10 BARS – 60 DRAUGHT BEERS & CIDERS A WEEK – COCKTAILS – BANDS – DJs – FOOD TRUCKS – TASTING TOURS – MEET THE BREWER EVENTS – BEER DINNERS – MUCH, MUCH MORE
OPENS JULY 4, 5PM
CRE8 CENTRE, THE OLD BATHS, HACKNEY WICK, E9 5JH
We saw a building in Hackney Wick that used to be an old public baths and thought hmmmmm, what if we put some of the world’s best beers, cocktails and ciders in there, would that be fun? And the answer was HELL yeah!
Urban Sessions and Beer Nation is planting its flag for 17 weeks at the Cre8 centre in Hackney Wick, which is a glorious 1930s art deco building and saved from dilapidation by a community project and thriving ever since.
Our mission statement is Raising the Bar – we’re not interested in beer politics, just the good stuff.
Our venue is split into three areas:
URBAN SESSIONS – where there will be eight bars, featuring London’s best beers, the nation’s finest brews and true beery awesomeness from elsewhere in the world, including some very funky and never-before-seen on these shores (these names made our beer geek contingent squeal like they’d just been pinched! News on those soon.)
There will also be loads of amazing cocktails, created by Ginstock champions and all-round good egg Matt Roberts from Powderkeg Diplomacy and some scrumptious ciders and soft drinks too.
BEER NATION – run by the benevolent beer dictator Melissa Cole this area has a large tasting and education bar where we will be holding meet the brewer events, amazing once-a-month uber beer dinners, tutored tasting sessions and all sorts of other fun stuff.
With a capacity of 80 it is also available for private and corporate hire, speak to one of our events co-ordinators by emailing events@urbansessions.co.uk
OUTSIDE BAR – we have a spanking new space outside to play with, where you’ll find a cider shack and all sorts of other tasty stuff including food stands, like Northfield Farm and the Ribman, and live music or tunes being piped from inside from our awesome line-up of DJs and bands.
We will also, at some point during our four-month tenure, be holding a fund-raiser for the venue as we believe it’s a valuable community asset and it’s something we are very proud to be part of.
When Will It Start?
Put July 4 in your diary now as we’ll holding a VIP/press event during the day.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
For further press information, limited press entry or additional high-res images please contact Melissa on Melissa@beernation.co.uk or call 07798 568400.
BIOGRAPHIES
Mark Banks
Always ahead of the curve Mark has some of the most successful bars in London (Powder Keg, Lost Angel and Lost & Co), all of which have a strong beer presence, stocking not only exciting and interesting UK beers (many brewed exclusively for the venues) but also has a strong understanding of the international beer market and products too.
Melissa Cole
Melissa is one of the leading lights of the international beer scene and will be responsible for whipping our staff into shape, writing the educational programmes, helping source beers and liaising with breweries for special nights, meet the brewer events and helping run our corporate entertainment side.
And, of course being a passionate sommALEier, she will be bringing together our beer and food programme, which is set to include some very big name chefs indeed.
Mat Wale
Event maven Mat is the owner of Twisted Lemon, an established and experienced events company with a strong industry background. Mat is our man on the ground, the one with the plan and the vision and skills to execute it.
Further information on Education and Events
The focus will be very strongly on education around beer – all the staff will be trained by Melissa, who will then hand-pick key enthusiasts to help run the guided tasting tours, who then receive one-on-one training.
It will include:
· Meet the Brewer events
· Monthly beer supper clubs, bringing in renowned chefs
· Beer Battles – beer takes on wine, spirits and cocktails
· Food trucks
· Top DJs and other live music