Our Japanese reporter visits Czechia’s famous beer spas and boozily bathes in a bath of beer

These boozy baths are a must for all beer lovers!

Do you know which country holds the record for drinking the most beer per person? Many people might think of big countries like China or the USA, but actually it’s the Czech Republic, or Czechia, which happens to be the country that our travel-loving reporter Ikuna Kamezawa visited recently. The Czechs love their beer so much that they’ve held onto this record for almost 30 years!

And it’s not only used for drinking, either; the Czech Republic has a long history of bathing in beer. Beer baths were first documented around 2,000 years ago, and today in the capital city of Prague, there are a number of spas offering beer baths.

Beer spas usually cost around US$70-$140, but you can get reduced rates if you go together in a group. Ikuna was travelling solo though, so would be experiencing a bath full of beer by herself.

While there are many beer spas in Prague, the one Ikuna opted for was called Beer Spa Beerland, which offered an hour in the tub for 1,800 Czech koruna, which is roughly 10,539 yen, or $71.

Upon arrival, the spa attendant asked Ikuna, “Would you like regular beer or a stout?” As it turned out, there was an all-you-can-drink beer service for guests to enjoy while waiting for their beer bath to be drawn. Nice!

While many places in Europe have a reputation for drinking ‘warm’ room temperature beer, the beer served at Beer Spa Beerland was ice cold. Ikuna was aware she was about to hop into the bath soon after though, and drinking too much before having a bath is never a good idea, so she decided to keep the pre-bath drinks to a minimum.

As the bath was being prepared, the spa attendant guided Ikuna to the basement of the spa, where the baths are located. The door was opened to reveal…

…a luxurious-looking private spa! Inside Ikuna’s private room were three baths and a bed made from straw. It seemed like the kind of room that was made for a group, and Ikuna had been expecting to share it with other guests, but it appeared that she had the whole room to herself.

She also had her own private bathroom and shower. How fancy!

Ikuna couldn’t quite believe that all of this was only costing her around 10,000 yen!

Next, the spa attendant showed Ikuna the brewing yeast that would be put in the bath. She was talking a mile a minute which made it a little difficult to follow, but Ikuna assumed that this was to avoid using up too much of her allotted hour, so she was grateful.

▼ The brewing yeast smelled unusual, like some sort of mysterious medicine.

▼ Afterwards she got a whiff of the hops, which smelled like freshly cut grass.

▼ The yeast and hops were mixed up with some beer…

▼ … and then poured into a bathtub!

“Well, have fun!” the spa attendant said, and left Ikuna alone in the huge spa room. It felt a little strange getting undressed in such an empty, spacious room by herself, but she was on a strict time limit, so not wishing to waste any more time, Ikuna quickly took her clothes off and hopped in the tub.

The bath was a little tepid, but probably because a bunch of beer had just been poured into it. But the whole room was a stone sauna, so there was no chance of catching a chill.

▼ The ‘head’ of the beer bath had a bit of a course texture.

Of course, no bath full of beer is complete without a cheeky beer in the bath. The beer tap was within arm’s reach, so Ikuna could literally pour herself a cold glass of beer whilst still sitting the bath.

▼ Soaking in a tub of beer with a beer in hand.

▼ For beer lovers, this is heaven!

Ikuna had assumed that sitting in a bath of beer would be a sticky, uncomfortable experience, but it was actually surprisingly refreshing. Not only that, but beer spas are said to have a number of health-benefitting properties, such as reducing muscle pain, rejuvenating your skin and improving your circulation.

But after zoning out and pondering the similarities between beer and outer space (Ikuna was about five or six mugs of beer in at this point), it was time to test out the straw bed that was in the corner of the spa room.

Ikuna wasn’t quite sure of the relationship between beer baths and straw beds, but had always secretly harboured a wish to drift off to sleep on a bed of hay, so she was quite excited that her dream was about to come true.

But as she reached out to touch the straw, she was shocked to find it was more spiky and painful than she’d imagined!

So while she had been hoping to hit the hay in the nude, fresh out of the bath, she instead reluctantly put her clothes on and lay down on the straw bed. But still, it wasn’t all bad, as she still had a mug of beer to hand, plus some complementary bread, and drinking beer whilst surrounded by the aroma of hay was an experience Ikuna will never forget.

▼ It also later transpired she had actually been provided with towels that she was meant to put on top of the straw, but never mind.

And just like that, it was last orders on her blissful beer-filled hour.

Of course, Ikuna had one more cheeky beer before heading off on the road once more.

The beer spas in the Czech Republic are a must-visit spot for any beer lovers, or anyone who has secretly harboured a wish to lay down on a bed of hay. But if the Czech Republic is just a little too far away, maybe you can recreate a similar experience in your very own bath tub with these beer-scented bath salts.

Photos: ©SoraNews24
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