Welcome to The Midweek Drink: The place where alcohol-free beverages go through the test of pleasing the tastebuds of yours truly.
On this week’s Midweek Drink, I shall be reviewing a beverage that is something quite different. Something that I would've not had thought could happen. This ‘something’ is a kombucha blended with beer.
Kombucha and beer?! It does seem strange to see both of these types of beverages in the same sentence; but believe me, this is a step forward like the invention of peanut butter and jam.
The beverage that I shall be reviewing is Nirvana Brewery’s Ananda Buchabeer (Kombucha blended with Tantra Pale Ale).
A brief history of Nirvana Brewery
The journey begins in 2007. Steve Dass, co-founder of Nirvana Brewery, began selling beer for a Belgian brewery, and noticed that there could be a possibility for the brewery to brew and sell alcohol-free beer, too. His idea was ignored, and so, Steve decided to go solo with his business partner and opened up Nirvana Brewery in east London.
Since the start of their journey, Nirvana Brewery has successfully produced six types of beers and now, to add to their collection, the first ever Buchabeer.
Also before I forget: Their brewery rocks! The team that Steve has, Becky (co-founder of Fitbeer) & Andrew, are the perfect trio to take Nirvana Brewery into the future with their experimentations of fusing ingredients and drinks that have you saying “wait…you can do that?”. Oh yeah, the bar upstairs is worth looking at and can give you a good view of how the brewery works. All in all, it’s a very chilled environment to work in and I’m very excited to see what else they have planned before this year ends
Three senses and a beverage
The ingredients used: Malt, Hops, Green Sencha Tea, Sugar, S.C.O.B.Y (Symboitic Colony of Bacteria & Yeast).
Ananada Buchabeer is bottled in a 330ml bottle, Vegan friendly and has a fantastic, vibrant multicoloured label.
The Buchabeer has a hazy, caramel colour that does have some similarity to a beer when you look at it. For the aroma, you can quite easily pick out the Kombucha and notes of malt, as well. And for the taste, the blending of the two types of beverages is perfect! You’re first hit with the Kombucha and then the follow-up of the subtle sweet maltiness that can be found detected in their Tantra Pale Ale.
If you are looking for that special something for those evening meals with friends and family who may have never tried Kombucha before, then I suggest giving Ananada Buchabeer a shot.