A big thank you, I made a batch of soap but the first attempt at lye and beer was a volcano episode. My poor sister went outside (okay that alone was a brilliant move) and said she thought she was adding the lye slowly and then had the hose nearby in case she needed it. Poor thing comes in the house a bit shaken up. The part we missed as we were following another site’s directions didn’t mention to cool the beer down after boiling so of course it was hot when she was adding the lye. I quickly did a search and found your timely info and we started again this time cooling the beer down in a cold water bath and adding lye by tsp amounts. I had the hose ready outside beside my sister and at one point it got hot but no explosion so I aimed the hose with cold water under the bucket for a second while my sister stirred the lye. It was a lovely day outside and all went well. We came in and made the soap and it looks like it’s going to be lovely. It’s in the oven right now.

Michelle

Put your lye pitcher into a larger cardboard box so that if there is overflow it doesn’t ruin anything. HOWEVER, if you have overflow you loose some of your lye solution and your soap bar won’t turn out as hard/good.

The wine lends a fruity smell that isn’t there with plain water. I’ve also used grape juice, apple juice, apple cider and many types of wine. You will get a darker bar.