Beer face wash

Yes, drinking beer and all that alcohol can dehydrate you. But what about washing your face with it? The word on the street says that beer has nourishing effect on skin.

According to an article on TruthInAging.com, women have used beer for cosmetic and therapeutic purposes since ancient Egypt. Now, studies have confirmed that beer sediment (brewer’s yeast) can help improve the symptoms of acne by slowing down sebum production and killing off the bacteria that triggers acne.

Brewer’s yeast is made up of micro-organisms called saccaromyces cereviseae, which thrive on the skin’s surface. Because they are asexual, these tiny organisms can proliferate up to 24 new cells at a time, thus leaving no opportunity for acne-friendly bacteria to take hold on the skin’s surface. A trial conducted in 2006 at Munich University found that a skin preparation containing young brewer’s yeast cells dramatically improved the skin of acne sufferers within three weeks. -- End article.

Apparently, applying beer topically can clear up your complexion, treat dry flakes, and smooth texture. It's important to note that Brewer's yeast is a good source of B-complex vitamins but, contrary to some claims, it contains little or no vitamin B12.
I didn't find any recommendations for what type of beer to use or whether I can use it straight out of the bottle, but I will start trying to wash ONE side of a dry patch of skin with wheat beer. Let's see how that goes?

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Fancy residence for octopus and other invertebrates

New home for the octopus.
Lived in home for another octopus.

The craft pet owners can sure put this into good use. Baby snakes? A hideout for newborn baby fish so they don't become dinner?

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In the name of Harry Potter, out goes eggnog, in comes butterbeer

Butterbeer is the drink of choice for younger wizards, though it exists way before Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series. There are many variations of the recipe, this one traces back over 300 years.

Original Buttered Beer Recipe 1664 from historicalfoods.com:
From Robert May, ‘The Accomplisht Cook’, first published 1664 Buttered Beer.

Take beer or ale and boil it, then scum it, and put to it some liquorish and anniseeds, boil them well together; then have in a clean flaggon or quart pot some yolks of eggs well beaten with some of the foresaid beer, and some good butter; strain your butter’d beer, put it in the flaggon, and brew it with the butter and eggs

Buttered Beer or Ale otherways.

Boil beer or ale and scum it, then have six eggs, whites and all, and beat them in a flaggon or quart pot with the shells, some butter, sugar, and nutmeg, put them together, and being well brewed, drink it when you go to bed.

Otherways.

Take three pints of beer or ale, put five yolks of eggs to it, strain them together, and set it in a pewter pot to the fire, put to it half a pound of sugar, a penniworth of beaten nutmeg, as much beaten cloves, half an ounce of beaten ginger, and bread it.
More on butterbeer:

• A video tutorial by Working Class Foodies
• You can also make some butterbeer cupcake to go with the drink!

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Beer Pedicure

According to an article on Health.com the yeast in beer softens weary, callused feet and the alcohol is antibacterial and a natural antiseptic. Try this treatment from Milk + Honey Spa in Austin, Texas:

• Pour 1 bottle of lager (such as Heineken, Yuengling, or the cheaper Bud, Miller, Coors etc.) into a tub of warm water, and soak 10 minutes.
• Massage 1 cup Epsom salt and the juice of 1 lime onto feet and legs.
• Rinse and relax.

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Lye Free Beer Soap

I was looking for beer soap recipe, and came across this tutorial. In the tutorial, it mentioned the use of lye and to wear protective gloves while pouring it into the beer. What is lye and is it toxic? If one has to wear gloves to make soap, why am I rubbing it all over my skin? The mini Sherlock Holmes in me kicks in.

Lye is a corrosive alkaline substance, commonly know as sodium hydroxide. It is used to cure many types of foods and lower grades of lye are commonly used as drain openers and oven cleaners. So basically what soap is doing is lightly corrode away the dirty or oily film layer on the skin, 'leaving your skin clean and smooth' but over time causes dryness. It's also what the average shampoo does to your hair but that's for another post.

There are many makers selling beer soaps but I have found only one that is lye free on etsy - Cardamom & Beer.

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Like a beer boy loves cake

These are pairings created by Andy Sparhawk on Craftbeer.com

Riding the Wave of Love - Coconut & Currieux
Coconut helps cool hot, spicy foods like Southeast Asian cuisines; Indian or Indonesian. It also quells American heat, like bourbon. Currieux is Allagash Brewing Company’s (Portland, ME) original barrel-aged beer, a Belgian-style Triple that is aged in bourbon barrels for eight weeks. While resting, the beer takes on some of the previous resident’s character; vanilla, coconut and residual whiskey flavors, that blend perfectly with the Triple's fruitiness. Candy sweetness matches the cake to magnify a long wave of vanilla and warm sugar.

