6 of the top beer spas across the world

Ancient bathing rituals have a rich and colourful history: Cleopatra famously bathed in donkey’s milk, the Romans soaked in wine and King Wenceslas even sat in wort, a sludge-like brew from a Bohemian brewery. Today, global bathing cultures, from Japanese onsens to Turkish hammams, continue to evolve, blending age-old practices with modern wellness trends. In Eastern Europe, this includes adding hops, malted grain, yeast and barley to bathwater, a practice that dates to the Middle Ages and is still celebrated today. As a result, beer spas are spreading across Belgium, France, Spain, Iceland, the UK and the US, each putting their own unique spin on the experience. Some add unfiltered or young beer to the mix, while others skip the yeast. Many highlight beer’s high vitamin B content, claiming it boosts skin hydration and elasticity.

There’s the science to support these claims, too. According to a 2013 report by the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, hops have various therapeutic properties, including antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. What science doesn’t need to tell you is that soaking in a hop-infused hot tub is incredibly relaxing. Here are six of the best beer spas at which to give this steamy trend a go.

1. The Norfolk Mead

Norfolk, UK
The UK’s first official beer spa, The Norfolk Mead opened its doors to the public last year. Set inside a luxury boutique hotel on the banks of the River Bure in the Norfolk Broads, the new state-of-the-art Thermal Suite features a hydrotherapy pool, a herbal steam room and a mud chamber where guests can apply detoxifying, mineral-rich mud. Outside, guests can make use of an aromatic sauna, a hot tub and invigorating cold-water shower ‘buckets’. The spa’s standout feature, however, is its unique beer bathing ritual. Wooden bathtubs are filled with a bubbling blend of vitamin-rich malt and hops from the nearby Woodforde’s Brewery — ingredients known for their alleged antioxidant and anti-ageing properties. These are said to rejuvenate and smooth the skin, reduce inflammation and improve circulation. What’s more, as the tub’s jets massage your muscles, ale from the same brewery is on tap to enjoy.

How to do it: The 45-minute beer experience costs £68 per person.

2. Chateau Spa Beerland

Prague, Czech Republic
The Czechs are known for their love of beer and consistently rank as the world’s top consumers per capita, so it’s no surprise that the country is home to a variety of beer spas. Chateau Spa Beerland, Prague’s first, opened in 1981 in a grand, 17th-century building, once home to astrologer and alchemist Tycho Brahe. The brand now has six distinctive locations across the country, each with its own charm, yet Chateau Spa Beerland, set inside a historic cellar in Prague’s New Town, remains the jewel in the crown.

Here, guests can bathe in one of three rooms: one with vaulted ceilings, another adorned with stained glass windows showcasing hop, oak and barley motifs, and a third housing a hop-infused cedar sauna. The 1,000-litre handmade oak tubs are filled with ingredients from Czech Krusovice beer — hops, brewer’s yeast and malt. The essential oils found in hops help with minimising the appearance of pores, while the yeast, rich in vitamin B and active enzymes, aids skin regeneration. With unlimited light and dark ale on tap, pour a glass before sinking into the warm water to feel instantly rejuvenated. After the bath, guests can relax on a bed of organic straw beside a roaring fire, and enjoy homemade beer bread. Make sure to check out the beer fountain in the lobby and copper chandeliers adorned with beer glasses.

How to do it: An hour session costs £39, with a 15% discount for two hours.

3. Oakwell Beer Spa

Denver, US
Located in the heart of Denver, Colorado, Oakwell Beer Spa blends high-tech wellness — such as zero-gravity massage chairs, infrared saunas and cedar hydrotherapy tubs — with a cool craft beer culture. Every month, French-American owners Jessica French and Damien Zouaoui invite a local craft brewery — including names like Denver Beer Co, Cerveceria Colorado, Great Divide, Prost, Spice Trade Brewing, Lone Tree Brewing and Left-Hand Brewing — to take over their taproom and provide the hops and malt mix for their beer bath blend. This unique, hand-crafted blend of hops, barley and herbs (without yeast) has been described by spa guests as a ‘giant bubbly beer tea’. The tub’s air bubbler system surrounds the body with a beer-like fizz, which is said to stimulate metabolism, boost circulation, smooth fine lines, reduce redness and relieve stress.

How to do it: The 90-minute Beer Therapy Ritual for two people costs £157.

4. Bjorbodin Beer Spa

Litli-Árskógssandur, Iceland
Bjorbodin Beer Spa, located on the Tröllaskagi peninsula along the rugged east coast of Iceland, invites guests to unwind in wooden beer baths, all while enjoying idyllic views of the surrounding mountains and Hrísey Island. For the best results, guests are encouraged to skip the bathing costume and avoid showering for at least four hours to fully reap the spa’s skin and hair-softening benefits. Firstly, indulge in a 30-minute soak in the spa’s potent blend of young beer — made with live yeast, hops, water, beer oil and beer salt — before unwinding for 20 minutes in the relaxation room. The young beer, still in its early fermentation stage, has a low pH, which is believed to tighten and soften hair follicles. The yeast revitalises skin and hair, while the hops are said to boost collagen production and reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Afterwards, guests can enjoy a selection of local craft ales in the spa’s in-house restaurant.

How to do it: The experience costs from £109 for one person or £145 for a couple’s bath.

5. Bath & Barley

Bruges, Belgium
Having discovered the concept of beer spas in the Czech Republic, Louis Raesouv and Bart De Brabanter, founders of Bath & Barley, launched their first spa in Brussels in 2021, followed by a second location in Bruges in 2023. While the core experience remains the same — a wooden bath, a tap flowing with locally brewed pilsner, a sauna and a straw bed — the Bruges location offers a more luxurious take on the concept, with interiors designed by creative Belgian studio WeWantMore.

Housed in a medieval cellar, the spa’s domed reception room is wrapped in copper sheets, a nod to traditional brewing kettles, with a sensory ceiling of dried hops and barley releasing fragrant aromas. Guests can choose to create their own bespoke hop mix or even enjoy a hop scrub in the bath. There’s an option to add on a beer flight with gourmet food pairings, too.

How to do it: A one-hour session costs £82 per person.

6. Taaka Beer Spa

Strasbourg, France
Taaka Beer Spa, France’s first beer spa, opened in 2022 in the heart of Alsace — a northeastern region renowned for its brewing heritage and responsible for 60% of the country’s beer production and the majority of its hops. Here, guests can enjoy local microbrewery beers on tap and even refreshing, hop-infused lemonades.

The spa itself features four wooden barrel-style baths, creating a communal yet intimate experience. Its signature three-stage ‘Dive’ ritual begins with a 15-minute sauna, followed by a 30-minute soak in a blend of hops, malt and yeast, and concludes with 15 minutes of relaxation on cushioned wooden benches. This immersive ritual is designed to detoxify the body and relax the mind, offering a truly unique way to experience the region’s brewing tradition.

How to do it: The 60-minute ‘Dive’ experience costs £41 per person, based on two people sharing a tub, or £50 for a solo soak. ‘The Big Dive’ is 90-minutes, with a 60-minute bathing session and costs £62 per person.