James Morgan, who previously ran a beer importing business, has revived the 350-year-old name and built a new £1 million brewery in the heart of London’s East End.
He has even recovered the original yeast strain that was used during the brewery’s heyday.
“I am just delighted, and not a little humbled, to be able to return Truman’s to East London,” Morgan said. “We are producing brilliant, flavour-packed ale from our new brewery and are working hard to ensure that Truman’s Beer is once again a great name in brewing.”
Re-launch
Founded in 1666, Truman’s was once a heavyweight of British brewing, and by the late 1800s it was the world’s largest brewer. In the 1960s it owned 1,300 pubs and was bought for £50m by Grand Metropolitan in 1971. The pubs were sold off and the brewery closed in 1989.
The name eventually went to Heineken, via its purchase of Scottish & Newcastle, but Morgan said the brewer was unaware it owned it until he approached them to buy it in 2010.
The re-launched brewery will specialise in traditional cask ale and has unveiled its first two brews, a best bitter called Truman’s Runner and a golden ale called Truman’s Swift.
A third beer and a number of specials and seasonal ales are in the pipeline.