If you’re having a dry January, look away now.
Amid the outrage about Irn-Bru changing its recipe, I found myself reading about Shower Beer. I hesitate to talk about it but the concept is compelling. I’m not much of a drinker now because, like the rest of Generation X, I’ve reached the age where my main hobby is wondering what’s going to kill me. But Shower Beer is real and new and fascinating.
While Scotland rages that the Bru will change as part of a plan to avoid the coming sugar tax, the entrepreneurs of Sweden have their minds on a soapier brew. They’ve invented Shower Beer – that’s its actual name – and it is indeed intended to be drunk in the shower, though perhaps just before a night out, not in the morning before work.
To start with, it comes in little bottles. Produced in 12-ounce containers, Shower Beer is just a little more than a standard soft drink can, or perhaps three gulps for the hygiene-conscious boozer. The thinking is that it stops the beer getting warm in the steamy atmosphere. Next, there’s the power of Shower Beer. It’s 10% alcohol-by-volume, which is impressive if you can stomach it. It helps that there’s not much of it and, if you’re quaffing while scrubbing, efficiency is key. I want to be feeling good, inside and out, after a Shower Beer shower.
But the best part of Shower Beer is its dual purpose. It is also a hair conditioner. That’s right – if you’re the type of lunatic who will take a beer into the shower and not even drink it, you can pour it over your head. As someone who last poured alcohol over his own head on his stag night, then promptly fell over in the street and ended up in hospital, I like the idea of getting nice hair as part of the deal.
The only sad part is that Shower Beer is only available in Sweden, although its wonderfully-named brewer, PangPang, is looking for international partners so all is not lost. When it arrives, I’ll be front of the queue, holding my loofah proudly and ready for some good, clean fun.