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Non-Alcoholic: everything you need to know.
You should also bear in mind that many everyday foods also contain alcohol – you might be surprised by some of these: Brioche burger rolls – 1.28% ABV Banana (very ripe with dark sections) – 0.4% ABV Orange Juice - 0.16% - 0.73%ABV
Best alcohol-free stout – Nirvana Brewery dark and rich stout!!
The lovely Emmie Harrison-West over at the Independent delved deep into alcohol free last week, awarding our beloved Stout ‘Best alcohol-free stout’! A huge shout out to our community on Twitter for pointing Emmie in our direction, here’s the review: With the term “nirvana” meaning an idyllic state of mind or place, Nirvana Brewery has created just that with its alcohol-free stout. Dark, rich and decadent, it’s all chocolate. First, it pours a gorgeous chocolate brown, then it’s a heady milk chocolate and inviting roasted coffee aromas on the nose, finishing with a sweet, smooth chocolate coating the tongue while you sip it. It’s one to savour as a dessert beer or for a lazy Sunday night (some people call it “Stout Sunday” after all!). It’s unbelievably comforting, thanks to its malty backbone, and is vegan, gluten-free and proudly AF – like all of the independent, family-run Leyton-based brewery’s beers. This is a beer to enjoy and savour in peace. Full article here: 11 best alcohol-free beers: Low ABV tipples that are as good as the real deal. 🍻
How alcohol impacts your sleep.
None of us seem to get nearly enough sleep, but do you know how alcohol impacts that, and what you can do about it?
Organic: Why it’s important to us.
Nirvana is one of only 16 Soil Association certified Organic breweries in the UK, and the only one in London.So why do we maintain that certification and why is it so rare? 🧐
Becky wins 35 women under 35 2022 award
We are thrilled to announce that our founder and chief executive Becky Kean has been honoured as one of Management Today's 35 Women Under 35 2022 award winners. As well as driving the business into several new export markets in 21/22, she has recently successfully led the business through its first private investment round. In honour of her work promoting alcohol-free brewing since 2016 and leading Nirvana’s business growth, Kean has been awarded a prestigious 35 Women under 35 Management Today award. The judges were impressed with her determination and dedication in founding and running Nirvana. She was also earmarked as one of the most innovative and dynamic award-winners from this year’s selection. Becky Kean, said: “ The alcohol-free craft brewing sector has made leaps and bounds in recent years and it’s exciting to be recognised as a woman who’s part of this evolving brewing success story. It’s also an honour to be listed alongside 34 other incredible women who are making a real impact in their field of business.” Kate Magee, Editor, Management Today, said: “The UK is full of talented, visionary, inspiring business women of all ages, working at every level and in all sectors. More often than not, their stories never get told. We’re proud to do our part in helping to remedy that.” Read more about the awards here. All images credits: Management Today & Andrew Shaylor @shalyorphoto
Tasting Lemon Gose 0.5% special edition with Becky and Chris
Our founder Becky and brewer Chris share tasting notes on our new limited edition Lemon Gose 0.5%. If you like what you hear, pop on over to our store to buy a case while stocks lasts!! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nirvana Brewery (@nirvanabeerco)
New seasonal special Lemon Gose 0.5% from Nirvana Brewery to support humanitarian aid in Ukraine
Our new Limited Edition Lemon Gose 0.5% is an easy drinking tart wheat beer modelled after the traditional sour beers of Northern Germany. A refreshing and rejuvenating Gose, this beer is steeped with toasted Coriander seeds, dried lemon peels and a handful of dried persian limes for a subtle complexity. Maldon Sea Salt flakes have also been added to balance the tart lemon and lime flavours. Supporting Ukraine With the summer sun just around the corner we thought a bright and sunny beer was in order for our latest seasonal brew. However we know life has been far from sunny for those affected by the war in Ukraine. Like many others we want to do what we can to support those affected by the conflict, so 10% of all proceeds from our Limited Edition Lemon Gose 0.05% beer will go straight to supporting humanitarian aid. The beer bottle design bears the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag. Graphic lemons and salt flake drops give a nod to two of the beer's distinctive ingredients.
Now in Japan
Nirvana now available in Japan Good news for our alcohol-free beer-loving friends in Japan. Nirvana beers are now available in the land of the rising sun and coming to a restaurant, bar or bottleshop near you!! To find out more visit: https://alldrop.jp/magazine/non-alcoholic-beer-overseas/
Sky News interview with Nirvana Brewery founder Becky
Dry January kicked off with a bang for Nirvana! Our founder and CEO Becky Kean was interviewed on Sky News Business programme with Ian King yesterday. Becky was chatting about the No & low market with Ian and discussing its amazing growth and the continued success of Nirvana Brewery. We were thrilled to have Becky featured and for the No&Low market getting more coverage!
