Blog
5 Beer And Food Pairings
In case you don’t live in London and haven’t seen the posters, it’s National Vegetarian Week! Run by the Vegetarian Society from 14 – 20 May, National Vegetarian Week seeks to get people trying out a vegetarian diet for a week, or just generally celebrate all of the delicious veggie options out there. As a vegan alcohol-free beer, we wanted to share some of our favourite recipes that go great with our bestseller - an ice cold Bavarian Helles Lager. Or, with our lager cooked right in. KASHMIRI PANEER MASALA Vegan Beer Battered Fish and Chips, Courtesy of ‘The Cook and Him’ Kicking off our list with an oldie but a goodie, we’re all familiar with sipping on a cool, refreshing beer alongside our favourite spicy dish. The great thing about Indian food is that the huge variety of spices and flavours make vegetarian curries anything but dull. We’ve chosen this Kashmiri paneer masala from The Telegraph. It requires a few unusual ingredients, but the amazing rich and spicy flavour is worth making the effort to source them. ‘FISH’ AND CHIPS Next up is a recipe featuring the beer baked in, from lovely site The Cook and Him. They’re bringing us a tasty vegan alternative for the classic British fish & chips. As the author of the recipe, Sam, says, before devising this she thought there’d never be something to replace the taste of salty fish, but this will satisfy all of your cravings. MARGHERITA PIZZA Taking a leaf out of Italy’s book for this classic pairing, we’d suggest enjoying a homemade pizza with a Nirvana lager; the salty pizza brings out the best of the well-balanced malt and hops. Although mixing up your own dough might be more time-consuming than calling your local takeaway, the effort that goes into it is well worth the difference in taste. We love this recipe from Gino D’Campo. Buon Appetito! UN-CHICKEN SATAY Another cuisine that we’ve always found to complement a good lager is Thai. Although Chicken Satay is a hugely popular one, it’s also famously not vegetarian (what gave it away?). Luckily, we’ve found this tasty veggie (and vegan) friendly alternative over on Vegan Recipe Club, which uses either tofu or seitan in place of meat. PECAN PIE One to satisfy your sweet tooth whilst enjoying a crisp lager, Steady Drinker, recommends pairing Nirvana Lager with a pecan pie. BBC Good Food have got us covered as usual with this delicious all-American recipe. As an added bonus, they use a ready-made pastry here, saving your tired hands after all of that pizza dough kneading. If this list doesn’t whet your whistle, you can check out loads of great veggie recipes on the National Vegetarian Week website. We’re confident that you’ll quench your thirst for a meat-free meal! Fancy picking up a case of Bavarian Helles Lager and giving it a try?
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: THE WOMEN BEHIND THE BEER
This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the women behind the scenes at Nirvana Brewery. Most of you know our Co-founder Becky, beer lover and businesswoman extraordinaire, but there’s more people behind the beer who make up the Nirvana family and it seemed only right to shine a light on them today. Sue, our business powerhouse Sue Meet the unsung hero behind the Nirvana story, Sue Kean. Mother to founder Becky, she is the woman who made our brewery possible. While husband Jim might have the passion for alcohol-free beer, Sue is the main investor who helped bring the vision to life. A highly successful career woman, she raised 6 children while smashing the glass ceiling to reach a C-level position in the insurance and investment industry, which she still works in today. She is a testament to what women can achieve in the business world, and a big inspiration to us all! Michelle, our accounting star Michelle Michelle first walked through our brewery doors in answer to our advert looking for someone local to take on our accounts and was an instant hit with the team. With her kind and helpful nature, Michelle is always bringing a smile to the faces of the brewery team and her skills at keeping the cashflow going and the books balanced are unparalleled. Michelle has turned her hand to many industries, and after a short career break raising her two beautiful children, she hit the ground running in her beer career when she joined the team in 2019. Rachel, our marketing buff Rachel Introducing our Head of Marketing, Rachel. Rachel started her marketing journey over 13 years ago in the technology world, and moved into the bubbly world of drinks after joining Nirvana in 2018. She is organised and strong minded, with a creative flair for writing. She’s a fountain of ideas: most of what you see from Nirvana comes from her, plus a lot of what you don't see. We owe her a lot of gratitude. Cheers Rachel! While we love brewing a great tasting beer without the alcohol, it’s not the only thing that goes into running a brewery. We’re grateful to all of the women who have helped us along our journey, and also want to give a shout out to the other women who made a huge impact on Nirvana before moving on to other things – Jayro, our content queen and social media extraordinaire as well as sometime photography model, who is now pursuing her love of classical music and working with children. Vim, our business planning and number-crunching whizz and all-round lovely lady who moved on to an exciting new management role, and Lizzie, big sister to Becky and partner to Drew, who is our resident brewhouse yogi and is always available to lend a hand, from being a smiling face at events to getting stuck in with packing boxes. Thank you ladies! Join us in raising a toast to women in beer, whether they’re getting stuck in the mash tun or helping the business run from behind their keyboard. Cheers! 2019 Nirvana team photo with our friends Vim & Jayro - back when we were allowed to hug! Lizzie, our resident yogi BUY NIRVANA BEERS
