LOL! Stinky Beer Soap!

[Kitty_Boots]

I made this really nice Guinness soap.. And I made my own EO blend (don't even ask) and it smells SO FREAKIN' DISGUSTING!!! I just wanted to share.. Okay the EO blend had Vetiver, Clove, Lavender, Patchouli in it.. lol. This soap smells like a wet dog (maybe it's the coffee grinds, maybe it's the beer smell still in there). Does the beer smell fade? Cause it's really gross...

 

[galaxyMLP]

The "wet dog" smell is probably the beer. Sometimes when I'm boiling down my beer and it gets too hot its smells really really bad. I mean BAD. After using it in soap, the smell is still there until about a week into cure. Its happens with most of my beer soaps that they have a bad smell after first making them (even the ones that don't overheat). I don't get that smell at all with wine soap so I think its due to the yeast in beer.

I don't know what vetiver smells like but I think lavender, clove and patchouli could make a nice combo!

 

[Kitty_Boots]

The "wet dog" smell is probably the beer. Sometimes when I'm boiling down my beer and it gets too hot its smells really really bad. I mean BAD. After using it in soap, the smell is still there until about a week into cure. Its happens with most of my beer soaps that they have a bad smell after first making them (even the ones that don't overheat). I don't get that smell at all with wine soap so I think its due to the yeast in beer.

Okay! Thank you. I'm hoping it goes away.. And I'm hoping my EO blend isn't TOO awful once it settles.. LOL!

Vetiver smells really smoky woodsy.

 

[galaxyMLP]

Well in that case, I think that blend would probably be very nice. Did you smell the blend before you put it in soap?

 

[BrewerGeorge]

The "wet dog" smell is probably the beer. Sometimes when I'm boiling down my beer and it gets too hot its smells really really bad. I mean BAD. After using it in soap, the smell is still there until about a week into cure. Its happens with most of my beer soaps that they have a bad smell after first making them (even the ones that don't overheat). I don't get that smell at all with wine soap so I think its due to the yeast in beer.
...

FWIW, almost all bottled beer you buy isn't going to have yeast in it unless it has a sediment at the bottom. Craft beer on draft can have some - unless the brewers filter it out completely - but it shouldn't be much. Macro brews will almost certainly not have any yeast at all. Anything cloudy like a hefeweizen, Berliner Weisse or Belgian Wit would be obvious exceptions across the board.

So it's probably not the yeast that makes that horrible smell (and yes, every beer soap I've made has had that smell). Beer has a decent amount of protein - foam is a protein structure - and my guess is that the particular smell is caused by the decomposition of the proteins by the lye, similar to the way milk smells like ammonia when you add lye. I think the "beer soap" smell is that ammonia, mixed with the smell of hops and malt and the products of their decomposition.

But this is all tangent to the main point that the smell does go away during cure.

 

[galaxyMLP]

Thank you for that explanation. I figured beer itself didn't have the yeast (I've seen and had the unfiltered beer). I guess I wasn't thinking when I posted that. Makes sense about the proteins and ammonia smell with the lye. I think I meant to say that its a product of using yeast in production? I'm probably wrong there too though.

 

[Kitty_Boots]

Well in that case, I think that blend would probably be very nice. Did you smell the blend before you put it in soap?

I did.. It's like a smoky leather smell.. We'll see if it smells good.. I'm having doubts though. I don't think it's a good soap smell. I was trying to make a man smell.. HAHA!

 

[Misschief]

To be honest, I didn't like the scent of my beer soap either but now that it's cured the full 6 weeks, the scent of the eo is coming through more and the scent of the beer less. I've let a few people try it and they all have said they love the scent. I don't make my soaps overpoweringly strongly scented, just something subtle. It seems to appeal to both guys and girls, which is really nice.

I'm thinking of using a different scent profile for each beer variety, all with a cedarwood base, simply because it IS so woodsy and earthy.

 

[Kitty_Boots]

To be honest, I didn't like the scent of my beer soap either but now that it's cured the full 6 weeks, the scent of the eo is coming through more and the scent of the beer less. I've let a few people try it and they all have said they love the scent. I don't make my soaps overpoweringly strongly scented, just something subtle. It seems to appeal to both guys and girls, which is really nice.

I'm thinking of using a different scent profile for each beer variety, all with a cedarwood base, simply because it IS so woodsy and earthy.

Nice I had one cedarwood base and one vetiver.. I went with the vetiver.. but I think the cedarwood is a bit nicer because it's more fresh scented in comparison.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

... I think I meant to say that its a product of using yeast in production? I'm probably wrong there too though.

Yeah, you are. :wink: Except for any residual proteins that might be in their little yeasty bodies themselves, the protein in beer comes from the grains.

(I hope everyone knows I'm just teasing...)

 

[kchaystack]

That is so odd. My beer soap didn't have any kind of strange scent when I made it. I used a local oatmeal stout - and as I reduced it the hop smell was very strong - but that all went away once I mixed it to the oils and added my FO/EO blend.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

That is so odd. My beer soap didn't have any kind of strange scent when I made it. I used a local oatmeal stout - and as I reduced it the hop smell was very strong - but that all went away once I mixed it to the oils and added my FO/EO blend.

Maybe the method? I've only ever used beer as a substitute for water, so it gets the lye directly.

 

[galaxyMLP]

Yeah, you are. :wink: Except for any residual proteins that might be in their little yeasty bodies themselves, the protein in beer comes from the grains.

(I hope everyone knows I'm just teasing...)

Hey, I just appreciate the honesty! :mrgreen: I also add the beer directly to the lye. (ETA: I actually add the lye to the beer, not the other way around.)

 

[KristaY]

I make a LOT of beer soap, Kitty-Boots, and that wet dog smell can be icky, lol. Galaxy is right, it's always more pungent if I heat the beer too much. One thing that's helped me lessen the smell is to cook the beer at a lower temp. The boiling point of ethanol is approx 174 F so I bring the temp to about 180 then hold it there for 15-20 min. That's probably overkill but I err on the side of caution to make sure all the alcohol is gone. I've had one lye volcano using beer and I don't EVER want to do that again!

Your soap is beautiful and the EO blend sounds great. Give it a nice 6-8 week cure and all the Guinness lovers in your world will love it!

 

[Kitty_Boots]

Yeah, you are. :wink: Except for any residual proteins that might be in their little yeasty bodies themselves, the protein in beer comes from the grains.

(I hope everyone knows I'm just teasing...)

little yeasty bodies.. How cute! ^_^

I make a LOT of beer soap, Kitty-Boots, and that wet dog smell can be icky, lol. Galaxy is right, it's always more pungent if I heat the beer too much. One thing that's helped me lessen the smell is to cook the beer at a lower temp. The boiling point of ethanol is approx 174 F so I bring the temp to about 180 then hold it there for 15-20 min. That's probably overkill but I err on the side of caution to make sure all the alcohol is gone. I've had one lye volcano using beer and I don't EVER want to do that again!

Your soap is beautiful and the EO blend sounds great. Give it a nice 6-8 week cure and all the Guinness lovers in your world will love it!

I sure hope so!! hahaha Thank you for the confidence boost though. I feel so sad walking by its stink!