Hop Soap

There is so much more to hops than beer.

They have some pretty amazing qualities that make them a great addition to beauty products. Hops are a good source of antioxidants which can give the skin a youthful glow. They also possess anti-inflammatory qualities to help reduce puffiness and redness.

Last harvest when I made soap I did a good deal of experimenting. I wanted to figure out how to have the natural hop scent come through. After some internet research and trial & error I discovered that the volatile hop compounds just don’t last through the chemical reaction of making soap. I tried melt and pour soap thinking that with the chemical reaction already having occurred it would last. It was the heat of the melted soap that flashed off the scent this time.

This year we are going in knowing that the soap will carry all of the qualities of our hops, but not the scent. That is what essential oils are for!

The first step was to infuse the hops in the Olive Oil. Those beautiful cones spent 2 weeks in the oil in dark, cold storage. The oil took on a very green hue and the scent of the Galena hops.

Hours before wanting to make soap we prepared the Sodium Hydroxide, the lye solution. The chemical reaction of adding Sodium Hydroxide to water creates a surprising amount of heat. It was so hot that I couldn’t hang onto the mason jar I was mixing it in. This is the dangerous part of soap making - gloves on, long sleeves and window opened. Then it sits to cool.

Next, we weigh out and melt the solids. For this soap we used coconut oil and cocoa butter along side the hop infused olive oil. Melt those up in a double boiler and then wait for them to cool down… but don’t cool them too much, but don’t use them if they are too hot… out comes the instant read thermometer.

While we are waiting for the coconut oil and cocoa butter to cool we measure out the hop infused olive oil and the essential oils.

We auditioned a number of essential oil blends. Matt, Angie, Logan and I sniffed our way through 10 blends I had prepared. They ranged from “Mountain Man” a blend of Peppermint, Juniper, Pine and Cypress; a “Woodsy” Pine, Juniper, Cedar; and an odd Bergamot, Sandalwood and Lemongrass mix. We also tried to recreate the smell of hops using oils.

The Chinook Hop is known for its pine and grapefruit scent. So we created a blend using both pine wood and pine needle oils. The pine needle oil is decidedly stronger and very piney. Mixed with the scent of Grapefruit it is a very fresh scent. We have named that soap “Chinook” after the hop we were trying to emulate.

The Galena Hop is an older variety of hops and is one of the most widely used bittering hops varieties. It has a very classic hop scent with clean citrus notes. I found some hop essential oils at the soap shop so I bought a bottle. Making our own hop essential oils is something we want to try out next harvest - so I thought I’d give a bottle a go. Using the hop essential oil we bumped up the scent by adding grapefruit. It has a very pleasant and clean smell. We have named this soap “Galena”.

Once the solids had cooled we added them to the olive oil and stirred. Then it is time for the magic. The premade sodium hydroxide is carefully added and then blended. The reaction happens so quickly.

As the soap reaches “trace” we add the essential oils and a pinch of crushed hops.

Then we pour the soap in the mold. A quick spritz with isopropyl alcohol, sandwich between cardboard and wrap in a towel. The chemical reaction, saponification, heats up and converts the fats and lye to soap.