Alkeehole!

[amd]

What is the advantage to beer?

The sugars in beer contribute to a better lather. Otherwise it's just label appeal.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

A quick guess is that it is FO discoloration. It will spread through the bar (so you won't see the ring) as time goes on. I've seen that with strong vanillan discoloration. I could be wrong though (it seems to be the trend lately), so I would like to see a report back in a few days! I don't think that's the same type of ring that Marilyn is dealing with though.

it looks the same as far as the size and shape but mine is lighter than the rest of the bar--I have not seen it growing though AND I didn't gel a bar and it didn't get the ring so I am thinking its a gel issue of some kind but there is no reason it shouldn't have gelled totally

 

[Jeboz]

What is the advantage to beer?
I can't suss out what it brings to soap.

The lather test posted recently on the forum (somewhere??) - mentioned it brings bubbles/lather more so than sugar

 

[Steven]

Cut!
Have a look at the close-up - there's a 2mm line all around the edge of the soap - that seems weird. What is it? I like it though - smells good, not too floral, kinda woodsy. Now to wait and see if the FO turns purple over time. I washed my hands with a little offcut and boy, it's got a lovely creamy lather already! I think I'm going to be liking this soap very much.
View attachment 37456 View attachment 37457

Kiwi, the one beer batch I did had a similar uniform line (but a little thicker) around the perimeter when I cut it. So many other things went awry with the batch (air bubbles, cracking, etc.) that I didn't bother troubleshooting. I can say - I didn't have any FO or EO, just beer and the regular recipe. The beer was cooked down for about 25 minutes and frozen before adding NaOH. Then added the beerlye to the oils and poured into the mold.

Did you put yours in the fridge or freezer? I put mine in about 30 minutes after pour into the mold as I had one more batch to make and pour that day. Wondering if it is a gel issue contributing to it and the freezer/fridge (will have to check my notes, can't remember), created that uniform line. Perhaps my line was thicker because it took me a bit longer to get it into a fridge/freezer.

S

 

[Rogue-Soaper]

I have some hard cider a friend left at the house. I was going to toss it, but I think, after reading these posts, I will make soap out of it this week. I have never made beer or other alcohol soap either, so I have some research to do. I will let you know how it turns out.
KiwiMoose we want pictures.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I have some hard cider a friend left at the house. I was going to toss it, but I think, after reading these posts, I will make soap out of it this week. I have never made beer or other alcohol soap either, so I have some research to do. I will let you know how it turns out.
KiwiMoose we want pictures.

They're back there^^^

 

[KiwiMoose]

Kiwi, the one beer batch I did had a similar uniform line (but a little thicker) around the perimeter when I cut it. So many other things went awry with the batch (air bubbles, cracking, etc.) that I didn't bother troubleshooting. I can say - I didn't have any FO or EO, just beer and the regular recipe. The beer was cooked down for about 25 minutes and frozen before adding NaOH. Then added the beerlye to the oils and poured into the mold.

Did you put yours in the fridge or freezer? I put mine in about 30 minutes after pour into the mold as I had one more batch to make and pour that day. Wondering if it is a gel issue contributing to it and the freezer/fridge (will have to check my notes, can't remember), created that uniform line. Perhaps my line was thicker because it took me a bit longer to get it into a fridge/freezer.

S

Hi Steven - I let mine do what it was going to do but kept an eye on it so it didn't overheat. I popped the entire mold inside an empty shoe box with lid and let it sit overnight ( it's summer here so not cold). It did gel.
ETA: It came out the mold like a dream! Very slick sides - smooth, and none of that funny 'furry' edging it can get from silicone sometimes.
The FO is known to discolour so this is still a work in progress - let's see what happens. The soap itself is lovely to use and can only imagine it will get better when cured, if the colour doesn't put people off. Fingers crossed.

 

[hungryhawaiian]

I used a couple bottles of Guinness Extra Stout. Poured it into a jug and shook the crap out of it every time I walked past it. After 3 days it still seemed to foam up but I decided to proceed with it. I froze it then measured use in place of water. I did a large batch so I ended up adding a couple extra ounces of water but not much. When I mixed the lye in, it gave off a funky odor, similar to a soup made of shiitake mushrooms or something of the like, but it didn’t foam up much at all. See:

One thing I’m still confused about is the removal of the alcohol. As I also brew my own beer, it’s confusing when I hear different methods of preparing the beer for soaping. Flat beer does not mean alcohol isn’t present. Flat beer means the Co2 is no longer present. Co2 is the byproduct of the fermentation process. Boiling beer will remove the alcohol content. Now, what’s the difference in using beer with alcohol present or not? I have no clue but I will surely find out.

As @Dawni mentioned, I made a beer soap on the day of this threads creation (though I only saw this post today). It’s my first and I decided to not scent it, as I wanted to see how much of the beer scent survived saponification. So far, the mushroom soup smell survived. I’m still happy with it but I’ll have to wait a bit too see how well it is to use. I’ll test it in a few weeks.

 

[amd]

Now, what’s the difference in using beer with alcohol present or not? I have no clue but I will surely find out.

