What's the deal with beer soap?

[rubyslippers]

I've read so much on this forum about beer soap but can't recall reading anthing about exactly what properties it imparts to the soap. Does it produce positive qualities or is it just "manly" sounding? :? And, does the scent come through?

 

[NancyRogers]

I really like it. It makes great lather, has a nice feel in the shower and leaves my skin feeling really nice after the shower. I'm not sure about the chemistry of why it's good, I just know that I like it. Hubby loves beer soap and goes through my stash of it almost faster than I can make it.

As far as smell goes, I find that it smells awful at first. When you add the lye to the beer, it's pretty gross. But it completely fades after the cure. I don't notice any beer smell left in the cured bars. I've never made an unscented beer soap, so I don't know if it would smell any different there. Some say there is a slight nuttiness to the smell after a cure. I'm sure it might depend on the kind of beer you use too. I've been using mostly cheap beer. A couple of times I used coors light and lately it's been all miller high life. As an experiment, I might use a good strong stout to see if there is any change.

 

[adoptapitbull]

I think it's also the novelty of a soap made from beer. Sometimes it doesn't matter how the product works, just how it looks. It helps that beer soap actually delivers a nice bar, but I think most of the appeal is in the name.

I did not scent mine at all, and also made it with beer and goat's milk. At first it smelled like leather, and now, 2-3 weeks later, hardly has any scent.

 

[MizzBee]

I've read so much on this forum about beer soap but can't recall reading anthing about exactly what properties it imparts to the soap. Does it produce positive qualities or is it just "manly" sounding? :? And, does the scent come through?

I've been wondering the same thing? Must say, I'm intrigued about it, like to hear more about it from others too

 

[SilverFox]

I took 8 bars of beer soap to the guys at my work last week. Anything made with beer is a hit with guys lol. I told them I just wanted honest feedback. So far it's been positive. Great lather.

I left mine unscented and there is no beer smell. Those bars had been cured about 3 months.

It's slightly novelty but lathers great. Although I've gotten great lather with other recipes minus the beer. Oh, and I hear it's great for hair. My husband can use my CP soaps on his hair (it's short) but I cannot use it. It's fine for a couple days but then gets like, greasy looking (but w/o the grease lol). I still haven't found a good recipe for my own hair.

 

[rubyslippers]

Thanks for the replies everyone; now that I know, I'll have to put that on my "to do" list.

 

[mmsigl]

I love my beer soap. I made it at first for the novelty but not anymore. The bubbles are amazing and I love the way my skin feels after using it. I used Guinness beer and I still have a slightly nutty/barley smell. My Dad loves it too and he doesn’t like the other soaps I have made (by far the pickiest tester I have).

 

[Laurie Gator]

Just remember - when you are making a "beer" soap you are only adding water with carbohydrates in it. The yeast will break down some of the more simple carbohydrates into alcohol and CO2 but the rest of the carbohydrates will just be in the solution.

Think sugar in water. The carbohydrates are a little more complex than sucrose but not much. It is a lot a like using a sugar & water solution rather than just a water solution

Most "commercial" beers are made with barley, corn, rice, yeast, hops and water. The craft beers will have more barley and (usually) no corn or rice fillers in the beer...

 

[Noellenc]

Someone posted about using goat milk with beer... does this work? I would think you would get some curdling? Maybe the chemical process causes the beer to break down before that happens? I'd be interested if anybody knows b/c I love me some goat milk in my soap!!

 

[Laurie Gator]

Someone posted about using goat milk with beer... does this work? I would think you would get some curdling? Maybe the chemical process causes the beer to break down before that happens? I'd be interested if anybody knows b/c I love me some goat milk in my soap!!

One way you could do this so you would not get curdling would be to mix the beer and the lye then add the goat's milk later (at light trace).

Two things that will cause milk to curdle is high heat (like adding room temp goat's milk to lye and the reaction heats up to a high temp) or an acidic environment. Beer usually has a pH around 4.5 so I don't think it is acidic enough to curdle the milk. Usually you want something with a pH around 2 like lemon juice or vinegar.

Freeze your beer/goat milk solution so it is slushy then add your lye and that should significantly decrease the chances of curdling of your goat's milk

 

[Jezzy]

I should have included a beer soap. :wink:

I make mine with with really dark beer and it tends to stick around.

I really like the beer soap too. I am going to try a lighter beer next time because someone commented that it smells like clay :roll:

 

[KD]

beer soap

I make three kinds of beer soap. One is with a dark ale that I fragrance with vanilla and cinnamon. Another is a pale ale which is fragranced with 5X sweet orange oil and ginger. The third is a very dark stout fragranced with pumpkin pie FO. All three are very popular with both men and women. After using it to wash my hair, I feel confident marketing it as a dual purpose bar for anyone. The lather in beer soap is quite profuse and rinses away clean, and I have one female customer who no longer uses commercial shampoo. On the marketing side, it is a great little lure for Father's Day shoppers and for stocking stuffers at Christmas.

 

[LucyPfeffa]

I had a soapmaker tell me beer soap is allegedly good for preventing leg cramps. Don't know how true that is; anybody have a war story about leg cramps vs beer soap?

 

[SoapAddict415]

No war stories about leg cramps vs beer soap but I'm willing to be a test subject lol. I hate leg cramps! I did have another soaper tell me that a bar of soap under your bedsheets helps with leg cramps. I tried it with a bar of African Black soap & it worked but we moved & that bar was lost. I have another bar with a different recipe & it doesn't seem to be helping.

 

[earlene]

I had a soapmaker tell me beer soap is allegedly good for preventing leg cramps. Don't know how true that is; anybody have a war story about leg cramps vs beer soap?

Well, I have never heard that, but my MIL swears by 'putting a bar of soap under the covers at the foot of the bed' when sleeping. She did it for years because of the alleged prevention of leg cramps that she had read about by doing this. It's an old wives tale that many apparently believe works.

 

[Arimara]

Hmmm... What if we didn't use the beer in soap and tested the theory "Will beer help prevent leg cramps". I'll volunteer for that.

 

[Nyathera]

Beer soap sounds like a good Christmas gift for my dad! I'm a Finn, so we have this thing called sauna and with it usually comes a beer, "saunakalja." So it would be fun to do a batch with his favourite beer