Don't Stress Over Skunked Beer — Here's How To Use The Spoiled Suds

If you've ever had beer go skunky on you — which is to say, develop an "off" odor due to having been exposed to too much light — then you know what a disappointment it can be. Especially if you paid a lot for that beer or purchased it in bulk. If it's any consolation, this no-longer-drinkable brew can still be put to other uses. Sofia Martinez, who runs a Texas-based cleaning service called Sparkly Maid Austin, likes to use it as a household cleaner for sinks and drains.

For starters, Martinez pours some beer down the drain. As she explained it, "The natural acid will dissolve all the grease." She then adds ½ cup of baking soda which will fizz when it hits the acidic beer. This helps to further breakdown any gunk that's been building up. The baking soda is left to sit for 15 minutes before she runs some hot water to rinse everything away. "I recommend doing this process every month so you can keep your pipes odor-free and your drains sparkled," she told us. She also wets a cloth with beer and uses it to wipe down the faucet, saying: "This helps to get rid of all the mineral spots on the faucet without leaving any streaks."

If you do any gardening, there are several different ways you can utilize that skunked beer. One involves simply pouring it on your lawn since it will actually help the grass to grow. Another is to pour it into open containers and place them around your garden. The yeast in the beer attracts snails, slugs, and pill bugs (those that are just a few feet away, thankfully). They crawl over to the beer traps, start drinking, get drunk, fall over, and drown. Sounds silly, but it's actually surprisingly effective and not poisonous for any dogs and cats that might get into the traps. Beer-soaked escargot may not be something you want your pet snacking on, but they're safer than chemical bug killers.

We've already discussed using beer to make metal faucets shinier, but it's also effective as a wood polish. Skunked beer works to clean the rust off hardware and can even be poured on the rug to counteract a coffee or tea stain. Some have even found success by using beer as a toilet bowl cleaner, although you'll need to let it sit for 15 minutes before scrubbing.

Beer is great in the bathroom, too. It can either be mixed into shampoo or used as a hair rinse in place of conditioner. Although it may make your hair smell a tiny bit beer-y, it will make it softer, shinier, and less staticky. You can even pour a can of skunked beer into the bathtub and settle in for a relaxing soak since beer is rich in vitamin B along with other minerals and antioxidants that are beneficial for your skin.

More conservative cooks may clutch their pearls at the idea, but just because skunked beer doesn't taste great doesn't mean it can't be used in cooking. The whole "if you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it" theory has long been debunked — after all, who'd guzzle salty pasta water? As a matter of fact, quite a few of the things we use in cooking taste absolutely awful on their own (ever eaten raw flour or taken a swig of vanilla extract?). In synergy with other ingredients and the appropriate preparation techniques, an ingredient that might be unpleasant on its own blends into a harmonious whole. This applies to skunked beer, as well, although you have to be judicial in choosing how to use it. Due to the skunkiness, you don't want it to play too large of a role in the dish's overall flavor

Just as old wine is okay for braising, skunked beer can be used for the same purpose. Skunked beer can also be used for making Wisconsin-style beer brats which are boiled in their eponymous liquid before being grilled. Using skunked beer prevents you from having to waste anything you might otherwise be drinking, since after boiling the cooking liquid will likely go right down the sink drain. As long as the beer isn't seriously skunked, it can also make a pretty decent marinade or be turned into vinegar (or moonshine, if you have the requisite skills, equipment, and legal permission). It's also possible to bake skunked beer into a cake since the other ingredients will offset its bitter flavor.