What is Beer Yoga?
Beer Yoga is a contemporary yoga hybrid in which participants practice asanas—yoga postures—while drinking beer, or immediately after practice. The format blends the mindfulness and physical discipline of yoga with the convivial, relaxed atmosphere of a brewery or taproom. Unlike traditional yoga, which emphasizes purity of body and breath, beer yoga explicitly pairs physical movement with moderate alcohol consumption, often using beer bottles as props for balance or strength work. Classes are typically beginner-friendly, 45–60 minutes in length, and held in brewery tasting rooms, outdoor beer gardens, or pub spaces.
The practice draws participants who may find traditional yoga studios intimidating, instead offering a low-barrier entry point grounded in community, humor, and social connection. Beer yoga does not claim to be a spiritual lineage or a continuation of classical Hatha or Vinyasa traditions; rather, it positions itself as a wellness trend that acknowledges the dual appeal of craft beer culture and accessible movement.
Origins & Lineage
Beer yoga is said to have appeared at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert around 2013, though its exact genesis remains unclear. Brooke Larson founded the American company Beer Yoga in Oklahoma City in July 2015, stating she took a silly picture of herself sipping beer and doing yoga in February 2013, which gained traction on social media.
In Berlin, Emily and Jhula, two beer-loving yoga instructors, started the BierYoga movement in 2015. The German BierYoga company was started by Jhula in Berlin in 2015, after seeing beer yoga at the Burning Man festival. The Berlin-based model formalized the concept with structured classes that integrated beer drinking directly into vinyasa sequences, often using bottles as props. Jhula experimented with a Radler (half beer, half lemonade) in her room, taking standard vinyasa sequences and figuring out where to work beer into them.
Parallel to these developments, Shannon Berner, inspired by the Wanderlust festival, began offering yoga classes coupled with brewery tours at Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver around 2014. By 2017, beer yoga was described as nearly as universal at craft breweries as IPAs in America. In 2015, Brooke Larson and Emily Casey autonomously opened the first two schools in the world: Beer-Yoga in Oklahoma City and Bier-Yoga in Berlin.
Beer yoga has no connection to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali or the classical eight-limbed path. It is a 21st-century marketing-driven phenomenon born from the convergence of craft beer culture and wellness trends.
How It’s Practiced
Beer yoga is yoga class enjoyed along with a pint, bottle, can, or growler of beer. Classes are typically gentle to moderate in difficulty and follow a simplified vinyasa or hatha structure. Most classes are on the shorter side, typically in the 45-minute range, are geared toward beginners, and are followed by beer tastings and socializing at the bar.
In the German BierYoga model, beer drinking and beer bottle balancing are incorporated into traditional yoga poses. Participants may hold bottles during downward dog, balance them on their heads during tree pose, or sip between warrior sequences. Beer bottles give participants the challenge of balancing beer bottles on their heads during yoga sessions, and beer yoga generally uses only one bottle of beer during class—participants will most likely not get drunk from it, and the weight of the bottle is used to strengthen yoga poses.
In the American brewery yoga model, beer is not incorporated as a prop during the yoga sessions; instead, the beer is for after class for the majority of American brewery yoga companies. Classes take place in brewery production spaces, tap rooms, or outdoor patios. The brewery’s garage-style doors are rolled up for an indoor/outdoor experience, susceptible to gravel, grass, dirt, leaves, and rain blowing in, with the whirr of the glycol chiller and a potpourri of hops, sweet malt, and sweat.
Instructors recommend picking a low-alcohol beer under 3 percent ABV, such as a 2.3 percent micro IPA. This is not the time to perfect handstands or poses requiring coordination and balance; stick to gentle stretching and easy range-of-motion exercises.
Beer Yoga Today
Beer yoga has spread internationally. Classes are recruiting participants worldwide, with sessions in Australia, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Great Britain, France, Hungary, Finland, South Africa, Cambodia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. Sessions take place in gyms, out in the open, and often in breweries, pubs, and taprooms.
Local instructors have launched branded programs with punny names. The majority of classes have names like Bend and Brew in Asheville, Bendy Brewski in Charleston, BrewAsana in Boulder and Denver, and Hoppy Yoga in San Diego. Great Divide Brewing’s Hoppy Yogis program attracts 150 to 200 people each month for free yoga classes and pop-up bars in the brewery’s industrial production space.
The practice serves multiple functions: a marketing tool for breweries seeking to diversify clientele, a community-building ritual, and a gateway to yoga for people who perceive traditional studios as exclusive or overly serious. Instructors wanted to show that you don’t have to already be healthy to do yoga, making it an entryway for people who self-identified as not healthy.
Common Misconceptions
It is not drunk yoga. The purpose is not binge drinking but pairing the pleasure of beer drinking with yoga philosophy. Most sessions involve one low-ABV beer consumed slowly over 45–60 minutes.
It is not aligned with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Sipping an ice-cold pint while in warrior pose is far from the classical teachings of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Beer yoga makes no claim to authenticity within the Vedic or Tantric traditions.
It is not universally endorsed by the yoga community. Some fitness experts have criticized beer yoga as a marketing gimmick, calling it unhealthy. The Guardian commented that a beer afterwards was surely preferable to a mid-plank pilsner. Critics note that the first rule of yoga is to practice on an empty stomach, as food or drink in the system can lead to nausea, bloating, heaviness, and gas.
Historical nuance exists. The practice has been criticized as unhealthy and out of keeping with the spirit of classical yoga, but alcohol was sometimes used in yoga rituals in classical times, particularly in certain Tantric rites. However, beer yoga does not draw from these traditions.
Health claims are unsubstantiated. Behavioral neuroscientist J. Leigh Leasure notes that people who have one alcoholic drink a day are twice as likely to exercise as non-drinkers and doubts participants who only have one drink are harming themselves, but beer yoga offers no documented health benefits beyond standard yoga and moderate social drinking.
How to Begin
Search for “beer yoga,” “brewery yoga,” or “yoga and beer” in your city. Most sessions are drop-in, requiring no prior yoga experience. Bring a yoga mat, wear comfortable clothing, and expect a casual, noisy environment. Participants must be of legal drinking age (typically 18–21, depending on jurisdiction).
If you’re exploring beer yoga at home, choose one low-ABV beer, practice gentle vinyasa or hatha sequences from online resources, and sip only during resting poses or after class. Avoid inversions, arm balances, or deep twists while drinking. Prioritize hydration with water.
Beer yoga is best understood as a social wellness activity rather than a rigorous physical or spiritual practice. If you seek depth in yoga philosophy or advanced asana work, consider traditional lineages such as Ashtanga, Iyengar, or Sivananda after your beer yoga introduction.