THERE is something perversely satisfying about soaking in a tub of beer. First there is the yeasty aroma of malt and hops, followed by a warm and sticky sensation as the brown liquid envelopes your body. You think to yourself: this must be every lad's dream. Whatever comes next will surely have to involve a supermodel, an Aston Martin and a fat cigar.

But bathing in beer is much more than just a fantasy made real. During the last decade, a pack of beer spas have opened in the hills and lowlands of Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, promising health, wellness and the chance to bathe in your favorite suds.

The Chodovar brewery in Chodova Plana, in the Czech Republic (420-374-794-181; www.chodovar.cz), started offering beer spa therapies in March using the brewery's celebrated dark lager. At the Kummeroer Hof in Neuzelle, Germany (49-33-652-81-111; www.klosterbrauerei.com), customers have been slipping into beer baths tapped from the nearby Klosterbrauerei Neuzelle brewery since 1997. Spa prices start at about 42 euros ($52.50 at $1.24 to the euro). But it is in neighboring Austria that the beer spa seems to reach its alpine pinnacle.

One brewery, Starkenberg (43-5412-66201; www.bierschwimmbad.com), in Tarrenz, even fills a swimming pool with barrels and barrels of its own Pilsner. And just outside Salzburg, the Landhotel Moorhof in rustic Franking, Austria (43-6277-8188; www.moorhof.com) offers what may be the most complete beer treatment, from the spa to the dining table.