Discover the Best Beer Spa Experiences in Europe
Europe is a destination known for its rich cultural history, diverse cuisine, and stunning landscapes. But did you know that it’s also home to some of the best beer spa experiences in the world?
From the Czech Republic to Germany, Austria to Belgium, beer spas have become a popular way for travelers to relax and unwind. Imagine soaking in a tub filled with warm, hop-infused water, sipping on a cold, refreshing beer, and feeling all your worries wash away.
Whether you’re a beer lover or just looking for a unique wellness experience, a beer spa is definitely worth discovering!
Most Popular Beer Spas in Europe
-
Beer Spa in Prague, Czech Republic
A Complete Guide to Beer Spas in Prague: What to Expect and How to Book
Beer baths are a modern spa treatment that uses a hot bath containing hop and herbal extracts. Hops are added to the beer to balance the flavour – adding bitter undertones to the sweet malty taste. But as well as flavouring the beer, it also adds a host of health-giving nutrients. Beer contains fibre, vitamin B, is good for muscles and bones and reduces the risk of heart disease. So beer doesn’t just have to be taken internally, but you can taste its positive effects externally after soaking in a hot beer bath.
How did the beer baths originate?
The origins of beer baths or beer spas can be traced back to the Czech Republic, where beer has been a traditional drink for centuries. In fact, the Czech Republic is known for its beer culture, and it is home to many breweries and beer festivals.
The use of beer in wellness treatments is thought to have started in the Middle Ages when people would bathe in beer to soothe their skin and ease muscle pain. At that time, beer was considered to be a medicinal drink that could cure a variety of ailments.
In the modern era, the first beer spa opened in the Czech Republic in 2006, and since then, beer spas have become increasingly popular around the world. The idea of using beer as a wellness treatment is based on the natural ingredients found in beer, such as hops, barley, and yeast, which are believed to have beneficial properties for the skin and body.
Today, beer spas are a unique and enjoyable way for people to relax and unwind while experiencing the benefits of beer and natural ingredients on their skin and body.
What can you expect in the beer spa?
You can enjoy a relaxing wellness in a beer bath in any corner of Europe. You can enhance the pleasure of relaxation during the bath by sipping beer, most often from a local brewery. You don’t have to be a beer lover, but you can still enjoy the beer treatments. Beer spas include baths, massages, therapeutic wraps and can be complemented by drinking beer as part of a drinking cure.
Almost every beer spa operator has its own procedure and methodology for running a beer bath.
The basis of all beer baths is the hot bath. The contents of this bath are prepared by each operator according to their own recipe, the main ingredients being local water, beer, brewer’s yeast and herbal mixtures. Other ingredients are added according to local customs and traditions. In some spas, beer baths are also available in the form of bubble baths. As most beer baths have their own microbreweries, they add beer from their own production to the bath.
The restorative baths take place in steel, wooden, copper, teak or classic bath tubs, or in a smaller pool.
The classic course of a beer bath:
- The client is immersed in the bath, whose temperature is 34 to 38 °C (93 to 100 ºF), for 20 to 30 minutes. The bath is enriched with live cultures of brewer’s yeast and a mixture of crushed herbs, and a characteristic white beer foam covers the surface.
- Due to the high temperature of the bath, it is necessary to follow a drinking regime and continuously replenish fluids. For this reason, each bath has its own tap and the visitor to the baths can tap his own beer (unfiltered and unpasteurised with a high content of live yeast) as part of the treatment.
- After the bath, the customer is wrapped in a sheet and blanket on a specially adapted bed for 20 to 60 minutes. During this time, the body is harmonised and calmed down and gradually becomes accustomed to the outside environment. The warmed body finishes sweating, the heart rate calms down, blood pressure drops, muscles relax and the body’s energy is restored. Cleansed and seemingly fresher and rejuvenated, the skin now absorbs the active substances that have been left on it after the bath.
- Afterwards, the customer can use one of the additional wellness treatments – Finnish sauna, stay in the salt cave or, for example, classical, Javanese or Hawaiian massage. The massage after the beer bath, which perfectly warms up the whole body, multiplies the effects of the whole treatment.