Not Drinking? Here Are Our 6 Favourite No Alcohol Drinks for 2022!
Our Favourite Non Alcoholic Drinks for January 2022 With more and more people switching to no or low alcohol, we are proud to be part of the movement, helping make the switch to no or low alcohol drinking not only not a big thing, but an enjoyable, exciting and delicious experience. At Nirvana Brewery, we do this by creating truly delicious non alcoholic beers that make you feel like you are not missing out. But, it's not just us making some great drinks. There has never been so many no or low alcohol breweries, distilleries and wineries trying to make great tasting drinks. Being at the forefront of the no/low alcohol movement in the United Kingdom, we have come across a lot of amazing alcohol free drinks in the past few years, giving customers who are making a healthier choice with their drinking more exciting, healthy and delicious options. We decided to tip the proverbial hat to some of our favourite NoLo drinks in the sector. In this list we tried to add a range of different styles and combinations of flavours and ingredients to create a list of drinks you can try again and again. Here are a few of our favourites, in no particular order. Pentire Hailing from the Cornish coast, this plant based spirit contains the essence of pink grapefruit, sea rosemary, woodruff and sea buckthorn (a really bitter berry that has a tropical passion fruit and lemon flavour), as well as wild seaweed. All the ingredients for creating the perfect no alcohol aperitif! What we love about Pentire, is how clean and crisp the liquid is. The flavour profile reminds us of a really classy gin, such as Gin Mare. The spirit isn't based on a sugar syrup, just pure essence of distilled plants and botanicals, ensuring a clean refreshing drink that isn’t cloying and keeps you wanting more. It is extremely light and delicate and the perfect replacement for gin or vodka with a tonic such as Fevertree or our friends at Double Dutch, garnished with some fresh sliced citrus. With a deep love of the environment and the same emphasis on sustainability that we value at Nirvana Brewery, when we need something to elevate our tonic or a pick me up drink after a long hard day, we reach for Pentire. Pentire seems to be all over the web, so if you are into your low alcohol options, you have probably seen their super classy videos target you on social media. If not, check out more about them here : https://pentiredrinks.com/ REAL Kombucha Kombucha is a fizzy, non-alcoholic drink made from sweetened fermented tea and a culture which aids the fermentation process, similar to the mother in a natural vinegar, known as a scoby, (short for short for a ‘symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts’, if you want to get technical). The bacteria and yeasts in the scoby ferment the sugar into alcohol and acetic acid or vinegar. The acetic acid is what gives the drink its distinctive sour flavour. If you really want to you can make your own kombucha at home from distilled water, sugar, tea leaves and a scoby which you can purchase online. You soak the tea and sugar in boiled water and leave it to cool completely before adding the scoby. You then cover the liquid and allow it to ferment for a week. This is then poured into an airtight container, more sugar is added to aid a second fermentation, much like it is in sparkling wines such as Champagne – the longer the blend is left, the fizzier it will become. You can then add other fruits, spices or flavourings to the mixture to flavour the end drink. If that all sounds like a bit of a faf, leave it to the professionals and reach for a bottle of REAL Kombucha. We first tried this kombucha back in 2018, just as the kombucha revolution was really kicking off in the UK, much like the trend of hard seltzers is now. To be honest, we had never tried anything like it. REAL Kombucha has a completely different flavour from what you might think would develop from tea, sugar and water, or indeed a drink based in vinegar! Having tried other Kombuchas before and REAL Kombucha, it was obvious that there is skill involved in the process, much like brewing or winemaking. If you are into cooking at home and food and wine matching, then REAL kombucha is a great choice to add another dimension to your next dinner party. Founder David Begg, came up with the idea of making his kombucha to replace wine pairing at the dinner table. This is where REAL Kombucha really comes into its own as the liquid has a similarity to natural wine in terms of its acidity and flavour profile, and with the acidity and tannins you get from the tea, it really holds up well on the dinner table. If you are looking to try it, I would thoroughly recommend the Dry Dragon and the Royal Flush. The Dry Dragon has really grassy and vegetal notes like a good white wine, making it the perfect pairing for foods like cheeses, smoked salmon or seared fish at home. The Royal Flush is our absolute favourite, it’s made from first flush darjeeling tea. The buds that show first from the harvest. The flavour is pure, clean and crisp. According to the REAL Kombucha website you can pair The Royal Flush with anything that you might use a sparkling or full bodied white wine such as a chardonnay with, so foods such as white fish, white meat, and cream sauces work really well. The Royal Flush is also perfect with charcuterie as the acidity cuts through the fat. You can buy Real Kombucha in all sorts of places such as Tesco and Amazon or head over to their site here https://realkombucha.co.uk/ Served Seltzer Cutting down your alcohol, but not cutting it out completely? Served Seltzer Is a really good option. Whichever way you turn these days, whether it's on the tube