Life Hackery

Ice cold beer is the perfect way to relieve yourself from stress. As the cold foamy drink passes down your throat, you feel refreshed en route to a good weekend. Beer happens to be one of the world’s most popular beverages just because of that fact. Now, imagine yourself in the same situation, only this time you are swagging a bottle of warm flat beer. You’d probably toss your bottle away and get even more stressed than before.

Beer, when warm or flat, is considered useless. The usual course of action for flat beer is to pour it down the drain. Of course, you can put it in the fridge but if your can or bottle has already been opened, it still wouldn’t taste good. So, do you throw your flat beer or do you keep it? The makeshift world says that beer is pretty useful, given its number of alternative uses. Here are 10 good reasons why you should store your stock of flat beer:

1. Fertilizer – Beer as fertilizer may sound silly at first. If you check the ingredients of beer, you will see that it contains yeast. Yeast happens to be a good enrichment agent for soil. You can apply beer in small amounts throughout your garden to make your plants more healthy. Remarkably, you only need several tablespoons from your brew to take care of your entire garden.

2. Pest Collector – Even with an insecticide spray, some pests are still hard to catch. Some of them fly, while others slide into the discreet corners of your house or lawn whenever they feel threatened. You can use your flat beer to catch all of those annoying creepy crawlies. Just set a glass of beer on a certain area and be ready with your insecticide spray. Moments after, hordes of pests will go to the glass. Wait until you see a sizable number, then go Rambo on them with your spray can.

3. Meat Marinate and Tenderizer – Can’t do anything with a half-filled bottle of flat beer? Just pour its contents on a slab of meat then let it marinate for several hours. You will then notice that the meat has been tenderized. It will also have a fine distinct flavor, once it is cooked. If your tastebuds are keen, you might even find other dishes that may be enhanced with a few tablespoons of flat beer.

4. Furniture Cleaner – The slightly foamy base of flat beer can displace dust particles from the surfaces of your wooden furniture. Add a small amount of beer to your rug and you can wipe away all of the dirt from your furniture. Too keep your furniture from smelling, rub the beer off with a clean rug right after. You can also spray air freshener in the room so that the scent of beer will be completely covered.

5. Shampoo Supplement – Mix three tablespoons of flat beer with some warm water. When taking a shower, shampoo your hair thoroughly. Apply the warm beer solution onto your hair before rinsing off the shampoo. You will then have shiny dandruff-free hair. Given the brew’s efficiency when cleaning hair, a few shampoo brands today actually contain beer.

6. Bee Trap – Bees are naturally ferocious, especially when they feel threatened. You’ll get rewarded with a painful bee sting, if you go near an agitated bee. You can appease these angry insects by handing them a glass of flat beer. Don’t forget to punch 3/8-inch holes on the plastic glass then cover its mouth with a jar lid. The bees will force themselves inside the holes just to reach the brew. In effect, they will remain inside the glass until you have dealt with them personally.

7. Gold Cleaner – For dulled golden jewelry, you can use beer to return their luster. Apply a small amount of flat beer onto a rug, then scrub your jewelry with it. Get a clean rug and wipe off the layer of beer on your adornments. The result is a set of fine shiny jewelry that can be mistaken for newly purchased items. Remember, you should use dark beer on your golden jewelry because they might get stained. Light beer usually provides the best results.

8. Trap for Garden Pests – Garden pests like slugs, snails and aphids devour the leaves of your plants, making your garden arrangements look shabby. You can create a simple beer-based trap for these little fiends. Get an opened tin can and bury it on the part of your garden where you usually see pests. Make sure that the can’s lip is level with the ground, then fill the can with beer. The pests will be attracted to the sweet scent of the brew. They will end up falling inside the can, drowning in the process.

9. Carpet / Mat Stain Remover – Coffee and tea stains on a carpet are hard to remove. If your detergent is not strongly formulated, the stains will remain on the carpet strands. Try rubbing the stains with flat beer. After several scrubs, the spots will be wiped away from your carpet.

10. Just Drink It – Flat beer may not be satisfying, but if you take a peek inside your fridge, will you really see anything better? Just chill your flat beer inside the fridge. Turn your TV on the sports channel and grab some nachos or a bag of chips. Now, partner all those things with your cold flat beer. You’ll still have a good time.

Beer is a wonderful beverage, regardless if it is fresh or flat. It can remove stress in more ways than one with its refreshing taste and its multitude of uses. For all the beer lovers out there, let’s toast to the benefits of such a drink. Cheers!