What? You can develop film in beer?!
Oh yeah. And below we'll show you exactly how, step-by-step.
But first we’ll quickly dive into how we figured out you can develop black & white film at home with beer in the first place. Developing black and white—and even color film—at home has been a hobby for film photography enthusiasts for decades on decades. Only problem is, the traditional way to develop film requires nasty chemical developers, toxic stop baths, and polluting waste materials. Alternative developers like coffee, beer, and even wine substitute naturally balanced liquids for chemicals regularly used in analog film development, like formaldehyde and ammonia, working with specific additives like vitamin C and soda ash to activate the film’s chemical makeup and bring the image to life.
Using beer in film processing may not deliver as punchy blacks or whites as you would expect to see with professional chemicals, but the softer contrasts and occasional sepia-like tones are actually quite lovely when tested with black & white films like Kodak Tri-X 400 and Fujifilm Acros 100—though the type of film you use is up to you (and likely your wallet). Good news is, neither your film camera model or type of film matter—both 35mm and medium format film work, so long as it’s b&w film (check out our picks for the best film cameras here btw). With beerenol, as the process is sometimes called, it’s best to embrace the artsy aesthetic and the imperfections that come from the process of developing your own film. It’s handmade! Unique! Etc. Sure a digital camera would be easier, but where’s the fun in that?!