Truman's are back!

[RogerB]

This probably should fall under the new breweries thread but the return of such an iconic brewery probably deserves its own fanfare.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standa...to-east-end.do

Personally, when Trumans stopped trading in the 80's I wasn't into Real Ales (few were!) so I have little or no recollection of whether they were any good or not but at least I will now hopefully get a chance to find out, especially as they are planning to recreate some of the original beers. The brewery legacy can still be found in so many pubs in London within the architecture and signage so it will be nice to see an old traditional name on the scene again. Will be interesting to see how this one develops and I look foward to a few samples.

[NickDavies]

"For those seeking a beer reflecting the old ad: “You can taste the hops in Ben Truman”, this is not it."

You never could. it was as disgusting as it gets, and a prime reason for avoiding Watney's pubs in those days.

[trainman]

Not sure if it will remain iconic in the hands of 30yr old 'entrepreneurs' brewing under license at other premises.

The 'Runner' doesn't sound my style these days, but Saturday's mission includes the beerfests listed on PG in N1 & N4 and, having swung out to Leyton for some value at William IV, we may well head back into town via Bethnal Green so maybe it will be sampled if we can afford a stop at Carpenters. At least it would leave us a short walk to Brick La Beigel shop (get the sandwich instead of beigel - more salt beef!), I find that the food from here just lasts the walk to Pride of Spitalfields, where it is invariably slooshed down with fine Brewers Gold.

http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/crawl/vi....php?crawl=581

[HTM69]

Well, I think this is good news, at least. There are several pubs in the Medway area that still display the old Truman signs. An iconic old brewery is back - how can this not be anything other than fabulous news?

[RogerB]

I don't think we should be fooled into thinking they are going to take over the world just yet. They are a small time concern at the moment and will need to build up a reputation before they can start thinking too big. If what Nick says is true, and I have no reason to doubt him, they will need to overcome a previously poor record (albeit now somewhat historic) if they want to bring the Truman brand back to something reputable. Sound like they have a hard task ahead but good luck to them.

[NickDavies]

If I remember rightly the other offerings of the time (latish 70s) in London Watney's pubs there was Watney's Special, Carlsberg and Draught Guinness. You could tell it was a Watney's pub when you went in by the number of people on Guinness. Later on they realised there was a demand for real ale and they introduced I think Webster's or possibly Wilson's using a strange contraption which looked like a handpump but pumped gas into the barrel to force the beer up. That wasn't very nice either. Sometime in the early 80s Grand Met got out of pubs and brewing and I think Courage ended up with Truman's brewery. For a year or two there were a couple of real ales nicknamed 'green' and 'red' for the labels, I can't remember the real names. I never cared for them much but they were a vast improvement on what had gone before.

Truman's is better remembered for its contibution to pub architecture and design.

[oldboots]

"You can taste the hops in Ben Truman"

To which the answer was always "there are more hops in a dead frog"

it was as disgusting as it gets, and a prime reason for avoiding Watney's pubs in those days.

Trumans Tap was a very poor beer brewed when the MegaKeggeries first jumped on the real ale band wagon, Watney's Tamplins (or Tampax as it was better known) may have been worse.

Those unfortunates among us who drank Tap will consider "Trumans" to be a toxic brand name much like Watneys, Whitbread, and sadly Ruddles and Boddingtons after they were raped.

[Millay]

"For those seeking a beer reflecting the old ad: “You can taste the hops in Ben Truman”, this is not it."

You never could. it was as disgusting as it gets, and a prime reason for avoiding Watney's pubs in those days.

Or the alternative strapline 'You can taste the slops in Ben Truman'.

[Rex_Rattus]

The latest London Drinker also has an article on Truman's Runner. The proof of the pudding and all that..... I'll give it a go when I see it and if it tastes OK then I'll give a tick in the box. Big "if" of course, but previous poor performance isn't necessarily a guarantee of future poor performance, especially as it's so many years since anyone has seen or tasted a Truman's cask ale. We'll subject it to the acid test (hope that's not prophetic!).

[Wittenden]

To which the answer was always "there are more hops in a dead frog"



Trumans Tap was a very poor beer brewed when the MegaKeggeries first jumped on the real ale band wagon, Watney's Tamplins (or Tampax as it was better known) may have been worse.

Those unfortunates among us who drank Tap will consider "Trumans" to be a toxic brand name much like Watneys, Whitbread, and sadly Ruddles and Boddingtons after they were raped.

Yes-Truman's Tap-I'd been pondering that one all day:nothing special if I recall.Grotny's also produced a "Fined" bitter from one of thier London plants, or it might have been Norwich, using converted kegs.Again nothing special, but to give them their due, a lot better than what went immediately before. However, at about the same time, Ind Coope of blessed memory, introduced Burton Ale, which , by the standards of the day, was definately a good beer. Don't know if I'd enjoy it now, though.