t swivel. I can happily participate in the world’s longest meeting as long as my chair swivels … if I’m stuck in a stationary chair, 10 minutes feels like an eternity.
Doesn’t mean much unless she peels it off with her tongue, in which case she might become pretty popular.
I always peel the labels. Doesn’t matter if I’m bored out of my mind and uncomfortable with the company or if I’m having the best time of my life with a person I’m fascinated with, I still do it. I just like to have something to do with my hands. It’s similar to the reason that I read while watching a television show or movie that I’m very interested it - I just need to have something else to do or I get distracted.
I also peel the labels on things at home, such as jars of jam or vegemite. My family got awfully angry at me once for peeling a label off the salt shaker because it left a residue that made it stick to everyone’s hands ever after. Normally I don’t completely remove labels from unfinished products like jam but there was something written on the salt shaker itself and I peeled off the label so I could read it (it was an identical label printed directly on the shaker, the only difference was that it said “Made in Australia” while the sticky label said “Packaged in Australia from imported products”).
Beer snob. 
I don’t peel the labels off beer bottles because I drink too fast and I don’t usually have the bottle for very long. I also smoke, so that takes up one hand while I hold the can or bottle in the other. And I rarely sit if I’m out, so there you have it.
I peel lables off because I drink too fast. Somebody always wants to get me another beer and I need to wait so playing with the labels makes it look like I’m still drinking it…
I also shred bar coasters. The multi layered thick paper ones. Drives Ardred batty.
On preview, FilmGeek beat me to the coaster thing, which I do, and I’ve been known to shred paper napkins as well.
Same here. I don’t like the beer too much, but New Belgium (Fat Tire) bottles are really easy to peel off in one piece.
Yeah, I’m that person who is trying to get you to get another.
I shred labels as a fidget too. I used to spin the ashtrays, back when ashtrays existed in California bars.
You know you are really drunk when you try to peel the label off a bottle of Corona.
BTW…guy here and I peel the labels off, especially when the bottle is wet and it is falling off anyway. They do look at me oddly, however, when I pull out my can of WD40 and spray the bottle to get the labels off easier.
I peel the labels off because I’m offended as hell that the gov’t puts safety warning labels on beer.
Duuh, I know it’s not the ideal beverage for enhancing brainpower & coordination. But I’m an adult, and at least up until a few years ago this was a free country, so leave me the hell alone, ya lilly-livered busybodies.
So I peel the gov’t warning off and try to leave the rest intact. It’s a small rebellion, but it’s mine.
If it tears neatly, I’ll leave the rest of the label on the bottle. But if I make a mess, or the gov’t warning is right in the middle, then I have to finish the job.
Maybe it’s psychological, but it seems that beer out of cans tastes slightly metallic. Strangely I’ve never noticed this in beer on draught, which is essentially a big can. Probably it’s just the metal against my lips. When I do drink beer that is canned (and there are some good beers in cans) I always put it into a glass first. Ok, I typically do that with bottled beer as well. :: sigh :: You’re right.
I peel labels. I just like to do it. I also like to examine the paper stock, and gauge the strength of the adhesive.
(packaging geek mode coming on…)
Most beer labels are adhered to bottles using casien glue, which is derived from milk. Got Glue?
Casien is cold and water resistant (not entirely water-proof), yet soluble in alkaline solutions, and has good ‘wet tack’, which makes it ideal for beer bottles. I have no idea what paper is used for beer labels (which is why I peel them to see if I recognize it, which I never do), but I can tell you that the label edge lifted off a bit from a container is called flagging. The fibers in the paper make the labels stiff. Wines & spirits get around that by embossing the labels, breaking down the fibers. Not many beer labels are embossed, as far as I know, and if they are, it’s not a deep emboss.
Some breweries are turning to metallized paper stock to avoid the flagging label dilemma.
Umm, OK, probably not what you were looking for. :smack:
Mostly, it’s just something to do. Because it’s there I guess.
I am just now checking this thread out again, and danged if I can remember the song, but next time I hear it I will post the title.
I will say though, there is for sure many reasons for label peeling. Cool.
Thanks for the responses. Only on the Dope can you ask a quesdtion like that and get real answers.
Next lady I meet at the bar I might say “Well, you wanna peel MY label sweetheart?!”
Just kidding, but then again, it might work at some of the bars I hang at.
We’re looking for the secret code that leads to the cache of Canadian Club Whiskey.
Are you one of them girls?
That peels off the Bud-Light label
Just might run a pool table
Roll your eyes if I call you an angel
[moderator note - copyrighted material removed]
Welcome to the SDMB, @MooSam.
Please do not post the entire lyrics of songs as that is a copyright violation. Thanks.
For those interested in the entire lyrics, search for “One Of Them Girls” by Lee Brice.