A rainy afternoon in the Polish Alps is not the most obvious place to discover the future of American wellness. But that is exactly where Jessica and Damien Zouaoui found themselves when a TripAdvisor search led them to a wooden tub, a free-flowing keg of local beer, and the concept that would become Oakwell Beer Spa in Denver. In Episode 63 of DissedMedia: A Startup Story, the husband-and-wife founders joined Ben Olmos to tell the full story of how a beer spa became one of the best spas in Denver, and why they are now franchising it across the country.
What Is a Beer Spa?
A beer spa is a wellness experience that combines the therapeutic properties of hops and barley with traditional soaking and sauna treatments. Unlike a conventional day spa, a beer spa centers on large soaking tubs infused with hop extracts, barley, herbs, and essential oils rather than actual beer. Hops are a natural sedative, rich in antioxidants and vitamins, and when used as a bath additive they act as a powerful aromatherapy agent that helps the body and mind decompress. Beer spas originated in Central Europe and have become a staple of wellness culture in the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, and Austria. Oakwell Beer Spa is widely recognized as America’s first beer spa, having opened its Denver location in February 2021.
Quitting Corporate Life to Find the Perfect Idea
Before founding Oakwell Beer Spa, Jessica and Damien were living what looked like an enviable life in New York City. Jessica worked in HR and operations. Damien came from sales and marketing. They had good salaries and a shared feeling that none of it was what they actually wanted to do. The month after their wedding, they made a decision that most people in their position would never seriously consider. They quit their jobs on the same day, sold everything they owned, packed two backpacks, and left for an indefinite round-the-world trip.
The plan was simple: they were not coming home until they found a business concept worth building. Over the next year and a half, they visited 25 countries across Europe and Asia, studying spa culture wherever they went. They experienced beer spas in Poland and Prague, wine spas in France and Spain, thalassotherapy centers on the coast, and the jjimjilbang family bathhouses of Japan and South Korea. That cross-cultural immersion became the foundation for everything Oakwell Beer Spa would become.
The Rainy Day in Poland That Started It All
The idea clicked on a cold, rainy day in Zakopane, a mountain town in the Polish Alps. Looking for an indoor activity, they found a beer spa on TripAdvisor. Thirty minutes later, they were soaking in a wooden tub with a keg of Polish beer beside them. Damien fell asleep. Jessica started doing the math.
She knew Americans loved beer. She knew Americans loved hot tubs. And she had spent enough time in US day spas to know that the experience was almost entirely transactional: arrive, receive a service, get pitched a membership, leave. The social wellness dimension that defined spa culture in Europe and Asia was nearly absent from the American market. A beer spa, she realized, could change that by making relaxation something you share rather than something you endure alone. The couples spa experience in particular was an obvious gap: even a couples massage typically puts two people face-down on separate tables in silence.
40 Bank Rejections and a COVID Buildout
Denver emerged as the target market after being compared against Austin and Portland for beer culture, wellness culture, and openness to new concepts. They arrived with backpacks still on, having never visited the city before. What followed was two years of challenges that would have ended most startups.
Every major bank turned them down. JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and dozens of smaller lenders all said the same thing: great idea, happy to come as a guest, not going to fund it. Their breakthrough came through Denver’s Office of Economic Development and a local nonprofit lender, who together covered the startup costs. But the building they leased in the RiNo arts district came with no heating, no air conditioning, undersized electrical service, undersized water lines, and asbestos that required a full gut renovation.
The buildout happened during COVID. Damien drove for Lyft at night to cover living expenses, using every ride as informal market research to test price points and packages. They maxed out credit cards in staggered batches, painted the walls themselves, and turned Home Depot cabinetry into what is now the signature tap wall. More than half of their furniture and equipment came from bankruptcy auctions, including a walk-in cooler purchased for $200 from a Subway that had closed in Fort Collins.
Opening Day: Two Bookings Per Minute
Oakwell Beer Spa opened in February 2021 and the response was immediate. Their booking platform processed two reservations per minute on launch day. Within days they were fully booked from 8 AM to 10:30 PM seven days a week. They would remain at 100 percent occupancy for the next three and a half years, with a wait list of over 100 people at any given time and guests waiting six to eight weeks to secure an appointment.
The demand created its own complications. Maintenance happened at midnight. Training happened in whatever gaps could be found. The pressure eventually drove the decision to open a second location in the Denver suburbs, which has been operating for approximately one year.
Is a Beer Spa Good for You? The Full Guest Experience
The short answer is yes. The hops and barley base of the Oakwell beer bath is packed with antioxidants, B vitamins, and natural compounds that support skin health and relaxation. Hops in particular contain xanthohumol, a powerful antioxidant, and act as a mild sedative when absorbed through the skin and inhaled as aromatherapy. The experience is designed to maximize those benefits across a three-hour visit.
Guests are welcomed into what Damien describes as an urban jungle environment, warm and green with bossa nova and world music rather than the clinical silence of a conventional day spa. A beer therapist walks them through a curated tap wall of local Colorado craft beers, wines, hard ciders, and non-alcoholic options, all kept below seven percent ABV. After making their selections, guests are introduced to three seasonal beer bath formulations created by an in-house master herbalist using lemongrass, arnica, verbena, and roses.
Each private spa suite includes an infrared sauna, a rain shower, and a large soaking tub. The recommended sequence is twenty minutes in the infrared sauna to detox and sweat, followed by a cold shower to reset circulation, then fifty to fifty-five minutes soaking in the herbal beer bath at around ninety-five to one hundred degrees Fahrenheit. The experience closes in a zero-gravity massage lounge using chair technology informed by NASA research and inspired by similar systems used in Korean and Japanese spas. Guests drink an average of two beverages and often finish with a non-alcoholic option. Charcuterie boards, chocolate, and sparkling wine upgrades are available for celebrations.
The house beer, a cucumber lemon gose called Spa Sidekick, is brewed exclusively for Oakwell using fresh-juiced cucumbers rather than pasteurized juice. It will be carried at every franchise location.
The Oakwell Beer Spa Franchise Opportunity
After three years of preparing the legal, operational, and training infrastructure, Oakwell launched its franchise sales program in January 2026. The concept is well suited to franchising because operating costs are relatively low, the format is consistent, and the demand clearly extends beyond Denver. The franchise model targets destination markets rather than high-density corridors; there will not be twenty Oakwell locations in a single city.
Priority markets include Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tucson. Franchise agreements run ten years. The operations manual covers site selection, construction budgets across different cost markets, pre-opening procedures, hiring, training, and daily SOPs. Jessica and Damien are being intentional about the pace of growth, staying within an hour and a half flight from Denver during the initial rollout so they can remain hands-on with the first franchisees.
Where to Find Oakwell Beer Spa
The main website is oakwell.com. Franchise information is at oakwellfranchise.com. Social media handles are @OakwellBeerSpa on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn. The company also operates Oakwell Cosmetics, a line of beer-infused bath and body products available through the website.
Episode 63 is available now wherever you listen to podcasts and on the DissedMedia YouTube channel at @DissedMedia.
