Image: The Good Sauna will be in east Abbotsford's Field House Brewing every weekend from 12 to 4 p.m. for the next two months. / Provided / The Good Sauna

By Alyssa Conti

POP-UP NORDIC SPA

Ice, sweat, and beers: Pop-up sauna opens in east Abbotsford brewery

Mar 1, 2025 | 9:19 AM

ABBOTSFORD — If your brain feels fried from all the stressors of the outside world, maybe sweating out in a wooden box and dunking in a metal bucket of ice water can help reset it.

East Abbotsford’s Field House Brewing will be hosting a pop-up with The Good Sauna starting today (Mar. 1). Guests can opt to drink some brewskis while enjoying a nearly two-hour sauna and cold plunge with friends and other guests.

“I think our [sauna] is stooped in community,” said Oll Farrell, founder of The Good Sauna. “The whole idea of what we’re doing is to help people connect with one another.”

Image: Oll Farrell, founder of The Good Sauna / Provided

Nordic spas are a Scandinavian wellness tradition dating back thousands of years, but there’s been a recent boom in North America. Nearly half of all 24 Nordic spas in Canada started after the 2020s, with the other half being staggered from 1999 onwards.

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While the health aspect is still present in Farrell’s work, he says the shared experience sets it apart from other spas.

“We find that people and mental health is not so good when they don’t have friends and community, so our aim is to […] create a place where talking is encouraged, silence in the sauna is not advised, and we really want to help people build connections in a world where everyone’s just looking at their phones the whole time.”

The beer partnerships started with a silver lining. The Good Sauna started in Farrell’s gym but eventually had to leave the premises. In 2023, a Vancouver brewery offered up some space, and Abbotsford’s own Field House Brewing now hopes to introduce the same idea into the Fraser Valley. There is currently only one permanent Nordic spa in B.C., in Whistler.

“We really want people to put the phone down, come and connect with people, make new friends.”

Image: A cold plunge from The Good Sauna. / Provided

Sessions are set to run from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. Guests have the option between community sessions for nine people, or they can book a private session for 12. The pop-up will only stick around until Sunday, April 27th, though.

“We’re here for two months to see if the people of Abbotsford would like it,” said Farrell. “Hopefully, if it’s a success, we might be back here in the fall.”

Field House Brewing is located at 2281 W Railway Street. Details and booking information are available on The Good Sauna’s website.