Alternative Uses for Your Unused Natty Light! (Part One)

The reason why I'm writing this post is for my fellow college students. We're not made of money, so, many students have to make that "Do I buy laundry detergent or do I buy beer for the party?" decision. Unfortunately for our parents knowledge, it seems the latter is much more often the final decision. I figure, if students are going to purchase beer over having clean socks, then it's my job to inform my student body of some alternative uses for beer so that they can stretch their dollar just that much further.

Not long ago, a few of my buddies made one of those "two-cans-connected-with-a-string" telephones using old beer cans. This got me thinking, what are some other ways that people can efficiently use beer?

Now, being a college student, I've seen my fair share of unique uses for beer (i.e. beersicles - cubes of beer with toothpicks stuck in them or the ever popular beer lamp) but, it wasn't until I did some research that I found out just how useful some spare beers can really be.

The amount of information that I found on this subject was actually pretty breathtaking, so, instead of simply stating all the uses, I'm going to count down my top 8 list of the best alternatives (at least in my mind) for beer that I could find. I'm going to do the # 5-8 in this post and then save the final four the next post. So, without any further delay birds and gents...Here's the list!

#8. Take a Beer Bath

You may need more than just a couple of spare cans for this one, but if you can scrounge enough beers together to fill a tub, you're skin will thank you later. According to this article that I found online, the yeast and other ingredients actually work as great skin-softeners. (Note: you should probably shower after the bath. With water, that is.)

#7. Stain Removal

I'm very capable of spilling anything at any place. Thankfully for people like me, I can just use my beer to clean up! Simply pour a fresh beer on the stain, let it sit for a minute and then blot that stain right out of there.

#6. Marinating

Beer makes an excellent marinade. Not only will it add a distinct flavor to the meat, but it will also soften it up. Here's a great recipe for a beer marinade.

#5. Plant Fertilizer

For all those green-thumbs out there, this use is right up your alley. A little beer splashed around the base of the plants will provide them with extra nutrients, just make sure not to give them too much (as we all know, too much beer never leads to good things). For further interest in this use, check out this website and read Madeline Wajda's tale.