Why Make Soap with Beer?
When a local microbrewery asked me to create a custom beer soap, I wasn’t sure what to expect. To my surprise, it turned out to be one of my all-time favorite soaps!
Not only does beer soap create a luxurious lather, but it also feels creamy and soothing on the skin. Despite what you might think, it doesn’t smell like beer — instead, it carries warm, earthy, and herbal notes from the hops, barley, and malt used in the brewing process.
Different beers can give your soap entirely different personalities:
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🍺 Light ales create golden tones and subtle aromas.
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🍫 Dark stouts and porters produce deep brown hues and rich, warm scents.
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🌿 Fruit or specialty brews can lend gentle, natural fragrances.
Each batch is unique, which makes beer soap perfect for both creative soapmakers and small-batch artisans looking for something special.
The Surprising Benefits of Beer Soap
Beer isn’t just fun to drink — it’s packed with ingredients that your skin loves.
1. Skin-Softening Hops
Hops are full of amino acids that help calm and soften rough or irritated skin. They also add a subtle earthy aroma that feels refreshing and grounding.
2. Brewer’s Yeast for Clear Skin
The natural yeast in beer provides antibacterial properties that can help combat acne-causing bacteria and support a clearer complexion.
3. Vitamin B for Moisture
Beer is rich in B vitamins that promote hydration and elasticity, giving your skin a smoother texture.
4. Rich, Creamy Lather
Beer sugars enhance bubbles and create an irresistibly creamy foam — making beer soap ideal for shaving or luxurious body bars.
5. Naturally Balanced pH
Beer helps maintain the skin’s natural pH balance, preventing dryness and irritation while supporting overall skin health.
Beer soap is multi-purpose — perfect for body, hair, and even as a shaving soap, thanks to its dense lather and smooth glide.
Preparing Beer for Soap Making
If you take away one thing from this guide, let it be this: never add lye to carbonated beer!
You must prepare the beer first to remove carbonation and alcohol. Otherwise, you risk a dangerous overflow or “volcano” reaction.
🧊 Step-by-Step Beer Prep
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De-gas the Beer:
Pour your beer into an open container and let it sit uncovered for about 36 hours, stirring occasionally to release carbonation. -
Boil to Remove Alcohol:
Bring the beer to a gentle simmer for 15–30 minutes. This step removes any residual gas and burns off alcohol. Expect some volume loss; top up with distilled water after cooling if needed. -
Cool & Freeze:
After boiling, let the beer cool and then pour it into ice cube trays. Freeze for 6–8 hours, but don’t let it get rock-solid. Partially frozen beer slows the chemical reaction with lye and keeps it safe and manageable.
💡 Pro Tip: Always keep extra boiled beer frozen for future batches — it stores beautifully and saves prep time later.
Safety Tips for Working with Lye & Beer
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Always wear gloves, goggles, and long sleeves.
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Mix in a well-ventilated area, ideally near an open window.
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Place your lye pitcher inside a sink or basin to contain any accidental spills.
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Slowly add lye to the beer, never the other way around. Stir continuously as it dissolves.
As you stir, you’ll notice the beer melting and darkening slightly — that’s normal. Once dissolved, let it cool to about 100°F (38°C) before combining with your oils.
Cold Process Beer Soap Recipe
This tried-and-true recipe creates 12–14 rich, nourishing bars with a silky finish.
Ingredients:
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900 g Olive Oil
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225 g Coconut Oil
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150 g Palm Kernel Oil
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125 g Palm Oil
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125 g Grapeseed Oil
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208 g Sodium Hydroxide (Lye)
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2 cups Prepared Beer (semi-frozen)
This recipe calculation calls for between 1.78 and 2.37 cups of liquid. I use two cups of frozen beer and find it works well.
Tip: I boil the beer ahead of time and once boiled I cool the beer down and then put it into two-cup containers in the freezer for future batches
Instructions
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Prepare your workspace: Gather tools, molds, oils, and safety gear.
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Combine lye & beer: Slowly add lye to the frozen beer cubes while stirring. Set aside to cool.
