Collaboration

Remember this?  When I told you we were beer snobs?

That, as you may know, is our Mashed In beer soap.  Awesome stuff.  My absolute favorite of our soaps, in fact.

Well, the original batch, the batch in that photo, was made with Sam Adams Noble Pils.  Beer is great for the skin, and that's an admittedly darned good beer.

Wait.  Beer is good for the skin?

Yup.  Good for the skin.  I've read that in ancient Egypt, long considered the birthplace of beer, women of the upper classes used beer for all sorts of cosmetic and therapeutic purposes, such as to freshen the skin and reduce the risk of skin conditions.  And more recent scientific studies have shown that brewer's yeast can help improve the symptoms of acne and maintain a balanced pH in the skin.  As a result, cosmetic companies are starting to incorporate brewer's yeast as an active ingredient in their formulas.

So... beer soap.

But we found better beer.  Local beer.  New Jersey Beer.

The NJ Beer Co. is local to Reef Botanicals, just a few minutes away at 4201 Tonnelle Avenue, North Bergen, NJ.  It was founded by president Matt Steinberg.

Photo:  Peter Kennedy

A very nice guy, and exceedingly talented at what he does, his take on it all is that the "New Jersey Beer Co. is dedicated to crafting quality beer for all; from the occasional beer drinker to the beer aficionado.  We believe that good products come from good people, and strive to do our very best for our community and our customers.  We believe we can provide happiness through doing what we love, and that a good beer can make the good times great."

It's that sense of community and quest for good times that led the NJ Beer Co. to open up a tasting room, which offers free samples of NJ Beer and a tour of the brewery from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays, and 2-6 p.m. on Saturdays.

To keep up with their events, be sure to become a fan of their Facebook page.

But that sense of community is going even farther now.  We're teaming up with them to produce our new version of Mashed In, a collaboration between Reef Botanicals and the NJ Beer Co.  For our first batch, we've used my favorite of their beers, the Garden State Stout.

Because we're using a stout and the same chocolate malted barley used to make the beer, as well as hops, this batch of soap will necessarily be darker.

And because it's a stout, in addition to the cedarwood essential oil we used in the original Mashed In, we've added a touch of coffee essential oil too.

It's in the molds and ready to go!

The best part?  Not only will our NJ Beer Co. Mashed In beer soap be available at the Reef Botanicals website, we'll also have it this Sunday, February 6, at the Minerals Resort Winter Wonderland craft fair!

Know what's even better than that?  You'll be able to buy our new Mashed In at the NJ Beer Co. brewery!  Go for a tasting, try some of the amazing beers, and buy Reef Botanicals Mashed In... all in the same trip!