Among humanity’s greatest and oldest creations, beer ranks high — and it’s certainly one of the longest-lived.
Brewing beer from barley, hops, water and yeast traces back as far as 10,000 B.C.E.
While its primary role over the last 12,000 years has typically been for drinking, this flavorful, intoxicating libation has also proven handy for a variety of other tasks — from cooking and grooming to pest control and cleaning.
I’m not recommending you replace your daily IPA with a conditioner, but in a pinch your beer might be surprisingly useful for some of the following purposes.
Here are some additional practical ways to use beer.
Cooking With Beer
Aside from quenching thirst, beer’s most frequent alternative use is in the kitchen — where we consume it in a different form: in food.
Growing up Catholic, I had my fill of beer-battered fish during Lent, but beer lovers and curious cooks may want to try their brew in some lesser-known dishes:
- Meat marinade: Because beer has a mild acidity, it can tenderize meats like pork and beef and usually changes the flavor less than wine or vinegar. Bonus: a Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry study suggests beer might lower certain carcinogens produced during meat cooking. Use a stout for richness or a pilsner for potential health perks. And a reminder: don’t sip the marinade.
- Seafood techniques: Beer-battered fish isn’t the only seafood that benefits from beer. Men’s Health notes you can use beer to steam clams and mussels, boil shrimp and even help scale fish.
- Bread, rice and more: Men’s Health also suggests using beer to bake quick beer bread, cook rice and roast poultry. Craving a tasty flatbread? Food.com’s highly rated recipe takes about 30 minutes and under a cup of beer (so you can enjoy the remainder).
- Barbecue sauce: Having spent time in Nashville, I’ve sampled some legendary sauces, and beer can be a superb addition. Try this garlic-forward beer sauce from Genius Kitchen or, if you prefer bocks, this option from CraftBeer.com.
Personal Care Suds
If you can rescue your beer from the fridge and keep it away from the kitchen countertop long enough, it can serve more than edible purposes.
Indeed, beer has several personal-care applications, from hair treatments to facial masks.
- Hair care: After a long day or a tough hike, I sometimes indulge in a shower beer — and it turns out beer has benefits beyond relaxation. Care2 Healthy Living reports beer’s natural sugars and B vitamins can boost shine when rinsed through hair after shampooing. (Peanut butter is another odd but useful tip.)
- Face mask:SheKnows.com shares a beer shampoo how-to and a beer face-mask recipe. Hops offer astringent qualities while yeast can help rebalance skin pH.
- Pedicures: After long exercise sessions, I often want to veg out with a beer. Instead of drinking it, Health.com suggests a beer foot soak — the beer acts as an antiseptic and antibacterial, while the yeast softens rough skin.
Beer as Bait
I’m not one to part with beer lightly, but beer can lure certain pests.
WiseBread lists ways to bait critters like cockroaches, fruit flies, slugs and mice using beer. Many of these methods aren’t humane, so I’d recommend buying humane traps and repellents instead.
Beer can be used for more pleasant attractions, too.
To draw butterflies and delight children, mix sugar, stale beer, overripe bananas, syrup, juice and a splash of rum, then spread it around your garden and suspend a sponge soaked with the mixture in shaded branches. Butterflies will come for this treat. (Full directions are here.)
Beer for Home Maintenance
Got chores around the house? Beer might be useful — not only as a reward when you finish them.
- Lawn care: Men’s Health says beer can help eliminate brown patches in your lawn because of its sugars. Use a beer without chemicals — think a simple brew like Rolling Rock or your own homebrew.
- Coffee stains: I spilled plenty of beer on dorm carpets, so I was surprised to find beer can sometimes help remove other stains like coffee from carpeting. Reader’s Digest explains how.
- Polishing: Flat beer can serve as a polish for old wooden furniture, per The Huffington Post. It’s also effective on copper cookware and even gold jewelry, according to LifeHacker.
Speaking as someone with zero formal brewing credentials, I still believe beer’s top purpose is to be enjoyed cold.
But if a batch goes flat (don’t let that happen) or you have more than you’ll ever drink, consider some of the alternate uses above. Cheers!
For more tips on getting the best value from your brews, check out budget friendly beer find cheapest ales lagers stouts and explore comparisons at brand name vs cheap beer.
