Starkenberger Beer Pools

Americans have pretty much made a sport out of traveling the world to try different beer. But how many of you have bathed in it? That’s right, there’s a place where you can take a dip in a pool of beer.

Austria’s Starkenberger Castle, just a few hours outside of Munich, is famed for being one of the country’s oldest breweries. The castle has brewed beer for nearly 100 years and, in 2005, decided to turn the basement cellars into a relaxing beer spa. Down below you’ll find seven Turkish bath-like pools of fermented glory. Each pool contains 42,000 pints of steaming beer, and guests are invited to lounge inside for two hours at a time. Experts claim beer is great for the skin, and can even help alleviate psoriasis or cure open wounds. Cleopatra seemed to enjoy it, so why not you?

The beer pools are kept quite hot, like any bathhouse, though you’re welcome to order yourself a cold one while you relax. Just don’t drink the beer you’re sitting in. We can’t imagine that ending well.

A dip in the beer pools costs a smooth $298. Once you’ve soaked up some suds, the Starkenberger Castle also offers tours of the grounds where you’ll be treated to a little bit of beer history, some beer trivia and, of course, a beer tasting.