or on billboards, there seems to be an abundance of Hard Seltzers being advertised. If you haven't come across them before, Hard Seltzers are usually vodka or another neutral spirit, mixed with sparkling water or wine, to create a light mixed drink. Natural fruit juice or extract is used to sweeten and flavour the liquid, whilst avoiding refined sugar as much as possible, to protect the delicate flavour and texture of the drink. The problem we find with some seltzers comes from the fruit extract. Some of the examples we have tried have nearly tasted artificial and bordering on perfumy, which end up being overwhelming and not at all pleasant. We came across Served last year and were instantly impressed with the flavour profile and how clean the palette was. This comes from using a house made gluten free spirit which is distilled 4 times from maximum purity. The spirit is made from wonky beetroot that may not otherwise be used, and the fruit used to flavor and sweeten the seltzer is also wonky, meaning that it probably wouldn't make it onto the supermarket shelves, so Served get extra points for sustainability too. As a refreshing, ready to drink, it is great to have a few cans of Served in your fridge, sitting next to a mixed case of Nirvana beer of course, as your preferred non alcoholic option. Going to stock up on some Served? Head over to their site here https://www.serveddrinks.co.uk/ Everleaf What do you get when you mix a conservation biologist who has experience as a bar owner? One of the best non-alcoholic spirits ranges on the market. The founder Paul Mathew, spent most of his working life as a conservation biologist, spending years observing the natural world, learning how best to interact with it. A few years later, Paul opened his bar and got to know the wants and needs of his customers, learning what makes them tick, the flavours that matter, and suggesting the perfect drink for their mood. This led to the creation of Everleaf and a completely new offering for the non alcoholic sector. Much like Pentire, this liquid is perfect for replacing the gin in your gin and tonic, but what we do love about Everleaf is the variety in the range. Everleaf currently have 3 different liquids featuring different botanicals from that specific geographical area: Mountain contains ingredients like strawberry and cherry blossom extract creating a floral, bittersweet cocktail, perfect for people trying to satisfy their pink gin craving. Marine contains over 16 different botanicals including citrus such as lemon and bergamot, as well as classic gin botanicals such as juniper berry. We really like the addition of olive leaf, which gives way to a delicious refreshing saline finish. Lastly there is Forest. This spirit has layers of flavours such as vanilla, orange peel and saffron. This Forest spirit creates the perfect liquid to use as a base for an alcohol free Old Fashioned or Manhattan. Definitely one of our favourites. Want to try Everleaf range? https://www.everleafdrinks.com/ Lyre Being big fans of an Aperol Spritz or a Cosmopolitan, (yes, we sometimes like a cocktail too!) we were delighted when we came across Lyres' range of non alcoholic spirits. Made with extracts, distillates and essences sourced from around the world, Lyre spirits and ready to drink cocktails are really handy to have stocked up in the drinks cupboard. What we love most about Lyre is the variety, not only of flavour profiles, but of the range. They have created a selection of drinks that allow you to create a whole non-alcoholic liquor cabinet, so you are really empowered and excited to recreate all your favourite classic cocktails without the ABV in the comfort of your own home, or even get adventurous and try new ones. As with a lot of the other non-alcoholic spirits, Lyre have their own philosophy, which puts the want of the customer at the forefront giving them the products they need for that full cocktail experience at home and have their own excitement around the cocktails and serves they can create. Recently, Lyre opened up their range to include ready to drink cans, making it even easier to pop a few canned cocktails in a bag if you are going to a friend's house and want to make sure you are not tempted by their mixology skills! From a spirits point of view, we especially love the White Cane Spirit. In the ready to drink format, the Amalfi Spritz is amazing, as well as the rum and coke alternative with the White Cane Spirit . Want to try some of Lyres' range, head over to their site here. https://lyres.co.uk Nirvana Beer What can we say, we love what we do here at Nirvana and are especially proud of our beers and the quality in every bottle. Be it our Bavarian Helles, our flagship lager which is crisp, clean and beautifully balanced and according to our customers, stands head and shoulders above the rest of the non-alcoholic beers on the market, or our dark and rich stout, perfect as the evenings draw in or as an ingredient in our rich and dark braised beef, or our chocolate porter cake (Blog links) . It all started when our founder, Becky’s dad, decided to stop drinking alcohol. At the time, the range of alcohol-free beers on the market was not great and the flavour of these beers left a lot to be desired. We believed that people who choose not to drink shouldn’t be excluded socially, and should have an amazing drinking experience as well. Becky just wanted to see her dad’s face light up again with a decent bottle of alcohol-free beer and now, as a brewery, we want to do it for all the no and low alcohol fans around the world. If you want to be part of our journey or maybe send a gift for the beer lover in your life, head over to our shop and order your case of Nirvana Beer today. Shop Here.
