Beer - It's not just for drinking anymore

It was a red letter day a couple weeks ago at an American Home birthday party when I turned to Joanna and asked her what kind of alcohol she would prefer to bathe in. The conversation blossomed into a brilliant plan to open an alcohol bathing spa for New Russians in Moscow, and we started researching right away. According to the all-knowing Internet, alcohol bathing really is good for you. But I had known that already -- how could it not be?

This past weekend theoretical research turned to practical experimentation. On Friday night some of us were planning on playing a game of Sovietopoly at Joanna's apartment, which sounded like a good chance to give our feet a soothing bath in a tub of beer. We chose to start with feet because we're too poor for a whole bathtub full of alcohol, and we chose beer because it has the lowest alcohol content and we have the lowest expectations for it.

So we bought two two-liter bottles of the cheapest beer we could find, took a pore-opening steam bath and foot-washing in Joanna's bathroom, and then the beer bathing commenced.

Here we are looking giddy and triumphant before the ground-breaking event.

A game of Sovietopoly, a plate of pasta with lots of salt, and my foot in a vat of beer. I don't think I've ever had a better night in my life.

Feet love beer almost as much as people do. Actually, it was a great success. We learned that it doesn't feel gross at all to have your feel soaking in beer for a couple hours. On the contrary, it refreshes them, exfoliates them, moisturizes them, and best of all, gives them a warm and happy feeling inside.

We have more exciting alcohol bathing experimentation coming soon. Next time: champagne.