Soap made with Local Brew

The Hibernator Beer Soap

In recent weeks, local patrons and online regional shoppers have purchased a lot of these soaps made with local brew from Long Trail Brewing Company.

The Hibernator Soap is made with Hibernator Beer, a seasonal offering at Long Trail.  The label on the bottle displays a winter scene with a cute bear all cozy and covered under a blanket in a chair. He is reading a book and smoking his pipe in front of a roaring fire.  And added in for good measure, above the fireplace are the heads of two hunters mounted.  The humorous aspect and appeal of the label inspired the creativity and smokey scent reminiscent of Santa's Pipe fragrance oil that I selected for this soap.

Made with IPA by Long Trail

The Vermont Beer Artisan Soap is made with IPA (India Pale Ale),  a year round offering at Long Trail.  The label on this particular beer bears an image of the brewery nestled along the river with the green mountains in the background.  The green mountains inspired the creativity of the green lines on the top of the soap and was scented with Pale Ale, which is delicate enough to enhance but not an overpowering scent.

These amazing soaps are now available for purchase at 20% off! AND, when you purchase $30 or more of product, your domestic order will ship to you for FREE. Simply input coupon code CYBWEEK13 upon checkout to receive the free domestic shipping offer.  And, we are also running a Cyber Week Bonus Promotion!

The Hibernator

The Hibernator Soap

There is nothing more comforting on those cold winter days than to sit in a cozy chair with a steaming cup of hot cocoa all nestled in with nice warm blanket by a roaring fire. 

The Hibernator Soap is our second in a series of soaps made with beer from the Long Trail Brewing Company.  Smoky and mysterious, this scent has notes of cherrywood, raspberry, vanilla and tobacco.

The creamy tan color was achieved by a combination of the beer and fragrance oil used, and was muted a touch with the use of Titanium Dioxide (white).  The blue was achieved with the use of Indigo Powder and Titanium Dioxide. 

Tha natural sugar content in the beer helps to boost the lather, and soap made with beer has become a favorite in the shower around our house. 

The Hibernator Soap will be available in our online shop later this month. 

Mom's Day Out

Today was a fun filled day of travel as we headed off to tour the Long Trail Brewing Company located in Bridgewater Corners, Vermont and sits along the banks of the Ottauquechee River.

Long Trail

I was pleasantly surprised to notice first off that the size of the facility is much smaller than I had imagined.  After taking a self-guided tour, we were treated to a VIP tour of the facility as my daughter works for this company.  The VIP tour offered a more in depth explanation of the entire process from start to finish. 

This company maximizes every square foot of their facility and everything is efficiently laid out.  This facility is very unique in that they have taken great measures to minimize the impact on the environment around them. 

Steam from the brewing process is condensed into hot water and the thermal energy is used to heat water for the next brewing cycle, saving thousands of

Where it all starts

gallons of propane per month and also reducing their water consumption by 1/3.  The spent grain and hops are fed to local dairy cattle as supplemental food.  This company has been acknowledged by the state of Vermont with the "Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence in Resource Conservation". 

This company truly gives back to the community.  A story was told that when Hurricane Irene came to visit back in 2011, the facility was spared any damage to the inside, but the river had expanded up to their building and had spilled over into the parking lot.  As they already are equipped for commercial dining and had the equipment, staffing, and facilities they became a shelter to those affected by the hurricane and offered clean clothes and meals to those who had

Fermenting Tank

no home left, or severely damaged by the hurricane.  There is only one place in that small town where a helicopter could land, and it just so happened to be right next to their building.  The military was able to get in and out to bring food and supplies to the people who needed the assistance in that area. 

Small company with a big heart in a small town in rural Vermont. 

Soap made with Beer?



Soap made with IPA from Long Trail

So what have I been making lately?  First up is a great new soap made with IPA (India Pale Ale) by Long Trail Brewing Company, a local Vermont brewery.  For those? not so sure about bathing with soap that contains beer let me just say...why not?  The natural sugars in the beer aids in boosting the lather, and after testing in the shower I can honestly say that this one holds a close contention to the emollient feel of goat milk soaps.  And no, you don't smell like beer afterwards because I passed the "you don't smell like beer" test at the school where I work. 

Five adults in my house agree, and this soap disappeared rapidly with a unanimous request that I give up more bars for further quality testing "just to be sure".  Even my picky husband had to tell me that the good bar of soap was gone and I should put more like it in the shower. 

Vermont Beer Artisan Soap is now available in our online shop.

For those who may not know...The soap momentum has been a bit slow the past couple months due in great part to the fact that my lower back and hip have been giving me problems. Problems that are a result of multiple trauma to the same area over the course of several years where I have neglected/put off treatment until I could barely move. I am on the mend, but ever so slowly. For the past few months I have had good days, bad days, and some just plain awful days with the pain levels. I have a high tolerance to pain, but this is wiping me out. My husband and family have really pulled it together to help keep the house running, and for that I am extremely thankful. Most of my energy has been expended at work, leaving little time in the evenings and on the weekends to blog and create so to lend enough time for healing.   Now that summer is here my energies can shift into the soapy fun without over-doing it.