A well-run tribute to Truman

My earliest image of beer was a giant advertising hoarding for Truman's between the Boleyn Tavern in east London and West Ham United football ground.

It showed a cartoon image of a pirate with a peg leg and a parrot on his shoulder hopping across the hoarding. The slogan was: There's more hops in Ben Truman.

As my interest in beer developed, I discovered east London was a treasure trove of brewers, including Charrington's, Manns, Truman's and Watney's. They were all based in the Bethnal Green and Whitechapel area, which suggests that in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, despite the dreadful poverty and squalor in the East End, the water for brewing must have been of the highest quality.

Those brewers have all gone and the fate of Truman's was especially hard to take. It opened in 1666 and was based in Brick Lane in Whitechapel — infamous as Jack the Ripper's base but better known today for its huge number of curry houses. The brewery's distinctive chimney still stands but otherwise it is a warren of small offices and enterprises.

Truman's was a big business and at its peak in the 19th century was one of the world's biggest brewers. Benjamin Truman and his successors built their fortune on mild, porter and stout and opened a second plant in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, at the height of the pale ale craze in the 19th century. In the 20th century, the company got caught up in the firestorm of mergers, takeovers and closures that created the "Big Six" national brewers in the 1970s.

In 1971, Watney Mann went into battle with Grand Metropolitan, both of which wanted to buy Truman's. Grand Met was successful and a year later bought Watney Mann, forming a mighty Watney Mann & Truman conglomerate. Inevitably, Grand Met decided to consolidate and concentrate production at one major centre, Watney's Stag Brewery in Mortlake, south London. Truman's stopped brewing and the historic Black Eagle site closed in 1989.

But now Truman's is back. Two London beer enthusiasts, James Morgan and Michael-George Hemus, have revived the name and launched a cask ale called Truman's Runner, which has gone on sale in several East End pubs.

They have spent long months in the London Metropolitan Archives researching Truman's, its history and its recipes. Most importantly, they had to get permission from the owner of the Truman's legacy to use the brand name and Black Eagle logo again. The owner — are you sitting comfortably? — is Heineken.

In the 1990s, Watney's left brewing. It sold its remaining plants to Courage, in return for Courage's pubs. Courage in turn became part of Scottish & Newcastle, which is now owned by Heineken. This is how the Truman's legacy ended up in the hands of a giant Dutch brewer.

Morgan and Hemus could have launched a fashionable, golden bitter but they have opted for a traditional, deep copper-coloured beer. The name "Runner" recalls the period at the turn of the 20th century when brewers such as Truman's were turning away from porters, stouts and India Pale Ales that needed long months of maturation in big vats. The big brewers had bought large estates of tied houses and wanted beers that could be served quickly after a brief second fermentation in cellars. The result was "running beers" — today's cask beer or real ale.

Truman's Runner is brewed by the Nethergate Brewery in Essex. Truman's had a major presence in Essex, with a maltings in Long Melford and a bottling plant at West Bergholt, within shouting distance of Nethergate in Pentlow. Morgan and Hemus have been taken under the wing of Nethergate's owner, Dick Burge, head brewer Tom Knox and sales director Roger Clark.

But the Truman's men plan to build a brewery in east London. They are aware of the fact that beer, however good, tends to lose its credibility if it's brewed under licence, away from its home base.

Morgan says: "We will build a new Truman's brewery in east London as soon as it's financially sustainable to do so. As plans stand, that's likely to be late 2012 or early 2013. To build a business that will enable us to open a brewery, we need the support of publicans. Luckily, there are some excellent publicans who can see the merit in relaunching Truman's and helping to bring brewing on a commercial scale back to east London."

Morgan adds he and Hemus have designed a beer to suit the tastes of new drinkers and experienced cask ale drinkers. In future, they hope to recreate some original recipes.

Truman's Runner, 4%, is brewed with pale, chocolate, rye and wheat malts and hopped with Fuggles, Goldings and Styrian Goldings. It has a deep copper-red colour, a spicy, fruity aroma with a powerful hint of chocolate, a fruity and bitter palate, and a complex finish that offers peppery hops, rich chocolate and fruit.

The beer is on sale at the Scolt Head, Culford Road, Canonbury, north London; the Water Poet,

Folgate Street, and the Carpenters Arms, Cheshire Street, both in Shoreditch, east London.

There'll be an official launch for the beer in September. I shall hop along and welcome Truman's back to Cockneyville.