Wake The Lakes Life Hack for the Week:  “Ways Beer Will Make Your Life Better (Including DRINKING It)”

–First off, cold beer for a crowd.  Add a cup of rock salt to a bucket of ice to cool down your beer bottles and cans quickly. The salt melts the ice into freezing water, which transfers that energy to chill your beer faster than just using ice by itself.

–No bottle opener? Use a piece of paper!  You’ll just need to do some folding; fold the paper in half vertically, four times. Then, fold it horizontally once. You’ll end up with a V shape. Using the pointed end of the V, apply upward pressure to the edge of the cap. Bam!

–Polish gold jewelry.  Use a little beer to put the shine back into your real gold earrings, necklaces and bracelets. Pour flat beer onto a soft cloth and rub in small circles. Wipe off the beer with a dry cloth to reveal your rejuvenated jewelry. Note: This hack only works with real gold, and it will tarnish gemstones and silver.

–Boost Your Rice.  Add a rich depth of flavor to your rice by substituting a dark beer for water. Your rice will come out with a nutty taste. You can also go half-and-half with water for a milder tasting beer-rice.

–Refresh Wood Furniture.  Use stale beer to put a little polish back into your wood furniture. Gently rub a beer-dampened soft cloth on a dingy wooden surface. Wipe off excess with a dry cloth to reveal a lustrous shine.

–Pump Up Your Chili.  Use your favorite beer to add dimension to your chili. You can deglaze the pan after cooking your aromatics for a milder taste or put some dark beer in at the end for a tasty, boozy flavor boost. (Deglazing is simply the act of adding liquid to a hot pan, which allows all of the caramelized bits stuck to the bottom to release.)

–At-Home Spa Day.  Give your feet a treat by creating a foot soak with beer. The yeast in beer will soften your feet while the alcohol acts as a natural antiseptic.

–Tenderize cheap meat.  Just use your favorite beer to replace your usual meat tenderizer before grilling, and you’ll have a tender, yummy main course.

–Bitter beer? Add salt.  A pinch of salt can help offset the nasty bitter taste of super cheap beer. Surprisingly enough, this hack can also be used to improve bitter coffee! Make sure you don’t go overboard with the salt, and always swirl your can or glass until you’re sure it’s all dissolved.

–If you still hate the taste of beer, try mixing it with juice, just like you’d do any other cocktail! Pay attention to the flavor notes that are already present in your beer, and then add juices that will play well with them, like apple juice, orange juice, or lemonade.