BEER: Truman’s reborn
13th May, 2011 by Patrick Schmitt - This article is over multiple pages: 1 2 3 4What they haven’t done, however, is attempt to make a fashionable lighter coloured ale, but have gone for a redder, darker beer in keeping with the traditional London ale. “We have got a great brewing tradition in this country and it’s worth championing,” says Morgan. As for the name, it’s been called Truman’s Runner.
The launch is “going well”, he adds, and the beer can now be found in around 40 London pubs, serving approximately 7,200 pints, although he’s hoping that this will double in the next three months. “When put alongside major London ale brands it outsells them,” he records, perhaps helped by the high quality point of sale they have developed, including eagle-branded ceramic handmade tap labels and eagle-etched glassware.
Truman’s has also launched a bottled beer designed for the off-trade and those bars without cellars in east London, as well as a London Porter called “Three Threads”. The brand is also switching to the “Summer Runner” brew for the change of season. This won’t be offered alongside the standard Runner as Truman’s is switching the entire production. “The idea is to alternate between Summer Runner and Runner, and hopefully drinkers will go on a journey with us.”
Looking ahead, Hemus and Morgan concede that there is a further step required to create a truly credible east London beer, and that is a brewery in the area. This they hope to start building in January 2013 when they plan to construct a brewery on the Olympic site once the games have finished – and Morgan says that they have got through the first round of applications with the Olympic Park Legacy Committee. “We are looking at a decent size,” he says, “either the second or third biggest London brewery.”
And let’s hope it goes ahead, not just because this is an exciting story of a beer brand revival, but also a tale of an East End renaissance which is not driven by the urban planners, but gently fanned by the celebration of a community’s heritage, and centred on that most powerful of social forces – the local pub.
Patrick Schmitt, May 2011