Bathing in beer

Place of dreams

Bathing in beer.

02 The beer tub and tap.

03 The spa and hot tubs.

02

Getting there:

Arskogssandur

Akureyri

Reykjavik

03 Air Iceland Connect offers direct daily flights to Akureyri from Reykjavik Airport. The flight only takes 45 minutes and from Akureyri there’s a half-an-hour drive to Arskogssandur.

TEXT: Eyglo Svala Arnarsdottir PHOTOS: Asa Steinars / No. 02 courtesy of the Beer Spa

It’s a chilly day in January with fluctuating weather. Dark clouds on the horizon hint that a blizzard is brewing. But no weather is too bad for the hot tub. The warm water envelopes my body as I marvel at the view of Eyjafjordur fjord and Hrisey island.

The hot tubs look like beer barrels and fittingly so, as they’re part of the Beer Spa which opened in Arskogssandur, a village in North Iceland, last year. My friend and I toast in Kaldi, the beer from Bruggsmidjan, the microbrew next door. Soon enough, we will be bathing in Kaldi, so to speak. “It’s young beer – non-alcoholic – with yeast, hops, water, beer bath salts and oil”, informs Agnes Anna Sigurdardottir, the managing director of both companies. She explains that the yeast is full of Vitamin B, zinc and iron, which is good for the skin and hair. Even though beer spas are known in the Czech Republic and elsewhere, the are new to most Nordics. “Some people ask whether they get straws”, laughs Agnes. They don’t, but there’s a beer tap by the tub. There are seven tubs in seven separate rooms. Each tub fits one to two – ideal for couples or close friends. In addition to the two outdoor hot tubs, the spa includes a dry sauna, infrared sauna and a relaxation room. Elegant design, cosy lighting and calming music underline that this is a spa. “People don’t come here to get drunk, but to unwind.”

The foaming olive green bath “water” looks peculiar but smells good – not of beer – and comfortably warm. We feel the stress drain from our bodies, chat, have a sip of beer and enjoy, and before long our 30 minutes are up. The water stays warm the entire time, according to Agnes because of the kambala wood used in the bath tubs, which is known for its insulating qualities.

Next up is a 30-minute relaxation. Covered with blankets and treated to a brief foot massage, we drift off almost immediately.

Refreshed, we order a Kaldi burger at the Beer Spa restaurant. The beef is so local that it comes from the farm across the road. We observe a group of tourists arrive in a van and look out at the fjord. “People sometimes see whales from the hot tubs”, reveals Agnes. When she, her husband and two partners, founded Bruggsmidjan as Iceland’s first microbrew in 2006, their creditors tried to convince them to move it to a more densely-inhabited place. But Agnes wouldn’t budge: “The location is our biggest draw.”