VALENTINE’S DAY ALCOHOL-FREE BEER & FOOD PAIRING MENU
Beer isn’t necessarily the first thing that you think of when you’re considering food pairing – you’d instinctively go for a fine wine, or perhaps even a cocktail. But did you know that alcohol can numb the taste receptors in the mouth? When we’re talking alcohol free drinks, what they’re missing in booze can really add to the taste sensation, as it helps complex flavour profiles come through which pair beautifully with food; so we’re here to tell you why alcohol-free beer and food might just be the pairing you never knew you needed. And with Valentine’s Day right around the corner, we’ve put together a delicious menu with pairing for a cosy night in. We know that the standard takeaway and a lager might not quite cut it for a special night, so if you’re after something a little extra than your usual night in, you’ve come to the right place. Treat yourself, your partner, your housemate or your whole family over a beer. We’ve dropped in options for meat-lovers, vegetarians, and vegans alike, so everyone can be included. Starter - Fig & goat’s cheese with a honey dressing, paired with Bavarian Helles Lager The classic approach when considering pairings is to look for something that either complements your food, or cuts through it – for example, the way that bitterness in a drink can cut through the sweetness in food. For the starter, we’re kicking off the menu with a complementary pairing in the form of baked fig and goats’ cheese with a honey dressing, matched with our Bavarian Helles Lager. The Hallertau hops in the lager give a delicious nectar finish to this beer which suits the honey dressing perfectly, whilst the sweetness of the dish brings out the hop bitterness in the beer. You could serve this starter on a bed of rocket, adding a peppery bitterness to the overall flavour, or a babyleaf salad. For a vegan alternative, we recommend figs with cashew cream cheese like the one in this delicious recipe from Ceri Jones, a brilliant London based chef. The honey mentioned in this recipe could be easily omitted or swapped with a dash of maple syrup. Main Course - Grilled steak and dauphinoise potatoes (or vegan burger) paired with Organic Pale Ale Moving on to the main course, we’re opting for a ‘cut-through’ approach to pairing and suggesting our Organic Pale Ale with your favourite cut of steak, grilled and served with dauphinoise potatoes. The malts which give this pale ale its characteristic toffee notes pair beautifully with the meat, while the gentle bitterness of the hops add a pleasant and enjoyable contrast which cuts perfectly through the creaminess of the potatoes. Serve with green beans on the side, cooked but still retaining a crunchy bite to counteract the textures of the rest of the dish. For the veggies or vegans amongst you, serve steak-cut salted chips with a vegan aioli and this delicious grilled portobello burger that we spotted on the Peta website. The spicy flavours complement this hoppy beer perfectly, giving you a refreshing bitterness with each sip without exacerbating the heat. Dessert - Tiramisù with Dark & Rich Stout For dessert, we’d pair with a slightly more indulgent beer – our Dark & Rich Stout. While a traditional alcoholic stout can be so heavy it feels like a meal in its own right, our alcohol-free version is much lighter, opening up a world of pairing options. The dark malts we use in the beer bring out rich flavours of chocolate and coffee, with notes of vanilla, pairing perfectly with an indulgent tiramisù. Now while you might want to skip the boozy marsala wine or dark rum in the traditional Italian mamma’s recipe if you’re going alcohol free (sorry mamma), there’s a host of brilliant rum alternatives available, as well as simply adding a flavouring of your choice which doesn’t contain alcohol. Otherwise, just load up on the coffee! Here’s a traditional recipe with options for removing the alcohol. We spotted lots of excellent vegan recipes for tiramisù, but our favourite was this from Vegan on Board which is low-fuss, easy to follow and thoughtfully considered to emulate the texture and flavours of a classic tiramisù. The dessert tiramisù takes its name from the Italian for ‘pick me up’, and we’re sure that you’re going to want to pick up this delicious pairing menu over and over again. Are you going to give our pairing menu a go? Let us know in the comments! Or head right to our online shop to pick up your mixed case to set off your pairing evening. BUY NIRVANA BEERS
IS NIRVANA *REALLY* THE UK’S ONLY ALCOHOL-FREE BREWERY?
