It’s not just for breakfast anymore! We’ve discovered that beer has many inventive and unlikely uses around the home and beyond. (Uncle John’s never had so much fun researching an article.)

(1)

Beer is slightly acidic, making it useful for cleaning copper pots. Throw a small amount of beer in the pot, let it sit for a few minutes, and then wipe it out.

(2)

Beer adds shine and luster to hair. Boil one cup of beer until it’s reduced down to 1⁄4 cup. Let it cool and mix with your regular shampoo.

(3)

After a beer shampoo, try a beer conditioner. Mix three tablespoons of beer with half a cup of warm water. After washing your hair, rub in the beer solution, leave it in for a couple minutes, then rinse. The beer reportedly makes flat hair bouncier.

(4)

Beer kills pesky garden slugs. Fill some wide-mouthed jars a third of the way full with beer. Bury them about 15–20 feet from your garden, with the rims level to the soil. Slugs love beer. They’ll smell it, try to drink it, then fall into the jars and drown.

(5)

A bath of ice-cold, extra-bubbly beer soothes tired feet.

(6)

If drinking too much beer got you lost, beer can also help you find your way back home. Put some in a bowl and let it go flat. Magnetize a needle by stroking it against a piece of silk, then put it in the bowl of beer and it will point north/south.

(7)

Spray organic beer on the brown patches in your lawn. The grass will absorb the fermented sugars, which stimulate growth.

(8)

Flat beer cleans wooden furniture. Wipe some on a soft cloth, clean the furniture, then wipe dry with another cloth.

(9)

Try this only at your own risk, but beer can shine gold. Pour the beer onto a cloth, rub it gently over the gold (but not any gemstones) and wipe clean with a towel.

(10)

Beer even removes coffee stains from rugs. Pour the beer directly over the stain, then rub it into the fibers. (Disclaimer: Try this one only at your own risk, too.)