NEW BEER LAUNCH: LONDON PORTER
Another season is upon us, and that means it’s time for our latest limited-edition seasonal launch. Nothing says autumn/winter quite like a dark beer, so join us in getting settled by the fire with a bottle of our limited-edition London Porter. With this beer, we’re celebrating our roots as a proud London brewery. What better way than to pay homage to a beer style born and bred in the capital; the London Porter. Of course, being the UK’s only alcohol-free brewery, this beer is akin to a classic porter in everything but the ABV, coming in at just 0.5% ABV. In 18th century London, beers were traditionally aged at the pub; breweries would carry out a primary fermentation before shipping it out to be served straight away or aged in pub cellars. But the porter was born from pioneering breweries who decided to experiment with aging their beer in-house, keeping the beer in traditional porter tuns to ferment and eventually mellow, becoming sweeter than the stouts of the day. Those same breweries introduced other advances in brewing, such as the use of thermometers. We’re tipping our cap to those early beer pioneers who taught us about changing the game in beer. So what about the Nirvana Brewery version? Pouring a rich dark brown, roasted malts take centre stage, bringing notes of caramel, coffee and just a touch of chocolate. We kettle brewed with a light sprinkling of the classic British hop variety Fuggles, enhancing the notes of spice and oak. Warming, complex and indulgent, this beer is one to savour with your feet up. Pair with hearty British Food for maximum enjoyment. Available for a limited time on our webshop with free shipping over £35. BUY LONDON PORTER
6 reasons why you should try no alcohol in 2022.
Drink alcohol? Maybe you'll go booze-free for January? There are many reasons why you should try to drink no alcohol or low alcohol in 2022. This blog provides some useful information about why you should consider sobriety for a month and how it can affect your life if you overdo it. We all know that drinking too much is bad for your health but there are a lot of other benefits of going alcohol-free you may not know about. In this blog post, we will discuss 6 of the most important ones to your well-being. Further to having some options for good health, you'll have some pointers for next time you are in a bar with a group of friends. The first one is order a Nirvana Beer! Drinking Non-alcoholic beer is a great way to enjoy a drink without the ABV. We think of our beer, as a delicious drink first and a non-alcoholic beer second, giving you such a great taste that satisfies people who love their booze and nondrinkers alike. Just because you are staying sober, shouldn't mean you stop enjoying yourself. Reason 1 - You will get better sleep. You might not realize it but alcohol derails your sleep patterns and makes you restless during the night, much like drinking coffee too late in the day. This is why sleeping through the whole night without waking up becomes harder if you are drinking too much. Further to that, the quality of your sleep is also made worse by alcohol, which is why you feel so groggy the next morning. Non-drinkers or people who don't drink alcohol report being less tired and having more energy than regular consumers of alcoholic drinks. With 1/3 of your existence spent sleeping, this sounds pretty important. So maybe skip stocking up on gin and other booze in the January sale and have a coffee instead, just not too close to bedtime! Reason 2 - Your skin will get better. Many people have noticed an improvement in their skin after they go alcohol-free. It is due to toxins accumulating in your body when you drink too much which can cause acne and aging as well. The good news is that this will improve significantly once you stop drinking. There are also other benefits to quitting including better digestion, and looking younger for longer! Reason 3 - You can save a lot of money by not drinking. This may not be your main reason for quitting but you should know that the amount of money you spend on alcohol can add up pretty quickly. If you drink a little bit every day, this can become an issue over time and it is something to consider when thinking about whether or not to quit drinking in 2022. Still sober curious? This may tip you over the edge! Research suggests it could be up to £10,000 a year. Why not find out for yourself here at this cost of drinking calculator! Drink Calculator Reason 4 - You will become more productive at work and school. No alcohol in 2022, even for just January, is good for your health and can also have a positive impact on your productivity. Many people are more productive when they don't drink because it gives them clarity of mind, awareness, and focus which is what you need to succeed and progress at work or school. Reason 5 - Your social life will improve. If you stop drinking it will