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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
