Oktoberfest Beer Soap

Home brewed beer can not be sold.  It is not subject to any Federal, state or local taxes.  Home brewers have been known to take up a collection to help pay for the ingredients and then share the beer to those who invested in it.  Since I can't sell my beer,  I can use it as an ingredient in other products...  like soap.

Beer Soap

Beer soap?  What an idea!  Of course.  After some reading and studying the process of making of soap,  I made an experimental three pound batch using my Oktoberfest beer that took the place of distilled water  mixed with the sodium hydroxide.  The beer used has to be flawlessly flat and cooled.  If it wasn't flat you'd heave up a big ball of lye foam and if you didn't know, mixing the sodium hydroxide with water, or in my case flat cool beer, is extremely smelly.

Close up of grain in soap

This batch uses a bunch of solid and liquid vegetable oils which get blended with the beer/lye solution to saponify or make soap.  Each oil has a specific function: smoothness, lather, surfactant, cleaning, et. al.  I stayed away from adding any scent to smell what it was like unadulterated.  It smells like natural vegetable soap with just a touch of malty beer.  The color is great tan and brown and has a certain translucence.  I also added toasted spent grain to the batch as an exfoliant.  I need to find a way to get some hop scent into the soap to enhance the nature of beer.  

There are a few bars of the Oktoberfest soap out there right now for human test trials.  Side effects may include fresh smelling, smooth and clean skin. 

There are other processes I need to refine as well to get a better looking natural product.  In the future, I'll attempt to make a Witbier soap with some clove and bergamot extract as well as a stout shaving soap.