Removing as much of the alcohol as possible is a safety precaution (at least, why I do it). My second batch of beer soap I didn't boil it, just left it to get flat, and as soon as I added the lye it volcano'd out of the pitcher. I assume it's a reaction between the heat generated from dissolving lye and the alcohol (much like boiling beer will foam up and out of the pot if you're not watching it).

 

[Rogue-Soaper]

They're back there^^^

Thank you, I just got greedy before I finished reading all of the posts. Sorry, Yes io am just a bit impatient.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I used a couple bottles of Guinness Extra Stout. Poured it into a jug and shook the crap out of it every time I walked past it. After 3 days it still seemed to foam up but I decided to proceed with it. I froze it then measured use in place of water. I did a large batch so I ended up adding a couple extra ounces of water but not much. When I mixed the lye in, it gave off a funky odor, similar to a soup made of shiitake mushrooms or something of the like, but it didn’t foam up much at all. See: View attachment 37470

One thing I’m still confused about is the removal of the alcohol. As I also brew my own beer, it’s confusing when I hear different methods of preparing the beer for soaping. Flat beer does not mean alcohol isn’t present. Flat beer means the Co2 is no longer present. Co2 is the byproduct of the fermentation process. Boiling beer will remove the alcohol content. Now, what’s the difference in using beer with alcohol present or not? I have no clue but I will surely find out.

As @Dawni mentioned, I made a beer soap on the day of this threads creation (though I only saw this post today). It’s my first and I decided to not scent it, as I wanted to see how much of the beer scent survived saponification. So far, the mushroom soup smell survived. I’m still happy with it but I’ll have to wait a bit too see how well it is to use. I’ll test it in a few weeks.

View attachment 37469

can I ask what you used to color it with--very pretty soft looking colors

 

[hungryhawaiian]

can I ask what you used to color it with--very pretty soft looking colors

The beer & lye mixture was really dark and I thought that would carry over, but sadly it didn’t. The bottom half is just it’s natural colors. The top is mixed with a little bit of titanium dioxide. I still need to work on my color mixing, as some tiny bits of TD are still present.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

The beer & lye mixture was really dark and I thought that would carry over, but sadly it didn’t. The bottom half is just it’s natural colors. The top is mixed with a little bit of titanium dioxide. I still need to work on my color mixing, as some tiny bits of TD are still present.

it sounds like TD is harder to get mixed up--I saw a video where the lady put it in a baggie with the oil and mixed it that way--she had a paper towel in her hand to slide easier on the baggie and it said it was easier to get the lumps out and that you could see it better

 

[Dawni]

HP beer soap

Some apple flavored beer with 3% alcohol I stole from my cousin's kitchen lol

Bonus pics of it in action in the photo gallery hehe

Does anyone else use the gallery to keep track of batches? Haha

Edit: added link

 

[user 29721]

I freeze flat beer and then mix it with cold water and dissolve lye in that mix. As the water heats up the ice melts - helps with the overall temp management. Other thing to note - do not insulate and do not cover the beer soap - it tends to overheat.

 

[KiwiMoose]

HP beer soap

Some apple flavored beer with 3% alcohol I stole from my cousin's kitchen lol
View attachment 37482
Bonus pics of it in action in the photo gallery hehe

Does anyone else use the gallery to keep track of batches? Haha

Edit: added link

Woot! Looks good!

 

[SunRiseArts]

I too do not burn it down. I boil mine and then let it cool and freeze it.

I also subtract it from the water, and put it at the end after reaching trace, instead of bothering with the lye scorching.

 

[hungryhawaiian]

I too do not burn it down. I boil mine and then let it cool and freeze it.

I also subtract it from the water, and put it at the end after reaching trace, instead of bothering with the lye scorching.

I‘m curious on how that works. You put frozen beer into the mixture, after reaching trace? I really wanna do a beer soap that keeps a good portion of the beer fragrance as possible, without adding extra fragrances. It’d be nice to not scorch the beer with lye as well. I’m gonna try a light beer next.

 

[user 29721]

Put frozen beer cubes in distilled water (my recipe calls for equal parts of both) and slowly start dissolving lye in it. Lye and water produce an exothermic reaction with heat release and that will melt the frozen beer. Normally when I am done dissolving lye the temp of the lye mix is around 100 F, which is great to start working with it almost immediately. Use that lye solution as you normally would to make the soap.
p.s. The same method works great to make milk soap as well. Frozen milk and some ice help with temp management and prevent milk fats from burning.

 

[hungryhawaiian]

Put frozen beer cubes in distilled water (my recipe calls for equal parts of both) and slowly start dissolving lye in it. Lye and water produce an exothermic reaction with heat release and that will melt the frozen beer. Normally when I am done dissolving lye the temp of the lye mix is around 100 F, which is great to start working with it almost immediately. Use that lye solution as you normally would to make the soap.
p.s. The same method works great to make milk soap as well. Frozen milk and some ice help with temp management and prevent milk fats from burning.

Ok, that makes more sense now. The wording above was a little confusing. Thanks for the info! Milk soaps is gonna be my next project to tackle.