10 Unusual Uses For Beer

By Ronnie Citron-Fink | Fri Jul 9, 2010 13:24

For many, summertime is synonymous with cracking open a cold one. That certainly is true around here. Someone in my life whom I love dearly sometimes leaves partially full beer bottles around. I’ve always thought it was a pity to throw the remainder brew down the drain. But, who wants to drink warm, flat beer? After reading a few articles about alternative uses for beer, I investigated further into the afterlife of leftover beer. Here are some of my favorite uses:


1. Enrich Soil
DIY Life claims that yeast is promotes plant growth. Their prescription: "…pour a few tablespoons of flat beer into the garden to cultivate the soil. The yeast-filled soil will help plants grow healthier and make your garden flourish."
2. Polish Wood Furniture
After reading on a few sites how to polish furniture with beer, I tried rubbing some beer onto my wood table. Wisebread explains how to do this: "Just dampen a microfiber cloth with your flat beer, then rub gently into your furniture. It will give it a polish and bring back some color." I found it deepened the patina of the wood and added a sheen.
3. Stain Removal
I found that beer works much like club soda on a stain. Rinsing with water after will take out the smell.

4. Lighten Hair
While I've never tried beer in my hair, I have sprinkled lemon over my hair at the beach to lighten up. Wisebread provides an easy, if not smelly take on this idea, "Soak you hair in beer and then lay in the sun. It will pull out terrific highlights and make you smell deliciously hoppy! Maybe an organic summer ale will bring some light to your locks.

5. Soothe Tired Feet
Want to give your feet a treat? Give yourself a beer pedicure.
6. Polish Gold Jewelry
This tip from Wisebread seems both money-saving and an eco-alternative to chemical jewelry cleaners: "Drop your rings and other trinkets into a dish of beer, then remove and polish to a beautiful sheen using a dry cloth."
7. Put Out A Fire
Men's Health cites that, "Although certainly not as effective as a real fire extinguisher, a can or bottle of beer can mimic one if none is available. Simply shake and spritz. After all, beer is mostly water. This works on small grill flare-ups, and some people have been known to carry an emergency can in their car in case of engine fire."

8. Bath In Beer
Taking a beer bath may not sound so appealing, but Wisebread encourages adding some brew to a bath because, "The yeasts and other ingredients are great skin-softeners." Don't forget to rinse.

9. Batter Up
We've got a recipe for making beer batter fried zucchini spears that's just waiting for some leftover beer.
10. Build A House
Earthship, a house in New Mexico, has walls made of alternating layers of cement and beer cans. They use beer as a thermal-mass insulated refrigerator. The cans line the walls and keep the temperature constant while minimizing energy usage. The beer absorbs the cold, but never freezes because of its alcohol content.

(From Planet Green)