Craft & Grill, the craft beer and smokehouse/grill restaurant in Walton-on-Thames opened last month by Foundation Inns, recently hosted a ‘meet the brewer’ session for new Suffolk microbrewer Station 1-1-9.
The event was the first foray into greater London for Station 1-1-9, which started brewing in June this year. Co-founders Marc Medland and Tom Martin set up a pop-up bar in Craft & Grill to serve their No Guts No Glory IPA and Heartbreaker Pale Ale on draught, while bottled versions of both beers are stocked in Craft & Grill’s bottle fridge.
Discovering new craft beers
Foundation Inns co-founder Ian Grundy said, “We were delighted to provide a platform for 1-1-9 to bring their beers to a new audience. Our customers enjoyed trying their beers and talking to the brewer, and it helped to create an environment where they are discovering new craft beers, which is part of our vision for Craft & Grill. We plan to make beer tastings and meet the brewer sessions a regular fixture.”
The beer range at Craft & Grill includes six draught and 30 bottled craft beers from British microbrewers including Beavertown, Redwell and Hawkes, in addition to a selection of American and European brands such as Brooklyn Lager, Goose Island IPA, Anchor Steam Affligem, Kwak and Fruli.
Marc Medland, head brewer and co-founder at Station 1-1-9 said, “It was good to take our beers out of our Suffolk heartland and try them on a greater London audience. Drinkers in Craft & Grill seemed to enjoy our beers, so we’re confident that there is potential for us to secure more listings in the growing number of craft beer pubs in the capital.”
About Foundation Inns
Craft & Grill is the first branded site from Foundation Inns. If the Walton site proves a success, Foundation hopes to grow the Craft & Grill concept in suburban London and Home County towns.
Ian Grundy and Gavin Drew set up Foundation Inns, an Enterprise Investment Scheme company in 2007. The pair also operate another EIS company, Flagstone Cask and Grill. In addition to Craft & Grill – Walton, they operate a further four pubs, in London and the South East.
Station 1-1-9 is a microbrewery founded in June 2014 in Horham, Suffolk, by Marc Medland, Elliott Norris and Tom Martin. It is sited next to the former Station 119 airfield used by the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War, a heritage which is reflected in its 1940’s-themed packaging and POS.
For more information on Station 1-1-9, contact:
Marc Medland: marc@station119.co.uk 07766701440
For more information about Craft & Grill click here
Pictured top: Station 1-1-9 co-founder Marc Medland pours a beer from the pop-up bar at Craft & Grill