Making CP Soap with Beer?

[Corinne]

Hi! So if you've already answered my other question, thanks again... I'm already learning a ton of helpful things from you all so when a friend (who owns a brewery) asked if I was interested in crafting some soap with her family's handcrafted beers I thought I'd ask here for some advice.

I think the idea is awesome, and she offered to sell the soaps in her shop after we work out some kind of agreement.

BUT, I've never made soap with beer before, and I don't want to just throw something together. Are there any tips you have for how/when to add the beer, and anything I should adjust oil/lye-wise? Is the amount of beer based on preference or is there something I should do to calculate it?

Thanks again in advance!

 

[AustinStraight]

I've made it and it's super simple. You just take some beer and simmer it for 10 minutes or so to get all the alcohol and bubbles out so the alcohol doesn't seize your soap, and the bubbles don't make the lye solution explode or anything. Then, you look at whatever soap recipe you wanna use, and weigh out how beer in place of the water. So, if your recipe calls for 12 ounces of water, weigh 12 ounces of beer. Then, pour the beer into ice cube trays and all you have to do it pop the frozen beer out of the trays into a pitcher, and then sprinkle the lye on top slowly. For me, it smelled gross at first but the finished soaps smell great. If you don't use frozen beer, you could end up with burnt beer or overheated soap (or both).

 

[Corinne]

That is awesome! Thank you so much! I feel like a lightbulb just went on in my head haha!

 

[newbie]

I boil the beer down to a syrup and then add it into the oils, accounting for it in the liquids. Then I don't worry about burning it. Depending on how much you add, it can make your soap brown in color. Also, I found when I was boiling it down (I used a slow boil, not a brisk one) that it took a LONG time to get rid of the carbonation. I would stick blend it to whip out the carbonation and a few beers held theirs extremely well. By the time it's down to syrup, all alcohol and carb is gone.

 

[Corinne]

Thanks! That's good to know as well! I will probably give both methods a shot and see what works better for me...

 

[OliveOil2]

I use a method similar to Newbie, I don't boil down as much, but cook the alcohol and carbonation out. I notice much less of a smell when using this method (I've made it with both methods). You can use water or aloe vera juice for the portion that is mixed with the lye.

 

[pamielynn]

I boil mine out, then cool it and let it sit for a day (covered) so it gets really flat. Be aware that you can still get a lye volcano, so go slow when adding the lye to the beer - sometimes adding a bit of distilled water to the beer can help prevent the volcano.

I LOVE beer in soap.

 

[Obsidian]

I also boil my beer down to a concentrated syrup and add at trace.

 

[Spice]

newbie here too, wouldnt just opening the can of beer over night make it flat? I would even shake it just to make sure its flat. I have heard and seen soap seize because of the sugars in beer. I would do rt lye and have the oils as cool too, this can help in trace/seizing. CP is more diffcult then HP because of seizing. With CP you must work fast with swirls and such, and get your batch into your mold, so be quick. HP, there is a little more time, because its going directing on to the stove and any colorants are done after cooking. I havent done beer but I've done wine, both CP and HP, just thinking of the learning curve makes me sweat. Let us know and up some pic when you've some.

 

[seven]

wouldnt just opening the can of beer over night make it flat?

the first time i used beer i only open the bottle cap and let it sit in the fridge for days. i didn't even bother to boil it. it went fine, no volcano, no nothing. i never froze my beer.

 

[Obsidian]

Its not the sugars that cause seizing, its the alcohol and carbonation. I tried setting a opened bottle on the table to see how long it took to go flat, at one week it was still slightly carbonated.
Alcohol can also cause a lye volcano, I experienced that once with wine that I didn't simmer long enough. It was scary and could have been very dangerous.

 

[IrishLass]

Another one who does the boiled/syrup method, too.


IrishLass

 

[Shalisk]

Things of note from my experiance:

They take a little longer to dry/lose the oily feeling.
Little longer to trace (For me)
And gotta blend them real good.

Other than that they lather good

 

[Corinne]

Thank you so much for all of the advice! As soon as I give it a shot I'll post a pic here so you can see if I failed or not!

 

[LunaSkye]

This thread reminded me of the beer soap I made a few weeks back (my first one as well). I made my last soap with Guinness Stout and that left me addicted to the scent (ironically, I rarely drink beer). I am currently debating on making another one, using a different one form SixPoint. I am really curious as to what the differences will be, but I want to share some the experience with of my friends (just for fun). I hope you enjoy your experiment! :smile:

 

[Annavlz]

Hi. How do you calculate water amount in the recipe when you add beer syrup at tracing? Thanks

 

[seven]

Hi. How do you calculate water amount in the recipe when you add beer syrup at tracing? Thanks

you weigh the syrup and deduct it from the water amount given by the calc. the result is your water amount needed to mix with lye.

 

[Bex1982]

I boil my beer and then freeze it. I'm not sure if freezing helps but that's how i've always done it. I usually let it thaw just a bit and then start adding the lye.