The winter months are a slower time in the land of the fae and I get to do a bit more playing.
I picked up a private label gig for round soaps and as a result I had to get molds to work. I got them, made round soap and great and groovy eh.
Now I have these molds for round soap. I decided to make a soap for moi (and you) and that allowed me time to play. So, I decided that since i live in Beer City, USA aka Asheville NC, that I should make a soap with some local beer. I also wanted to use bentonite clay to help enhance the lather to make it dense and really nice for those who are wanting a soap for shaving (although I have many who use my regular bars for shaving also).
I’ve tried in the past and I got a big ol’ mess. Beer has to be super cold and super flat or you get a volcano reaction when you add the lye.
So this soap has been in the works for a while. I knew the brew I wanted to use: Asheville Brewing Company’s Shiva IPA. It was the beer I had at my wedding reception and it’s good nommy stuff, mon. It is an Asheville Favorite. Plus, the name is cool. Love it.
Anyway, I got 2 growlers worth (a gallon) and let it sit out, open for a looooong time. Then I weighed out the beer, put in the freezer til it was a slushy consistency. Added the lye slowly to the beer and let it do it’s thang.
Then I made the soap, added clay to it, just ’cause and scented it with lavender, lime, patchouli and cedar wood. Brought it to trace (thick emulsion) and poured it in my new nifty round molds (3 inch pvc).
I’ve got it on our website ready to go and feedback is really positive. I hope it goes well, I’d love to add it to our regular line because I personally LOVE it.
If you have tried it, let me know what you think!
this is fantastic! local beer, local soap…are the herbs you are using local (the ones that can grow here)? I’d love to try this…
Beer definitely can be a little temperamental when soaping with it but you totally pulled it off! Great job supporting a local business all the while too.
not only is it a bit temperamental (I got 2 growlers of flat beer and still had to let it sit AND add lye slowly) but because of the sticky factor, we had more problems getting it out of the mold (round pvc using pam type spray). I made 150 bars the day before of a soap with water as liquid and no problems removing.
i had a volcano the first time i did it. i don’t think the beer was flat enough, nor cold enough. i’ve got a good system down now that is working. making 25# batches pours easier into a block mold for me rather than trying to pour into multiple round molds anyway!