Beeromantic Candles

I moved to Baltimore in a company relocation in July 2012.  Shortly after, Baltimore had it's annual Beer Week, a week full of delicious local and hard to find beers. At one bar I went with my friend Drew to an "Autumn Beer Event" due to my preference for pumpkin and Oktoberfest beers.  I would be happy drinking these year round, they are literally like fall in a bottle.  At the event, Drew introduced me to Southern Tier Pumking.  THE BEST PUMPKIN BEER EVER.  If you haven't had it yet, you must try it.  Even if you're not a beer drinker.  It is sweet and delicious but not overwhelming.  And, the best part?  It's almost 9% alcohol.  Any beer store that stocks it will almost certainly sell out before September though.  This year, I was sure to stock up as soon as the store got some in inventory.  Although it is pricey, I paid $184 (including tax) for two cases.  But it's worth it, and I plan to distribute some for Halloween and Thanksgiving events among friends and family.

Drew's birthday is conveniently timed at the end of August, shortly after buying and taste-tasting my Pumking case.  I've been in a crafting craze lately, and really wanted to make him a gift associated with this tasty treat.  I've been seeing a pinterest DIY post circling around lately about cutting beer bottle glasses.  After some research, I found several posts that showed how to cut beer bottles.  Below I'll go over my best results method.  I have always loved the scent of anything pumpkin:  pumpkin pie, pumpkin spiced lattes, baked pumpkin seeds with salt and garlic YUM.  So what could be a better gift than a Pumking Candle?

The best part about this DIY is you have to drink the beer in order to do it!  The ingredients you need are:  beer bottle(s), string, acetone nail polish remover, pitcher of ice water, oven mitt, lighter, sandpaper, wax, candle wick, and candle scents.

Step One: 
Cut three equal pieces of string and braid.  Soak this into the acetone nail polish remover.  Tie the braided string around the bottle.

Step Two:
As a risk adverse person, I put on the oven mitt for an extra precaution but you daredevils out there may do this free-handed.  Holding the bottom of the bottle with your oven-mitted hand, light the braided string with the lighter.

Step Three:
Rotate the bottle like a rotisserie chicken until the flame dies down.  You will get a pretty controlled flame, but you are dealing with fire so take extra precautions and do this craft in a safe environment.  I personally did this at my bathroom sink, with a sink full of water just in case.  Once the flame dies down, plunge the bottle bottom up into the pitcher full of ice water.  Make sure you don't skimp as I did at first, and use a lot of ice in that pitcher or the bottle won't break.  Also, sidenote - I got this pitcher at a movie theater.  They sell pitchers of mixed drinks themed around popular movies.  Delicious and creative!

Step Four:
The bottle is going to separate wherever you tied your braided string.  Some breaks will be cleaner than others - out of the three I tried I could only use two, and only one was satisfactory to give to Drew as a gift.  One the top of the bottle pops off, use sandpaper to sand the edges thoroughly.  The break in the bottle is sharp, but probably not enough to cut you.  Still, sanding the edges down makes the bottle a little more useable.


Step Five:
Now that the bottle is ready,  it's time to make the candle.  I bought creme wax from Michaels but use whatever your candle preference is.  Place enough water the cover the bottom of a pot.  Put the pot on top of a pan, and light the stove to a low heat.  Slowly heat the wax stirring occasionally.  It will take about 30 - 60 minutes to fully melt and heat to a high enough temperature. Once the wax is heated, add whatever scent you want.  I used pumpkin spice, and it smelled almost good enough to eat!

Step Six:

Pour the wax into the Beer Bottle.  Cut and add the wick.  Being thrifty and unprepared, I used a pen + cap to hold the wick while the wax cooled.  I let the wax harden at room temperature overnight, and then stuck in the refrigerator for another few hours.  Lastly, cut the wick to size, remove excess wax with a sponge, light and enjoy the Pumking!