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Melt oils: In a stainless steel pot, gently heat oils to 130°F (54°C), then cool to 100°F (38°C).
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Blend: Pour lye/beer solution into oils and blend until you reach trace — when the soap thickens and leaves trails on the surface.
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Customize: Add fragrance, colorants, or exfoliants if desired (like oatmeal or ground hops).
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Mold: Pour into lined molds, cover, and insulate for 24–48 hours.
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Cure: Cut into bars and let cure in a dry, ventilated area for 4–6 weeks.
Basic Soap making Instructions
Choosing Fragrances for Beer Soap
While beer adds a lovely warm note on its own, you can customize it with essential oils that complement its natural aroma:
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Cedarwood & Orange: Earthy and uplifting
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Sandalwood & Vanilla: Deep and comforting
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Patchouli & Bergamot: Masculine yet fresh
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Lavender & Hops: Relaxing and herbal
Avoid overly sweet or citrus-heavy scents that may overpower the beer’s subtle tones.
Creative Variations
Once you’ve mastered the basics, try these fun twists:
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🍯 Honey Beer Soap: Add 1 tbsp honey for extra moisturizing power.
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☕ Stout & Coffee Soap: Combine dark beer with coffee grounds for exfoliation.
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🌾 Oatmeal Ale Soap: Add colloidal oatmeal for a gentle skin-calming bar.
Each variation deepens the complexity of your soap while adding visual and textural appeal.
Eco-Friendly Labeling & Gift Ideas
Packaging your beer soap sustainably not only looks great but also aligns with natural-living values.
Try:
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Kraft paper or seed-paper wraps
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Hemp or jute twine
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Minimalist recycled labels with a rustic feel
These soaps make wonderful gifts for beer lovers, Father’s Day, or holiday baskets. Pair them with a craft beer or handmade washcloth for a complete gift set.
You may also want to read: Labeling the Eco-Friendly Way
Troubleshooting Beer Soap
Problem: Lye-beer mix bubbled over
✅ Cause: Beer wasn’t fully de-gassed or frozen. Next time, let it sit longer and chill more thoroughly.
Problem: Soap turned too dark
✅ Cause: Beer caramelized during boiling. Try shorter boil times or lighter beers.
Problem: Soap smells odd after curing
✅ Cause: Overheated batter or too much fragrance oil. Use a thermometer and essential oils sparingly.
Final Thoughts
Beer soap combines artisan craftsmanship with natural skincare benefits. Each bar is rich, creamy, and completely unique — a little piece of chemistry and creativity combined. Whether you’re making it for yourself, as a gift, or to sell at markets, it’s one of the most rewarding cold process projects you can try.
👉 Explore more tutorials and recipes: Soap Making Recipes
© 2025, Tes. All rights reserved.
Beer soap? Really? I’ve never heard of it.
But with so many benefits like its anti-bacterial properties I will be trying to source some.
I do often wonder what kind of chemicals are contained in normal soap. Everything mass produced is increasingly more unhealthy. Is it better to use a craft beer or does it not make any difference?
Thanks for the article.
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I like to use craft beer, but really your can use any kind. The beer gives the soap a beautiful lather and I find my customers really like the light smell of the hops, although adding scent to it is always an option.
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Thank you for such a great post. It was very informative and helpful to understand. I just made my first batch of Dark Guinness Beer soap yesterday (hot processed). I was a bit nervous, and it turned out beautifully. I love the fact that this soap can be used for more than just washing your hands.
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That’s great Victoria. Beer Soap is so moisturizing I love it! Happy Soap making
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I’ve made beer soaps but I don’t boil the beer. I just open it and leave it partially covered on the counter for a week. By that time it’s flat ten I freeze it
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Hi Sally,
A friend of mine who is also a soap maker had tried that method, but said she still had issues with it becoming somewhat volcanic. Maybe she omitted the freezing part. That would make sense.
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I’m a little lost, where is the recipe? I only see directions for preparing the beer.