Tee & Cakes comments: This pairing brought out the sweetness and cakeyness of the cake. It made the cake taste like the comfort food we know it to be. This is a simple and traditional cake, but one of the harder ones to pair. It seems like a heartier beer brings out the lightness in this cake.


Finding Balance - Chocolate Bacon & Scotch Ale
I’m sure any expert will tell you, though I didn't bother to look it up, that a key to a happy marriage is balance. Well, a key to enjoying great craft beer with food is the same. We accomplish that by finding complementing characteristics or playing off of opposing flavors and textures—similar to introducing the future in-laws.

The crunchy bacon atop this cake's creamy milk chocolate icing offers a contrast to the rich malt character in Moylan's Brewery & Restaurant’s (Novato, CA) Kilt Lifter. The carmelization in the Scotch Ale complements the milk chocolate sweetness, only to be countered by the bacon’s saltiness.

Tee & Cakes comments: This pairing brought out the toasty and maple flavors in the cake; it also made the beer pop. The cake elevated the beer this time and I think that was nice. Bacon on a wedding cake is certainly unconventional, but really fun and easy to pair.


Spicing Things Up - Carrot Cake & Maricaibo Especial
People get married because they are much better and stronger together than if they were apart—also, for the tax break. The same is true with carrot cake and Jolly Pumpkin’s (Dexter, MI) Maricaibo Especial, a sour Brown Ale brewed with cacao, cinnamon and sweet orange peel. Both are amazing alone, but together, they really spice it up. The sugary sweetness of the cake is balanced by it's more earthy ingredients of carrot and cinnamon, which helps cut the tart acidity of the beer. Meanwhile, the spices in the beer intensify the flavors of the cake. And, if the wild Maricaibo gets out of hand, the carrot cake's cream cheese frosting and cooling carrot calms things down before the police get called.

Tee & Cakes comments: This pairing made the spiciness of the cake come out. We never would have imagined a sour beer could pair so well with something rich and creamy like a carrot cake and cream cheese icing. This was one of our faves.

Passion - Red Velvet & Legendary Red
If your zeal for your bride or groom is as fiery as the fans of this cake then you’re set. Red velvet aficionados seem to argue over the perfect recipe more than beer geeks grapple with Black IPAs. Tee & Cake's red velvet has a pleasant corn bread character; likely from the buttermilk, which is a generally accepted ingredient in red velvet camps. We think that makes the bready flavors of Golden City Brewery’s (Golden, CO) Legendary Red Ale a match made in heaven… with or without coconut and pecans.

Tee & Cakes: This pairing gave new meaning to the word comfort food. The beer made the whole cake taste like butter. Totally rich and decadent. Red velvet cake is the ultimate in comfort food desserts, and is a staple in the south.



Affinities - Grey Lady & Lemon Curd
Some flavors just go together; lemon goes with a lot. Maybe that is because it enhances the flavors it’s paired with. In Grey Lady, a Witbier brewed by Cisco Brewers Inc. (Nantucket, MA), the piquant esters (fruitiness) liven the tangy wheat flavors and sharpen the spice. When paired with lemon curd (a smooth lemon filling or topping) you flip the switch on a laser light show in your mouth!

Tee & Cakes comments: This pairing really brought out the lemonyness of the lemon curd. It was bright and fresh.

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Polish and antique wood with beer

Turns out, all those spilled beer is exactly where they should be! Some ways you can use beer to polish wood funitures and floors:

Basic polish: pour some flat beer onto a microfiber rag and rub it into wooden furniture to add some shine and deepen the color.

 

Polish Recipe #1: This one is good for oak furniture. (credit)

Boil together

one quart of beer

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons beeswax

Cool, then wipe onto your furniture. Let this dry. Polish with a soft cloth.

Antique wood with beer: Traditional dark beers will create an antique wood effect far quicker.

Highlights

• Chestnut dark mild beer has the strength to stain the wood, premium lager would do nothing.
• Sand off the layers of polish or varnish. 
• Must use CLEAN CLOTH for staining. Dip cloth into a dish of dark beer and rub onto the surface of the wood. 
• Let a corner of the clean cloth soak into the dark beer and sit the beer soaked cloth on top of the wood for an uneven finish look that antique wood have. 
• Add a light coat of varnish to seal the color in when you have the color you want.

 Detailed instruction here.

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