Bathing in Beer

With all the World Cup parties I’ve been to lately, there was one common theme: lots of beer (…because the games were played in Germany, of course…). My friends would get excited for the games and throw back their frosty beverages – ah, how refreshing! If you are into these kinds of refreshments, perhaps you’d be interested in literally bathing in the stuff. In Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic “beer spas” have opened up “promising health, wellness and the chance to bathe in your favorite suds.” New York Times Travel writer Evan Rail tells us all about it in his article Beer Spas: Yeast of Eden.

“In the cellar, four couple-size wooden tubs are filled with a special brew. The Moorhof also offers milk baths, but Hedwig Bauer, who owns the hotel with her husband, Karl, believes that beer has certain advantages. ‘Beer is very good for the skin, because of the vitamins and the yeast,’ Ms. Bauer said. ‘It’s cleansing and drying.’

During the soak, a few pints of Schnaitl’s beer are offered for imbibing, suggesting that the relaxation is chemically rather than therapeutically induced. After about 20 minutes, you’re wrapped in a starched white sheet and led to a four-poster bed piled with toasty alfalfa hay. The curtains are drawn and you’re left to have a mild sweat. Go ahead, just try to stay awake.

If the whole thing sounds somewhat masculine, Ms. Bauer was surprised that many of the beer bath’s customers are women, a number of whom also splurge on a brewski facial — a gooey mask made from ground hops, malt, honey and cream cheese. The concoction tickles furiously when it slides down your cheeks, and it smells remarkably like breakfast.

Couples are welcome. A beer-bath weekend for two at the Moorhof costs 198 euros a person, and includes two nights at the hotel, breakfast and two four-course dinners.”