Brewery owner turned Nightingale Hospital volunteer creates beer to raise money for Barts Charity
Rudi Keyser has been volunteering at NHS Nightingale during the coronavirus pandemic. Picture: Barts Charity - Credit: Barts Charity
A brewery owner who volunteers at the Nightingale Hospital has created a beer to help raise money for the NHS.
The NightingAle beer which was inspired by the NHS. Picture: Barts Charity - Credit: Barts Charity
The NightingAle - commemorating the 200th anniversay of the birth of Florence Nightingale - was the brainchild of Watling Street Beer owner Rudi Keyser.
The brewery is donating £1 from the sale of every can of the vegan friendly American pale ale to Barts Charity’s Covid-19 appeal, which is providing both rapid and long-term funding to staff and patients working at hospitals run by Barts Health NHS Trust.
Rudi said: “We made a limited edition of 3,500 cans, with £1 from each can going to Barts Charity.
“Sales have been going really well so far.”
Watling St Brewery owner Rudi Keyser. Picture: Barts Charity - Credit: Barts Charity
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He added that the Tottenham-based brewery may consider making an additional batch of 3,500 cans if the first one proves popular.
Rudi, who has been volunteering at the Nightingale Hospital since the start of the pandemic, said the idea for the special brew came about after a discussion with someone else there.
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“When one of my colleagues at the Nightingale Hospital found out what my normal day job was, she said I should create a Nightingale beer,” he said.
He explained how he was inspired to take up a role at the temporary hospital, set up at the ExCeL to provide capacity for up to 4,000 coronavirus patients, as his girlfriend works as a doctor at a hospital in Surrey.
“I wanted to understand what it had been like for her, to be on the front line during the Covid-19 outbreak,” he said.
“I wanted to get involved as a way to be supportive of her and to be able to relate to how she might need emotional support.”
Starting off as a porter, Rudi found himself climbing the ranks quickly, becoming a duty manager.
“Working at the Nightingale, there are lots of volunteers coming with a huge diversity of experience and knowledge,” he said.
“There are accountants, business owners, unemployed people. It really is a fantastic place to work.”
For more information on NightingAle or to order a can, visit watlingstreetbeer.com
For more information about Barts Charity, visit bartscharity.org.uk.
