Beer Around the Yard and Garden
Bait. Okay,so let’s get the ubiquitous slug bait tip out of the way. If you’ve got slugs you want to eliminate, pour some beer in a shallow dish that slugs can climb into but not out of. While we’re not extolling total extermination, this is a non-offensive and non-chemical solution to help cut back on slug damage to your plants. You can then pour the sluggy beer into a compost pile to return them to the earth cycle safely. Other bugs and multi-legged creatures may enter into this one way-agreement as well so be prepared to see other critters who find the smell of beer irresistible.
Compost. Composting is soooooo easy and smart that anyone can do it and everyone should consider it. Beer has so many nutrients that adding it to your compost pile helps return that goodness to the earth. There are many ways to easily compost, the most popular being outdoor traditional methods or vermiculture, which uses worms to recycle your food wastes. There are plenty of sites online to explore ideas for your particular setting. You can then compost the beer because healthy compost needs moisture and wetness. Just don’t over beer it–too much liquid content can kill the compost.
Beering, aka Watering. Like us, plants need plenty of water to survive. One way to use that beer you don’t intend to drink is to water plants. Since beer is food safe as well, you can easily use it to give highly nutritious liquid to plants that bear food and make our yards beautiful. Keep in mind that critters may be attracted to the beer and its smell. Diluting the beer in other waters or liquids you generate can be a smart solution to greatly reducing the attraction.
Beer Around the House & Apartment
Beer can help you. Outdated or unappealing leftovers can be recruited for use in other ways.
Cooking. Beer of every variety and style can be used in cooking. One of my very favorite tips is to freeze unused beer in ice cube trays or small containers that are freezer sturdy. If you freeze beer in ice cube trays, crack the tray once they’re completely frozen and put them in a labeled freezer container. When you reach for the beer cubes to cook with, simply select the number and style you want. Each cube equals roughly 2 tablespoons of liquid. If you want to be particular and know specific yield, help yourself by measuring the liquid volume of the tray or container before pouring the beer into it. Freezing this leftover beer will provide some excellent moisture and flavors in your cooking. Belgians in baking, stouts in gravies and porters in the crockpot. Mmmmmm!
Scrubbing. Beer’s gentle acidity combined with coarse salt can be a very effective and earth friendly tub scrubber. Get your salt, a scrubbing tool and the beer ready. The beer may foam up when it contacts the salt, so coarse salt is better because it won’t totally dissolve the solution before you want to use its texture to scrub. Scower thoroughly and rinse with clean water. You can also use a recipe of baking soda and course salt with the beer.
Stain Lifter. An extremely pale-colored carbonated beer can be used to help lift stains from different fabric surfaces. Pour a small amount of carbonated beer on the stain you want to remove, let it sit for a minute or two only, then gently sop up the area with a clean absorbent cotton rag. A small kitchen tool like a spatula can be helpful. Make small scooping motions on the dampened area as you work from the outside of the stain to the center removing as much of the beer and stain as possible. Caveat: Best results will occur on non-white surfaces.
Hair rinse. Beer can be used as a clarifying hair rinse. Just like a crisp beer can cleanse the palate of fatty foods, beers gentle acidity can help strip oils from hair. Wash your hair as normal and then give it a rinse with beer to get rid of any additional gunk that may build up from hair treatments such as shampoos and conditioners. One last rinse of fresh water will remove any suspicious beer scent and stickiness.
