Making homemade beer soap is a fun and rewarding afternoon project.
Beer has terrific benefits for the skin, including exfoliating dead cells, brightening pale skin, minimizing oil production, and even fighting acne.
You don’t need special equipment or hard-to-find ingredients – just a stash of extra grain and a few simple steps.
Here’s the quick answer on how to make beer soap like the pros.
Start by substituting beer for water in your soap recipe.
You’ll need to move quickly to avoid saponification.
Once you’ve mixed the ingredients, pour the mixture into a mold and let it sit for 24 hours.
After that, remove the soap from the mold and let it cure for four to six weeks.
Now you can enjoy the benefits of beer soap!
Lather up and enjoy the soft, healthy skin that beer can provide.
Give it a try and see for yourself!
Now, let’s get into it in more detail.
The Equipment
- Brew kettle
- Large spoon or ladle
- Immersion blender
- Spent beer grain
- Thermometer
- Plastic pitcher
- Pyrex measuring jug
- Soap molds
The Ingredients
- 10 oz coconut oil
- 1 oz olive oil
- 3 oz cocoa butter
- 3 oz shea butter
- Pharmaceutical grade lye (potassium chloride)
- 12 oz beer
- 30 drops of essential oil
Related Reading: How To Make Homemade Lemon Beer – Learn It Here.
The Steps
De-Carbonating Your Beer
It is essential to use flat beer when making soap.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) in regular beer can cause an explosive reaction when mixed with other ingredients.
Additionally, CO2 bubbles are not necessary for a solid beer soap.
To remove CO2, pour the beer into a plastic pitcher and leave it on the counter overnight.
Stirring the beer can speed up the de-carbonation process.
The beer is flat when there are no visible bubbles, and it is tasteless.
Alternatively, heating the beer on the medium can also de-carbonate it.
Still, it must be carefully done as beer is flammable.
Related Reading: How To Make Sour Beer – Read More Here.
Melting The Solid Oils And Butter
Cocoa butter, shea butter, olive oil, and coconut oil are all great choices.
Still, you can also experiment with other oils such as mango butter, castor oil, almond oil, sunflower oil, and even avocado butter.
Put the solid oils into the slow cooker, allow them to melt, and mix them with the liquid oils.
Stir for a few minutes until everything is melted.
Then, set it aside to cool while you prepare for the next step.
With some practice, you’ll make your homemade soap in no time!
Measuring The Lye
Making soap requires the use of lye, which is a form of potassium chloride.
It is an essential ingredient in soap-making as it converts oils into soap.
Taking extra safety precautions when handling lye is essential, as it is a chemical and can lead to an explosive reaction.
Wear protective eyewear like safety glasses and gloves when dealing with lye.
If it ever gets on your skin, rinse and wash the affected area with water for several minutes.
To measure lye, use a plastic measuring pitcher.
Do not use metal or glass, as the metal will rust when it comes into contact with a chemical, and glass can easily crack.
Plastic containers are the best option for handling lye.
Combining The Lye With Beer
Mixing potassium chloride with de-carbonated beer and lye is a terrific soap-making method.
The beer is a substitute for water, which you would use when making ordinary soap.
When combining the lye and beer, an exothermic reaction will occur, meaning the mixture will generate heat.
To avoid an explosive reaction, add the lye to the pitcher of beer slowly and stir for 1-2 minutes.
The liquid may darken, but this is normal and part of the soap-making process.
It’s essential to do this outdoors or in a well-ventilated area.
Related Reading: Is It Safe To Brew Beer At Home? – Find Out Here.
Cooling The Beer-Lye Mixture
If you want to combine beer and lye, you should know that it produces a lot of heat.
To cool it down, leave the pitcher on the countertop until it cools naturally, or you can speed up the process by making an ice bath.
Fill your sink with cold water and add ice cubes to do this.
Place the pitcher in the cold water until it reaches a temperature of 850F-900F.
Remember to use a thermometer to check the temperature of a beer-lye mixture rather than tasting it.
This ensures that the temperature is accurate and the mixture is safe to use.
Tasting is not a reliable way to check the temperature and could be dangerous.
A thermometer is the best way to ensure the mixture is cooled to the right temperature.
Adding The Beer-Lye Mixture To The Oil
Mixing beer and lye and cooling them is the first step in creating a unique soap.
Once the mixture is cooled, it should be poured into a slow cooker or crockpot containing melted oils.
Stir the mixture with a spoon to combine it with the oils.
For an exfoliating soap, one or two tablespoons of grains can be added, but it is important to be moderate as too much grain will make the soap too coarse.
Mixing Everything
To make homemade beer soap, start by powering on your immersion blender.
Use it to mix the beer, lye, and oils until the mixture becomes a thick paste.
A blender is recommended to save time and ensure the paste has a smooth, consistent texture.
Add a few drops of your preferred essential oils, such as chamomile, jasmine, lavender, vanilla, or pine to add fragrance.
Stir the oils into the paste with the blender and give it one last whirl.
Pouring The Paste Into Molds
Making homemade beer soap is a simple process that yields rich, foamy soap.
After blending, the thick paste should be poured into molds.
Silicone molds are available at craft shops, while wooden molds should be lined with parchment or freezer paper.
Use a spoon or flat object to smoothen the top surface.
Allow the paste to cool for 2 to 4 days.
Wait 4 to 6 weeks for the soap to cure and harden for the best results.
Now, you can lather up in those boozy, soapy suds!
Cleaning Up
After 24 hours of the chemical reaction, the leftover homemade beer soap batter has become soap.
It is safe to wash the utensils and old rags, if used, with hot water and Dawn dishwashing soap.
Wearing rubber gloves is recommended.
The paper towels or newspapers that cover the work area should be discarded.
Rinse out the cup that held the lye/beer mixture and stack it with the bowls and utensils.
Any remaining raw soap batter should be wiped out of the bowls and off the spoons with old rags, which should then be thrown into the washer.
Cutting Your Soap
After 24-48 hours, it’s time to cut the homemade beer soap into bars.
To do this:
- Cover a surface with Freezer Paper, Wax Paper, Parchment Paper, or plastic. The soap will still be soft, so let it sit for a while.
- Avoid putting the soap directly on wood or metal surfaces like cooling racks.
- Put on gloves, as the chemical reaction can take up to 48 hrs, and the soap may dry your skin.
- Pull the soap out of the mold by the plastic bag and peel it away from the edges.
- Decide how to cut the soap into the right-sized bars, using a commercial soap bar as a reference.
For example, assume the soap block is 6 inches wide.
Cut it lengthwise and then cut each side into equal pieces about 2.5 inches wide, giving you 8 bars of soap, each weighing 5+ ounces.
Use a drywall knife to cut the soap, as it has a straight blade, unlike a kitchen knife’s ‘V’ shape.
As you cut each bar, set it on the prepared surface to finish drying, leaving a space between each soap.
Related Reading: A List of Hoppy Beer and Measuring Hoppiness – Check Them Out Here
Final Thoughts
Creating homemade beer soap is an enjoyable DIY activity but requires some practice.
Don’t be discouraged if your first try at making soap isn’t successful – it may take a few shots to get it right.
Our recipe and instructions should help you become a beer soap expert quickly!
