Petrovické zlato: the beer brewed only for Lázně Pramen

A beer you will not find on any shelf

Truly exclusive things are rarer than they ought to be. In a time when every craft brewery splashes its name across dozens of labels and small-batch beer fills supermarket aisles from Prague to Berlin, a beer brewed for one customer and sold nowhere at all is a genuine rarity. Petrovické zlato is exactly that. You will not find it on a restaurant tap, in an online shop, or on the shelf of a specialist bottle store. It travels in one direction only - from the brewery straight to the beer bath at Lázně Pramen, in Prague's Dejvice district.

For first-time guests, this usually comes as a real surprise. They arrive half-expecting a fragrant novelty, a splash of beer for the mood. They leave having soaked in a full, properly brewed, living craft beer - and having drunk it too, because every visit to Lázně Pramen includes unlimited pale and dark Petrovické zlato, poured straight from the golden taps by the baths and brought to you in your private room. No brewery bar can match that, for the simple reason that Petrovické zlato is ours and ours alone.

In this article we explain what Petrovické zlato actually is, how it is brewed, why its make-up suits balneological use so well, and why we chose this particular brewery and this particular recipe. If you have ever wondered exactly what fills the wooden tub in the Rubínový pramen or the Zlatý pramen, read on.

Where Petrovické zlato comes from

Pivovar Petrovice u Rakovníka is a small craft brewery with deep roots in regional brewing. Industrial producers build their recipes around distribution, shelf life, and marketing cycles; this brewery builds its around the quality of the raw ingredients and consistency from one batch to the next. That consistency was one of the deciding factors when we chose our partner. We need a beer whose make-up holds steady from delivery to delivery, because the whole balneological process depends on it - not only the taste.

The partnership grew out of one firm decision: we were not going to tip a generic lager from a wholesale catalogue into our tubs. The active compounds - hops, yeast, malt - have to be present in the right concentrations to do their work. Commercially pasteurised and filtered beer has most of them stripped out in the name of clarity and shelf life. Petrovické zlato, by contrast, reaches us unfiltered and yeast-active, with the live cultures intact and the full range of extracts preserved. That is the non-negotiable basis on which a beer bath either works properly or does not.

Every new batch arrives in Dejvice on a regular delivery schedule that keeps it fresh, and it comes in kegs - there are no bottles. We blend it with water and the spa's own ingredients - Žatec hops, malt and yeast - right in front of you, at the tub, never in a back-room tank prepared hours ahead. The result is a bath that is genuinely live, fresh and active every single time.

What's inside: hops, yeast, and malt as spa ingredients

A beer bath is not just a romantic notion - there is a scientific case for it, even if that case is still young and growing. The three main components of Petrovické zlato - hops (Humulus lupulus), malt extract and brewer's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) - each act on the skin as you lie in a warm tub of craft beer, and each does so in its own way.

Hops carry alpha acids and polyphenols with well-documented antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Peer-reviewed research shows that polyphenolic compounds can lower oxidative stress at the cellular level in direct contact with skin. With the tub set between 35 and 38 °C, the upper layers of the skin become more permeable, so the active compounds are absorbed far better than they would be at room temperature. That range is chosen for a second reason too: 20 minutes at 35-38 °C is comfortably tolerated by a healthy adult with no contraindications, and puts no real strain on the heart and circulation.

Yeast extract is rich in B-group vitamins and amino acids, both well studied in connection with skin health. Vitamin B3 (niacinamide), for example, appears throughout the dermatological literature as a compound that supports the skin barrier. Malt extract adds enzymes and simple sugars that, in warm water, deepen the overall softening effect. After a 20-minute bath the result is plain: skin that feels noticeably smooth and nourished as you step out, with no extra product needed.

For that reason we ask guests not to wash the beer extract off with soap for at least two hours after the bath. Your skin will stay soft and conditioned for the rest of the day, sometimes longer. The shower in your private room is there if you want it, of course - but the work the malt and hops are doing is worth keeping a while.

Pale or dark Petrovické zlato: the difference, and why we pour both

Petrovické zlato comes in two versions, pale and dark. For a beer bath this is not just a matter of looks or of which you would rather drink. The two carry a different proportion of malt extract and a different polyphenol profile, so each gives a slightly different feel in the tub - and a subtly different result on the skin.

The pale is delicate, with less caramel malt and a clean, hop-forward bitterness. To anyone who drinks Czech lager regularly it will taste familiar but more alive - unfiltered, brighter, with more texture. The dark is another thing altogether: clear notes of roasted malt, dark chocolate, a hint of coffee and a soft caramel sweetness. Dark beer tends to carry more polyphenols, because roasting the malt releases more of these compounds.

For the beer bath itself we add a blend of both to the tub - a recipe we have tuned to give the richest polyphenol profile we can. For drinking, nothing is blended for you. Unlimited pale and dark Petrovické zlato flow throughout your 90-minute visit, and you switch freely between them. Our staff keep your glass full straight from the tap; you decide what goes in it.

In the Zlatý pramen, where two tubs sit side by side, a group of up to four can each have exactly what they like - their own choice, their own pour - while sharing one private room. Nobody has to compromise.

How a beer bath with Petrovické zlato actually works

It is worth walking through a visit step by step, so you know exactly how Petrovické zlato reaches your tub and what happens once it does. You book online through the widget on the reservations page - pick a room, a date and a time. When you arrive at Lázně Pramen on Dejvická street in Prague 6, a member of staff welcomes you and shows you through to your private room.