Why you should try beer baths?
The acids humulone (a bittering agent in hops) and lupolone (an antibiotic that works against certain fungi and bacteria, derived from the powdery coating of hop cones) prevent the growth of bacteria and disease. Regular consumption of beer can reduce the risk of kidney stones, heart attacks, strokes and Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.
But there are more reasons to try a beer bath. Hops can not only bring a much desired bitterness to the sweet, malty taste of beer. But it is full of health benefits that our bodies absorb not only when we consume it, but also during and after a beer bath.
Beer baths affect the human body by several factors
The beneficial effect of a hot bath
Water at a temperature of between 34 and 38 °C slightly increases the heart rate, which activates the blood circulation and thus the beer bath has a positive effect on the entire vascular system. During the warming up of the body, the muscles are relaxed and the joints and other parts of the body are warmed up. The warm water loosens the skin pores, from which harmful substances are subsequently washed away, thus cleansing the body.
If you immerse yourself in a mineral or bubble bath, the bubbles on the skin help to effectively relax the whole body.
Beneficial effect of bath additives
The beer bath is based on a relaxing bath in the extracts from which the beer is brewed. That is, from selected hop varieties, malt and brewer’s yeast.
The high content of hop essential oils relaxes the skin pores and revitalises the organism.
Brewer’s yeast, thanks to its high vitamin B content and active enzymes, helps to regenerate the skin.
Beer, hops, brewer’s yeast and herbs added to the bath are characterised by their beneficial effects on the human body. Beer is a natural product with the active ingredients of natural carbon dioxide, hops and brewer’s yeast. It works against eczema, acne and cellulite.
The living culture of brewer’s yeast provides the skin with a range of vitamins, proteins and carbohydrates. It softens and nourishes the skin, thus increasing its regenerative abilities and soothing all skin problems.
A rejuvenating beer bath with positive cosmetic effects can be prepared by combining beer yeast with various herbs contained in the beer bath.
The natural antioxidants in beer have rejuvenating effects and help the cells live longer. Beer also contains carbonic acid, which increases blood circulation to the skin. Hop thrash acts as a dermatological peel as it removes dead skin from the body.
The carbonic acid contained in beer has a positive effect on the blood circulation in the skin. The hops pulp contained in the bath removes dead skin from the body and acts as a dermatological peel.
Drinking beer while relaxing in the bath
For beer lovers, an essential part of any beer bath is drinking beer that you yourself draw from the tap next to the bath. If you take advantage of this opportunity, the beer will have a positive effect on your digestive system. It contains more than 30 minerals and trace elements that cover a significant portion of your daily consumption – for example, zinc, iron, copper, fluorine, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus. Thanks to their antioxidant properties, polyphenols and flavonoids protect against vascular and cancer diseases.
How does a beer bath and drinking beer during it benefit our health?
- Soothes the skin.
- Helps treat acne, psoriasis and cellulite.
- Relieves muscle tension.
- Cleanses pores.
- Rejuvenates the skin.
- Detoxifies the body – harmful substances are flushed out of the body.
- Helps heal back and joint pain.
- Increases heart function.
- Strengthens the hair.
- Supplies the body with carbohydrates, vitamins and proteins.
- Improves blood circulation.
- Regenerates the body.
- Harmonizes the mind.
- Reduces stress.
- Strengthens the immune system and helps with regeneration of the whole body.
Contraindications
Beer baths, like most hot water bath-based treatments, are not suitable for people who have undergone heart surgery, have heart problems, high blood pressure, varicose veins, children under the age of 12 and pregnant women from the 3rd month of pregnancy.
If you have any health problems, consult your doctor first.
Quality of beer bath
You should also be interested in the quality of the beer bath you are going to. Some operators, in an attempt to cut costs, only provide a hot water bath with a little beer cosmetic under the name ‘beer bath’.
A good quality beer bath should contain mineral water, crushed hops, brewer’s yeast and about 8 to 10 litres of beer, plus herbal mixtures if necessary.
Did you like the article?