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There is a link to the soap making recipes on the page just under where it says Basic Cold Process Soap Making Instructions – here is the link
Soap Making Recipes
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Beer soap is something that I have never heard of before and its been interesting reading all about it in your post. I also never knew the benefits of beer on the skin. Nowadays a lot of people are looking for more natural products and so this would be popular for people who have never came across it before. I like the fact that it smells of hops, which is lovely. Looking through how you make it, it does take time, but its well worth it.
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The beer soap is really nice. Like you read, I had no intention on making it but I’m glad I did. It has turned out to be a popular soap for sure.
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I have never heard of beer soap before but it sounds pretty interesting. I love beer and soap so I feel that this would be an excellent product for me.
I’m not sure if I would have the time to make my own beer soap, even though it sounds easy enough. Do you recommend any places where you can buy homemade beer soap? I would love to try it!
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Hi Nicki, Yes I can recommend some beer soaps for you. Just follow the links below these are all very good Beer Soaps
Beer Soap from the Beer Soap Company
Beer Soap Made with Guiness Stout
Beer Soap by Swag Brewery
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Hi Tes!
I never would have guessed that beer would be a preferred ingredient in making homemade soap. Also that it wouldn’t smell like beer, and have a nice creamy lather. Could it be used by men for shaving?
I love all the step by step instructions, both for the beer soap and all the other soaps and natural products on your site. Since I am sensitive to the chemicals used in processing so many of the health and beauty care items commercially available I am really excited to come across this information about making my own all natural products.
Thanks so much for providing this useful information, I’m looking forward to reading and learning more from your site.
All the best,
KyleAnn
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Hi Kyle Ann, glad you are enjoying the site, as for your question about using beer soap as a mens shaving soap, what a great idea! All you would have to do is replace the water used in shaving soap with the beer and follow the instructions for using beer in soap. Good luck and if you make it, let us know how it turns out.
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So, I boiled the beer for 30 minutes and there was no beer left…
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Hello Pamela,
Always start out with more beer than you want to use in your recipe as some will be lost when boiling, just the same as when boiling water, also I’m not sure how hard a boil you had it at. You need to boil the beer but it doesn’t have to be a hard boil. I bring the beer to a boil and then gently boil it for about 30 minutes. I have never boiled it to nothing. Also, if after boiling you are a little short you can always add some water to make up the difference.
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This isn’t a recipe so much as a guideline. Are some oils better than others when making a beer soap? My go-to recipe of the moment has 53% olive oil, coco and palm at 20% each, and 7% castor for sudsing. Would I omit the castor oil since the beer is going to bring that quality? If it smells like hops and extracts it would seem that some scents would work better than others—-herbals like rosemary perhaps? I’m intrigued and will probably set out some beer next Wednesday for a weekend batch, I just hope it doesn’t end up like a lot of the oils I’ve tried (like jojoba) that come with all sorts asserted values and properties, yet seem to add nothing to the soap that isn’t produced by the olive oil.
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The recipe I use is at the end of the post. I find the oils in this recipe to work very well and it makes a wonderful soap. You could still use castor oil it is a great oil to get more sudsing from you soap. I like to leave my beer soap unscented and leave it with the slight scent from the beer. Every kind of beer seems to scent it a little differently but not strong scented. For sure add Rosemary if you would like or experiment and try others. The scent from the beer is so slight that I don’t think it would change other scents to much. Happy soaping
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Thank you for this. I remember, as a kid in the 80s, beer shampoo was the *in* thing. It seemed every brand had a ‘beer’ product. So glad to see it again. Thank you!!
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Yes it was! It really is a nice soap I too am glad to see it come back.
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I am anxious to try this soap….looks like fun ….where can I fund the boxes to give them as gifts ?
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It is a great soap and you can use whatever beer you like. I custom the labels according to the beer used. Great gifts for beer lovers.
You can different soap boxes here are some links to a few:
BLACK SOAP BOXES
MINI SOAP BOXES
SOAP BOXES WITH ROPE
CRAFT BOXES WITH WINDOW
Enjoy your soap making
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