The Crafty Duck bar

Hey, we opened The Crafty Duck Bar as a pop up in Hertford for the last ten weeks and owing to the bar’s fantastic success in that short time, we’re now asking for your help so we can open the doors of The Crafty Duck Bar full time. 

I am James Ashbourne, and I am passionate about beer and the boom in independent breweries. 

From working in the pub trade for over 15 years in the south east of England, my goal has been to open a bar in my home town of Hertford. The Crafty Duck Bar is the realisation of that dream, and I have made the bar’s emphasis craft beer, cask ales and wines, all supplied by inspirational small breweries and independent suppliers.

Our philosophy is a simple one. 

We want to build our success on the importance of service to you our guests. 

We want to make The Crafty Duck Bar an integral part of the local community, to bring our guests together into a relaxed atmosphere of the best public house in the area; a bar where you will be welcomed back time-and-time-again. 

Now that we have found the perfect property and established a popular pop-up-bar on a small budget.

 We now need your help to make The Crafty Duck Bar one of Hertford’s permanent fixtures, so we are inviting you to come and join us in our passion about beer at the Crafty duck Bar. 

My target is to raise £4,000 to bring this dream to a full-time reality. 

The money that you pledge will be used towards the ongoing development and enhancement of this our bar. 

In return for investment the rewards we are offering are simply amazing. They include, (please see terms and conditions). 

• Case of craft beer

• Case of 6 mixed wines

• A lifetime of free beer!

When you read our beer menu I want you the guest to immediately realise the bars philosophy and my own passion.

Where do we start?

Is it the fact that Germany have a purity law dating back over 500 years?

Is it that small breweries from the US have made some of the best new beers from the last few decades?

Or is it the fact that the UK now has 125% more independent breweries than it did just 20 years ago, with one opening every other day?

Actually, it's all of those and so much more!

We have stocked some amazing beers from great brewers like Cloudwater, Verdant, Pressure Drop, Beavertown and Tiny Rebel to name a few and we want to continue bringing the best beers in the world to Hertford.

As well as our amazing UK breweries, we also want to continue to showcase the best beers that the rest of the world have to offer.

I have decided that the wines on my list really had to be special and not made by big companies, so, we decided that the wines we serve at the Crafty Duck Bar are to be from family run vineyards; to be vineyards and producers that I can go and visit and learn from and of course ultimately tell their stories to you. 

I have been lucky enough to work with small businesses who champion local producers. Companies like Wine Rascals who introduced me to the wines from Georgia! Along with the knowledge that it’s one of the worlds oldest wine producing countries in the world with a tradition dating back thousands of years.

So, that is my story, I would like to invite you to make it our story, and I would love for you to hop-on board and help me to continue with the excitement that this amazing project has given me in the realisation of the potential of my dream.

Thanks.  Please feel free to ask any questions that you feel I haven't covered by contacting me on Twitter or Facebook or via our fantastic website - TheCraftyDuck.  Alternatively, if you prefer the old-school approach feel free to drop by to 28 Parliament Square, Hertford, SG14 1EZ and enjoy a chat over a pint or two....