Let’s start with the short answer. Yes! Almost 5 years into our journey, we’re still the only alcohol-free beer brand with our very own brewery. If you’re satisfied, feel free to head on and browse our other blog posts. For the long answer, read on… Here at Nirvana, we’re the UK’s only physical brewery dedicated to alcohol-free beer. By ‘physical’, we mean that we have our own premises where we only brew Nirvana beers. In 2016, we took an empty industrial unit, and we worked hard to create our brewery just the way we wanted it; from tanks to mash tun, to our mezzanine office and tap room, we created a brewery from scratch to craft our very own Nirvana. Back then, many people said opening a brewery solely dedicated to alcohol-free beer couldn’t be done - no-one was focussing on alcohol-free beer, let alone building their own brewery! But here we are, coming up to 5 years later and still brewing beer we love so that anyone can feel included, no matter what they're drinking. Why did we want to build a brewery if no one else was? Because we’re committed to producing alcohol-free beers on our terms. We like to go our own way, and for us that meant pursuing the dream of our very own brewery, ensuring that we have full control over our recipes, our production processes and timescales, and the flexibility to tweak, create new brews and more. We wanted to change the game in no-alcohol beer, and that meant having a space where we could experiment, learn, and perfect the craft in our own space. But aren’t there other breweries dedicated to alcohol-free beer? While there are other brands dedicated to alcohol-free beer, no-one else brewing only under 0.5% currently has their own brewery. Other brands use existing alcoholic breweries to create their beers for them (known as a contract brew), re-label an existing alcohol-free product with their branding (white label) or, less commonly, they may have their own brewing team who use other breweries facilities to brew their beer (gypsy brewing). When the Nirvana team, including Co-founder Becky and her family, were setting out to pursue our dream of creating a range of craft alcohol-free beers, we quickly realised that by white-labelling or contract brewing, it often means that the brand doesn’t actually own the recipe for the beer – the brewery do. Our Taproom We realised that if at some point in the future we decided to brew beer elsewhere or build a brewery, the recipes would have to be recreated from scratch! This was a problem for us, as we wanted to make sure we owned our recipes and had the flexibility to adapt, improve and change as we saw fit. Why do other brands call themselves a brewery if they don’t have one? Well, some would argue that if you make beer in any capacity, you are a brewery. But it doesn’t necessarily mean you *have* a brewery. Does having your own brewery matter? No! We’re not here to criticise how other people make their beers – it’s not important to us. We’re proud to be at the forefront of the alcohol-free beer community watching it grow and seeing new styles and tastes appearing. We simply took a chance on going our own way when there was no market and no alcohol-free options, because we wanted to create a world where there was. It took the early innovators like Nirvana Brewery to demonstrate that there really *is* a market for craft alcohol-free beer! That attitude of going our own way has brought us to where we are today. And choosing to go your own way? Well, that's what we like to call Nirvana. We can’t invite you inside just yet, but you can watch a virtual brewery tour on our YouTube channel. Or, if you’re ready to try our beers for yourself, head to our online shop. Beer Yoga at the brewery! BUY NIRVANA BEERS
NIRVANA'S CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE
2020 has been a strange year, that’s for sure, and lots of us won’t be spending the festive season celebrating in the same way as usual. But gifting is not cancelled, so we can show that special someone that we care by dropping a gift at their door! It just so happens that we’ve got some exciting new gifting products just in time for the festive season. Hint – they all involve beer. And they’re all vegan, so suitable for the plant-based person in your life. If your recipient is in our local area of E10 or E17 postcodes, you can also use code LOCAL17 for free delivery! The taster gift – 3 bottle beer gift pack. New for the festive season this year are our 3 bottle gift packs, perfect to give someone a little taster if they’re just dipping their toes in the water of alcohol-free beer. They’ll get a bottle of each of our 3 bestselling beers – Bavarian Helles Lager, Hoppy Pale Ale and Classic IPA, all tastefully packaged in our limited-edition gift packs. The boxes are sent with an outer protective layer, keeping the box itself in perfect condition for wrapping up and putting under the tree. The person who knows what they like – 12 pack. Need a gift for someone who knows exactly what they want? Grab a 12 case of any individual beer style and ship it straight to their door. Choose from any of our 6 regular beer styles, whether they’re a hophead in search of the beer packed with Mosaic hops (Hoppy Pale Ale) a fan of English bitters or mellow hops (Organic Pale Ale) or something else – get them 12 (or 24 if you’re feeling extra generous) of