Do you know that beer has many other uses aside from being a delicious beverage? If you have some extra beer lying around, or perhaps some home brew that didn’t quite reach your expectations, there is plenty you can do with it! From the garden to the kitchen to the bathroom, this article explores some of the more unusual uses of our favourite drink.

Around the house

So you’ve got your bottles of old unwanted beer ready to go…now what? Well there are plenty of things you can do around the house. The first thing you can do is get to work on those old copper pots and pans! Since beer is slightly acidic, it’s perfect for polishing copper to a brilliant sheen. This was the preferred method of polishing copper for many years – publicans would give or sell housewives unwanted beer and dregs which were used to polish copper in the home or at the pub.

Another use around the home is getting rid of rust and loosening rusted bolts! The carbonation in beer is said to react with the rust, helping to free any tightly rusted on bolts. Applying some beer and hitting your metal with a soft scouring pad may help get rid of surface rust.

In the kitchen

The kitchen is a great place for beer and not only because it has a fridge and bottle opener. The kitchen is great for beer because there are a lot of handy things you can do with beer in the kitchen.

Firstly, you can marinade meat with beer. Beer is an especially good marinade for all kinds of meat – especially if you only have a short marinade time (1-2 hours). The tannins in most kinds of beer soften the tissue of whatever your cooking and makes it really soft when cooked. Avoid lager for marinating – think higher tannin beers such amber ales or even stouts and porters.

If you’re a fisherman, fisherwoman or fisherthem you know that scaling a fish can be a tedious and messy job – but a job that you want to get right. The good news is that you can make your very own fish scaler fairly easily. Just get three beer bottle caps and some strong wood roughly the size and shape of a toothbrush. Nail the bottle caps in a line along the wood (crimped side out) and you have a surprisingly effective fish scaler. This method is particularly useful if you’re camping and find yourself needing to scale a fish with little equipment.

My favourite thing to do in the kitchen is eat. Beer is really versatile and there are many recipes that you can make with all different types of brews. Whether it’s a rich soup or some bread to go with it, you’re sure to find a beer recipe you like. Of all the recipes, my favourite is for beer cheese. Beer cheese is an American creamy cheese to dip in pretzels, bread or anything else you like. See below for a great beer cheese recipe.

Check out my favourite beer cheese recipe here.

While we’re cooking, beer is great for steaming foods too. You can replace water with beer in almost any recipe that calls for something to be steamed. You can steam veggies, seafood and even a dumpling. The type of beer you will use to steam your food will depend on the recipe and what you are trying to steam. Generally speaking, darker, hoppier beers will add a more robust flavour to your steam and food. I tend to stick with lighter beers like lager when steaming food. My favourite thing to steam with beer is tasty, fresh muscles!
If you have a large amount of excess beer, you might consider distilling it into a spirit. You can get a lot of clean alcohol from even the nastiest tasting beer. But before you venture into the land of distillation, there are a couple of very important things to consider. Firstly, spirit distillation is illegal in many countries – even for personal use. Be sure to check with your local laws before attempting distillation. Secondly, distillation should only be attempted by someone who knows what they are doing. The distillation process can produce some nasty chemical by-products including ethanol which can cause brain damage, coma and death.

In the bathroom

There are even be some uses for beer in the bathroom (aside from drinking a can on the toilet). If you have some extra beer laying around, maybe you can incorporate it into your bathroom beauty routine.

I once met a lady who swore by using old beer as shampoo. She lived up in the mountains of Switzerland and used her uncle’s crappy home brewed beer to wash her hair. I must admit I was sceptical at the time but as I read more about it, I’m tempted to try myself! Some people swear by using a beer “shampoo” or “mask” to balance the oils in the hair and scalp

Similarly, many people online say that bathing in beer gives your skin a radiant glow. I should say, no one is suggesting that you fill a bath to the brim with beer and jump in. Rather, a bottle or two in with the bath water to make a foamy, luxurious bath experience.

In the garden

There are plenty of uses for beer in the garden too. These are all methods I’ve personally tried in my own garden and can attest to them – they really work!

Firstly, if you half fill a wide-mouthed glass with beer (stale or otherwise) and bury the rim at ground level, snails will make their way in and get stuck. This effective snail trap is particularly good if you are looking to avoid some of the truly nasty poisons in store bought snail baits. I’m also told you can trap mice and rats like this in a bigger glass but thankfully have not had need to try this.

Beer also makes a great all-round fertiliser for your garden. Beer contains potassium, calcium, magnesium – all of which are essential for healthy plant growth. Just pour as much excess or old beer as you can spare onto your plants and watch them thrive! This also works wonders on patches of lawn that are looking a bit sad.

There are many interesting uses for beer aside from just drinking it. I hope this article has been helpful in showing you things to do with beer around the house, kitchen, garden and bathroom.

Cheers!

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