7000 Jars of Beer brings 'unique craft beers to Kingston

Susie Statham, 26, and her dad Keith, 64, opened 7000 Jars Of Beer last year, with their aim being to bring the best locally brewed beer to Kingston.

Susie told Surrey Comet: “We are called 7000 jars of beer because of an old Egyptian story where a goddess, Sekhmet, is on a killing spree, killing humanity.

“To save humanity the gods ordered the brewing of 7,000 jars of beers, to which red powder was added to resemble human blood. She drank this and fell asleep, forgetting about her rampage and thus saving humanity."

Susie fell in love with craft beer whilst visiting the Beermoth shop in Manchester and spent a few years working for a brewery in Bermondsey.

She said: “Me and my dad joked that we should open a brewery. That was a joke, but when I was looking for a new challenge I thought that we could open a bottle shop. There are some great breweries in London but there is a lack of bottle shops, especially in Kingston.”

But the venture has not been completely without difficulty.

“Two of the biggest challenges were over licensing and staff," Ms Statham added.

"Kingston Council thought we were a pub, but we are not, we are a bottle shop. This meant our license was delayed, which delayed our opening.

“Finding staff that have enough experience of craft beer has also been a challenge. We have a small team due to this and have not been able to find the right staff who know a lot about beers.”

The shop focuses on interesting, high-quality and conscientious beers and breweries. They source and taste all types of beers themselves, which changes every week.

The beers are chosen from micro-breweries and choose ones that are small and won’t be stocked in supermarkets. This means the breweries can experiment with their flavours.

One of the unique elements of the store is the growler fills, which are pressurised machines which allow fresh draft beer to be put into a bottle in the shop without meeting oxygen, keeping the brew fresh for up to six weeks.

The shop has multiple events on its horizon, with Beer 101 happening on September 13, with tickets at £17.

‘7000 Busjes van Bier’ is a tasting of the best Belgian beers, taking place on October 11. Tickets are £20.

On November 22, the store is hosting an event called ‘Fancy Sh*t,’ which explores more expensive beers, wines and cheeses.

7000 Jars of Beer is located on 1 Crown Passage, Unit H, Crown Arcade, KT1 1JB.