Monday 11 August 2008

Czech Beer Spa Gives New Meaning to Suds in the Bath

Say what you will about the healing properties of mud baths, saunas or lavender-scented candles, but soaking in a stainless-steel tub filled with Czech beer put my body and soul at ease.

I was in the brick-lined cellar of Prave Pivni Lazni (original beer spa), run by the Chodovar brewery in the tiny Czech town of Chodova Plana, and I was about to slip naked into the first tub I'd ever seen with taps for hot water, cold water and bathing beer.

Alone behind a curtain, I disrobed and stepped in, parting the beer foam that had settled on top of the heated blend of half Il-Sano mineral water and half dark lager. Warmed to 93 degrees Fahrenheit and mixed with curative herbs, confetti-sized bits of hops and yeast, this murky bathwater was far from thirst-quenching, which made the cold glass of lager resting on a nearby empty keg so welcome.

Sounds interesting... For the record, the writer says tasting the bath "water" is a very bad idea.

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