their favourite beers. Our 12 and 24 boxes are tastefully branded but don’t give too much of a hint about what’s inside – and we’ll never include anything like payment information or pricing in our boxes so you can safely send it straight to your mate’s door. The one who wants it all. Know someone who’d love to try a bit of everything in our range of alcohol-free beers? Our mixed cases will do the trick. Each 12 or 24 beer mixed case contains an equal number of all of our beers (including specials where they’re available) and is sure to help the avid beer-seeker wet their whistle this Christmas. The gluten-free gift. Someone in your life needs to avoid gluten in their diet? Our alcohol-free Dark & Rich Stout is packed full of dark roasted malts with hints of chocolate and vanilla aromas, and is under 20ppm gluten, making it safe for those who need to be gluten-free. Find it in either 12 or 24 cases as above. The one who loves brewery swag. Got the one mate who loves a brewery t-shirt and rocks a different one everyday? Throw in one of our classic Nirvana red or black t-shirts with your beer order, or grab one of our new-style navy blue t-shirts for the person who wants to shout it loud “Proudly Low Alc”. We’ve also got the perfect tote bag for the eco-conscious shopper to wear with pride (and stuff full of beers, we hope). The “I’ve got no idea what they want” or “last-minute panic buy” Let someone you love choose their own Nirvana this year – our gift e-card can be emailed to you, or directly to the recipient, and includes a code to use on our website. Gift e-cards can be used as partial or full payment on any order – so if you don’t know their favourite style of beer, let them pick it out themselves by sending them a Nirvana Brewery gift card. Oooor maybe you just left it a little late for a gift (hey, we’re not judging – we’re known to be Christmas Eve shoppers!) then panic not – our gift cards are emailed over straight away. There’s no expiry date and you can choose from values of between a tenner and £100. Last order date for Christmas delivery on physical products is 20th December, before our elves head off for their Christmas break. Gift cards are digital so can be ordered anytime. Are you ready to give the gift of Nirvana beer this Christmas? BUY NIRVANA BEERS
LOCKDOWN SELF-CARE TIPS FROM THE NIRVANA TEAM.
So here we are a few days into lockdown 2.0. While it does feel pretty different to the first one, it’s still a tough time for so many reasons, which means that it’s more important than ever to find little joys in every day and practice self-care to get through this strange time. At our weekly meeting, the Nirvana team were chatting about what we’re doing to keep ourselves busy and joyful this month and we decided to share these with our lovely customers, hoping that we’d be able to give you a little bit of inspiration. Becky – Co-founder Becky has been inspired to use this time to slow down and spend lockdown mastering the art of something that you’re probably already doing…pottering. “Or discovering I should say...I don’t expect to be a master straight away!” Becky noted. After reading an article about pottering which describes it as “unplanned, slightly unnecessary activity from which you derive tiny bursts of pleasure”, rather than fill her days with endless plans and stressing about to do lists, Becky was encouraged to slow down and spend some time mindfully enjoying the small things around her. Considering our non-stop and always-connected lifestyles, it might feel a bit unnatural not to make plans, or you might feel that you’re just cooped up in the house. But by slowing down and enjoying the little things, you might find that there’s more pleasure in pottering than you realised. This simple notion of just doing little bits and bobs without any goal or expectation can set you up for a calmer, more productive life in other ways. Rachel – Marketing What Rachel loves about living in London is that around every corner, there’s a historic building, an interesting bit of architecture or a beautiful green space that she never knew before, so she loves to get out urban exploring. While the city can sometimes feel hectic, she finds joy in uncovering new places. That’s why she makes sure that every evening, she shuts down her laptop and spends what would have been her commute time heading out on foot to explore. “The thing about working from home is that you miss something to break up the day, which is why I make sure to get outside for a change of scenery between ‘working time’ and ‘time at home.’” Rachel recommends just picking an area or maybe a rough landmark that you’d like to see and wander serendipitously. Or, when the urban chaos of London feels a bit too much, Rachel heads to some of her favourite green open spaces to remind her of the countryside that she grew up in. While we can’t leave London right now, Rachel recommends a few walking routes which offer relatively unbroken greenery – the Dollis Valley Greenwalk, a 10 mile walk in north London, or the London Loop which circles the whole city. Jaakko - Brewer Another outdoor seeker, Jaakko loves to get out on his bike for an afternoon of cycling. He snapped this at the weekend on a cycle to Waltham Cross which he recommends as a great area to head to just outside the city which isn’t too crowded. Connor – Sales During the last lockdown, Connor spent a lot of time on outdoor pursuits and this time is no different! As well as enjoying long walks and seeking as much countryside and greenery as can be found in and around London, Connor enjoys kayaking. He recommends the Medway in Kent as a calm and gentle area, with some good places to get in and out, or for more experienced kayakers, a village called Wargrave with the fast-flowing St Patrick's stream. Working in a brewery means that Connor is pretty passionate about a good beer, so he’s spending time indoors having a go at a bit of home brewing after he picked up a small kit during the last lockdown. He has also decided to pick up the tin whistle again after playing it as a kid growing up in Ireland. His girlfriend just doesn’t know it yet… Michelle – Accounts Getting outdoors seems to be a bit of a theme for the Nirvana team, as Michelle has been enjoying lots of forest walks with her young children. It’s a great opportunity to get fresh air and to teach the children about the different plants and wildlife, so she recommends grabbing your wellies and heading to the beautiful Epping Forest. Drew – Co-founder Drew didn’t manage to let us know self-care tips, so we can only assume he is switching his phone off and having a technology detox! 😉 It’s clear that the great outdoors has an amazing calming effect on us, as does slowing down and remembering to enjoy the moment. It’s also important to acknowledge the negative effects that alcohol can have on our mood, so choosing an alcohol-free beer when you fancy a cold one is a brilliant act of self-care, meaning you’ll get the satisfaction of a cold beer without the negative effects of the booze. Check out our blog post 6 surprising benefits to drinking alcohol free beer for more unexpected perks! Or if you’d like to give our award-winning alcohol-free beers a try this lockdown, head over to our webshop. SHOP NIRVANA BEERS
Women In Beer - Becky Kean
Interview With Becky Kean, Co-Founder Of Nirvana Brewery For International Women’s Day we interviewed Becky Kean, the Director and Co Founder of Nirvana Brewery to find out what makes beer a great industry to be in, regardless of gender. BEER OF CHOICE? Becky Kean, Co-founder of Nirvana Brewery “It might sound a bit boring, but I do like a lager. I do like dark roast beers too, like a stout or porter, but there’s nothing like a lager, a good well made lager.” WHAT DREW YOU TO THE BEER MARKET? “I kind of stumbled into the beer market because my dad couldn’t drink alcoholic beer, so it was mostly for him that we started in the market, but I was already quite a big beer fan myself. I first started liking beer in Thailand when I was handed a can of Chang (Thai beer); the moment was just perfect for it, and ever since then I carried on drinking beer. Then, I started to get into craft beer whilst I was in San Diego, I went to a craft brewery and was fascinated by the brewery tour, seeing all the barrels and trying all the different types of beer and it bought it all to life, I could see the art of it. Shortly after that I started FitBeer along with my brother Joe, and very quickly after that we set up Nirvana Brewery with another business partner. They’ve both moved on to other things now, but I can’t imagine my life without beer! My brother-in-law Drew came on board to co-run Nirvana with me, so we’ve stayed committed to being a family business.” WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE A WOMAN IN A MALE DOMINATED INDUSTRY? “There are fewer role models to look up to and compare to and model your behaviour on, it’s a bit more difficult when your looking up to men in the industry, but I’m sure that will change. I think the generation before us of women were the ones who ‘fought the battle’ as it were, and now it’s a lot easier to be a woman in beer. I’ve met some incredible women in the beer industry, there’s Jaega Wise who came to our brewery and Jane Peyton who we see at beer festivals and events, and that’s one of the upsides, that you bond with the women that you do meet. Another upside is there’s a shorter queue for the toilets! My team is a very even male-female split - we’re actually exactly 50/50, and I think that’s also fairly reflective of our customer base. I’m really pleased to see more women that ever enjoying beer!” WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE? “Loads of little things have happened along our journey and I feel quite proud to say that we contributed to igniting the alcohol-free movement. FitBeer was one of the first new brands on the scene and Nirvana followed shortly after that. The fact that Nirvana was the first female owned alcohol-free beer brand, and is still the only dedicated alcohol-free brand with its own brewery are two things that I’m hugely proud of.” IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO SAY TO OTHER WOMEN THAT WANT TO GET STARTED IN THE BEER GAME? “Just forget about any stereotypes, beer isn’t male or female, it’s a just a bloody good drink! And surround yourself with good people, it’s a team effort and everything we’ve achieved has been a team effort.” IF YOU WERE A BEER, WHAT BEER WOULD YOU BE? “Belgian Blond - Because I’ve got blond hair and low bitterness!” FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR RANGE OF ALCOHOL-FREE BEERS