be much easier for you to make plans and go out with your group of friends. Many people who drink too much find that they don't want to socialize as often because of their hangover, the financial impacts, or the fact that they need a few drinks to get in the mood for going out. When this is no longer an issue, it is much easier to spend time with friends, have a good time, and be in the moment. Not only that you are free to enjoy the nonalcoholic beers on offer and still drive home! Reason 6 - You will be healthier. When you stop drinking your immune system becomes stronger which means that you are less likely to get sick as often. The best part about quitting alcohol in 2022 is that this benefit alone can improve the quality of your health and fitness and overall wellbeing. One of the biggest benefits of quitting drinking is that you won’t have as many hangovers and miss more days from school or work because of them. With a big discussion about mental health at the moment, now is a good time to join the non-drinking folk and try not drinking this January. Simply kick the booze for a month, have some fun with non-alcoholic alternatives and see if you see a difference in your mental health. Research suggests when you consume alcohol-free products, for example, non-alcoholic beers or non-alcoholic spirits, you are much more likely to have a greater awareness of your health, both physical and mental. Alcohol-free is a trend here to stay. With one in three young people in the UK teetotal, alcohol intake is down and non-alcoholic drinks and low alcohol drinks are on the rise. In general, alcohol consumption is down in sales across all age groups in the UK. As an alcohol-free beer company the rise of sobriety and the demand for booze-free, and low alcohol drinks by consumers in a bar, restaurant, or supermarket is great news and we fully support young people in the UK looking for no alcohol beverages with taste and at the same time fun. Hospitality has responded. Food and non-alcoholic wine matching? Low alcohol drinks pairings? Sugar-free beverages as standard? Catering to sobriety is becoming big business and with the hospitality business on its knees post-Covid, restaurants the world over are crafting superb experiences for the non-alcoholic tastes. With research suggesting that the trend for sober experiences is growing amongst consumers, and with sales growing every year, no or low alcoholic options look set to grow on drinks and cocktails lists. The New Year is the perfect time to think about what you want your 2022 to look like. If you’ve been struggling with drinking or know someone who has, this might be a good year for them to try going alcohol-free. Sober Curious? Pick a low alcohol drinks strategy Not drinking alcohol doesn't need to be the be-all and end-all. With so many alcohol-free beer, gin, and wine brands on the market, you have so many drinks to choose from. Bars are stocking so many good, gluten-free, low alcohol beers that taste as good as, or better than the real thing, and non-alcoholic spirits that you can mix with the likes of tonic water or sparkling water. Non-drinkers used to be stuck with sugar-laden soft drinks diluted with ice, and wine that was too sweet; now you can plan to have booze-free drinks that are of such high quality, they are being served in Michelin Star restaurants. There are so many non-alcoholic beverages on the market to help you achieve a healthier lifestyle, there is one for every style. If you want to find out more, check out our friends at Dry Drinker. 3 Quickfire tips to Lower your Alcohol Consumption. There are many reasons why people choose not to drink and there isn’t an “ideal” reason that fits all drinkers. But we can say that in general, when you give up drinking, it will change how your brain operates in relation to dopamine and cravings. You may find yourself feeling more confident at social gatherings because of the lack of self-consciousness from being sober while everyone else drinks--and maybe even have some extra money saved up too. Our top tips for lowering your alcohol intake is: Have a substitute in the fridge When you want to reach for a bottle after a stressful day you have something you enjoy ready to go. Out of sight You don't have to get rid of your liquor cabinet, just maybe move it out of your eye line so it doesn't get your attention. Plan Devise a strategy for when you go out and role play in your mind how you will react when your friends offer you a drink. Need to stock up on non Alcoholic Beer? Of course, you do! Not drinking alcohol has never been easier with Nirvana Brewery. We have a range of non-alcoholic drinks for beer drinkers of all styles, for example, our on-trend low alcohol London Porter or our alcohol-free Bavarian Helles Lager, perfect if you like that old-world style. Or mix it up with our mixed case. Whatever your drink we have you covered! Click to shop here!