The ingredients - Žatec hops, yeast extract, malt concentrate and the Petrovické zlato itself - are measured into the tub in front of you, right at the bath. The water is set to 35-38 °C. The tub's hydromassage jets circulate everything, and you lower yourself into an even, aromatic beer bath. You soak for 20 minutes - the length that proves best for thermal and extractive effect without overworking the body.

After those 20 minutes you move to the wheat-straw bed that every room has. Your body cools naturally, the beer extract dries on your skin, and 50 minutes of deep rest lie ahead. For the full 90-minute visit, unlimited pale and dark Petrovické zlato is yours to drink - poured fresh from the golden taps by the baths, straight from the keg, into your glass rather than into the tub. The price is per room, whatever the number of guests up to the room's limit: two in the Rubínový pramen, four in the Zlatý pramen. Beer bath packages in the Rubínový pramen start at 148 € per room.

If you want something longer and more layered, the Smaragdový pramen offers V.I.P. packages in which Petrovické zlato is paired with a cedar phyto-sauna and a relaxation massage. The V.I.P. Beer SPA package for one or two guests starts at 293 €. This combination is exclusive to the V.I.P. room and cannot be booked anywhere else.

Why brewery exclusivity matters in a spa

The fair question is: couldn't any decent craft beer off the open market do the job? The plain answer is no. The exclusive arrangement with Pivovar Petrovice u Rakovníka gives us things the open market cannot. First, control over the recipe. We know exactly how much extract, yeast and hops each batch holds, and we can set the spa protocol to match. If a supplier quietly changed the recipe, the whole balneological procedure would have to be reworked from scratch.

Second, freshness. Pasteurised beer, the kind on supermarket shelves, has had most of its live cultures killed off to last longer. We need the opposite: beer with active yeast and its full set of B vitamins intact. That calls for a short supply chain and strict storage, both of which the brewery keeps, so every delivery reaches Dejvice genuinely ready for the tub.

Third, the story. Guests leave Lázně Pramen with more than a rested body and softer skin - they leave with something worth telling people about. Petrovické zlato is a beer they will meet nowhere else in the world, and that rarity is part of what a visit is worth. The Czech craft beer scene has grown a great deal in recent years, and guests already at home in it recognise the quality and the singularity of what they are drinking at once. For anyone new to craft beer, Petrovické zlato is an ideal first taste.

Finally, exclusivity keeps us from ever having to cut corners under commercial pressure. We do not depend on whatever a wholesaler happens to stock. Petrovické zlato is brewed for Lázně Pramen, served to our guests, and the whole chain stays under our eye. That is exactly the standard we have held since the spa opened.

Petrovické zlato in premium packages and combinations

A beer bath on its own is already a fine experience. For guests who want more than 90 minutes in the tub, the Smaragdový pramen - our V.I.P. room - offers longer packages in which Petrovické zlato plays an even bigger part. The V.I.P. Beer SPA brings together a cedar phyto-sauna (15 minutes in a cedar barrel, the body bathed in herbal steam while the head stays outside), a relaxation massage or scrub (30 minutes), the beer bath in the hydromassage tub, and rest on the straw bed by the fireplace - all with unlimited pale and dark Petrovické zlato and snacks. The whole sequence runs 2.5-3 hours and is built to detoxify, restore and deeply relax the body in a single visit. It starts at 293 € for the full room, for one or two guests.

For pairs who each want their own tub, the Zlatý pramen runs two beer baths at once. Both guests sit in their own Petrovické zlato, the two tubs side by side, in one private room with a fireplace, a straw bed and natural-material décor. It is the ideal set-up for friends or couples where both love beer and neither wants to share. Two beer baths in the Zlatý pramen start at 190 €.

For those who want to pack as much contrast as possible into one evening, there is the Combo - one tub of beer, one of wine, each guest in their element. This too is exclusive to the Zlatý pramen, the only room with two tubs. The Combo starts at 238 €. And if a massage belongs on the evening as well, the Safírový pramen - our salt cave - offers a relaxation massage from 33 € or a sports massage from 75 €. The salt cave pairs with the beer bath as two separate bookings on the same day.

How to experience Petrovické zlato for yourself

The easiest way to book is online through the booking widget on the Lázně Pramen website. Choose your room, date and number of guests, pick from the open slots, and the whole thing takes under a minute. You pay online and a confirmation lands in your inbox straight away. If you are torn between the intimate Rubínový pramen for two and the larger Zlatý pramen for a group, each room has a full description in the system - or just reach us through the contact page.

Lázně Pramen Dejvice is normally open daily from 10:00, with last bookings in the late evening. This summer we are going further. We are running an exclusive night format and staying open late into the night, roughly from 22:00 until 4:00 - so on a hot Prague day you can come down into the cool brick cellar long after the city has shut up shop and let an ice-cold Petrovické zlato from the tap do the rest. There is a morning window too: book between 10:00 and 12:00 and you get -10% on everything. The address is Dejvická 255/18, Prague 6; the nearest metro is Hradčanská, a two-minute walk, with street parking nearby and the spa easy to find on Google Maps.

If you are thinking of a gift for someone who deserves something genuinely out of the ordinary, gift vouchers are digital, valid for 12 months, and let the recipient pick their own date and package. You can order one online in minutes - the simplest way to give someone Petrovické zlato before they even know it is coming. For full terms and any contraindications, see our terms and conditions page.

Petrovické zlato is not brewed for distribution. It is not made to win competitions or label-design awards. It is brewed for the tubs and the glasses in the private rooms of a Prague spa - and in the craft beer world, that is about as honest a form of exclusivity as you will find. Come and see for yourself.