Meet the Brewery - Runaway Brewery
September 05, 2024
Welcome to our new blog series, “Meet the Brewery,” where we shine a spotlight on the talented people behind some of your favourite craft beers! As a close partner with many incredible breweries, we wanted to have a look into the people and stories that shape the beers they love. In each instalment, we’ll introduce you to the brewery, uncovering the inspiration, creativity, and passion that goes into every pint. No better place to start than with Stockport legends Runaway Brewery.
Name of Brewery?
Runaway Brewery
Name and role of the person completing the questionnaire within the brewery?
Mark. Owner, co-founder, brewer, cleaner, drayman etc. (Im the one sat in the wheel barrow!)
Can you share the story behind the Brewery name?
We all feel the need to runaway sometimes - and that's exactly what it felt like when we left a well trodden path behind to open a little brewery in 2014. Having never brewed beer before, walking into our new life was exciting, but also scary as hell - a genuine adventure, but one bathed in naïvety - without a fixed plan about the direction we wanted to head.
But Runaway isn't just about that one moment in time, and over the years our name has come to represent our general approach to beer, business and brewing - rarely following the path well trodden, taking risks and seeking new ways to brew and enjoy beer on our own terms. By keeping things small, local, collaborative and flavour focussed, we've been able to continue to brew our beer, without being tied to fads, fashions and the pressures that go hand it hand with it.
What was the first beer you brewed commercially and how did it turn out?
Our first beer was a beer we still brew today - Runaway Pale Ale. It's a recipe we've tweaked along the way, but which is still recognisable as the Pale Ale you found on the bar at the Blackjack Brewtap back in June 2014.
Which of your beers are you most proud of and why?
The answer to this changes all the time, but I remember thinking that brewing our ESB for keg dispense in the early days was as close to commercial suicide as we could get. Back then, the beer world was (as it still is in many ways) obsessed by IPA, so putting a bitter (albeit an extra special one) into cold fizzy keg form (rather than traditional casks) was a big risk. But I'm proud we did. It's one of our best loved beers - robust, malty and well balanced, but with a distinct hoppy bitterness. It still stands out from the crowd today and has ended up on tasting menus at The French, in cocktails at Hawksmoor, in malt loaf at Pollen Bakery, in beer batter at the local chippy! It's also the beer that surprises people the most - a great example of taking a traditional style that's lost it's pizazz & turning it into something delicious, desirable & modern - especially with cheese.
What would you say is your signature beer that you brew, brewed by your brewery?
Although our IPA and Pale Ale have won the awards, I'd say our American Brown Ale is the beer most often cited by others as being a modern classic. Again - not a popular style, probably due to historic drinking prejudices & the images that it conjures - but a beer that shows off all of the ingredients we use: malt, hops and yeast in a wonderfully flavoursome way.
How do you go about naming your beers?
Although we do occasionally get carried away (our collaborations often veer into terrible puns) we're not the most innovative when it comes to naming beers - what you see is what you get. The style is everything. We always wanted our beer to be as accessible as possible and for us that starts when you're stood at the bar trying to decide what you'd like to drink. Keep it simple. Less is more? I'll have a pint of the Runaway Pale Ale please.
How do you decide on what beers to brew when?
Our brewing cycle is heavily influenced by seasonality - especially now that we run a regular taproom space here in Stockport. Whether that's expressed in the fruit we choose for a kettle sour, or the latest variation of our Shandy Panache, or aiming to provide hearty, fireside beers through autumn and winter, it's always something on our mind when coming up with new or returning favourites.
Is there a particular beer style that you feel represents your brewery’s identity?
Not really. I'd say our house-style / approach (well balanced, accessible, clean, true to style but always with flavour as the focus) is more representative than a particular style of beer. But if forced into a corner, I'd probably say saison - another apparently unpopular style that very few brewers bother with despite loving drinking themselves. We always have a saison available, year round and we design and adapt recipes to respond to the season in question. So despite being technically difficult and disruptive to your production schedule, we continue to brew them because we love to drink it, rather than because it's an easy sell.
What is the strangest ingredient you have used in a beer and how did it work out?
We once made a beer for sushi restaurant Umezushi inspired by their pickled ginger (Gari). It contained kombu seaweed, sushi rice, Taiwanese wah plums and a whole heap of root ginger. It was very high concept and luckily, absolutely delicious! Since the demise of the restaurant, we haven't brewed Gari Gose again, but I'm sure it's time will come.
How do you see the “Craft” beer scene evolving?
Honestly, I think 'craft beer' is dead and has been for some time. The punkist Breweries who led that scene have either matured and become well respected, commercially focussed, modern beer businesses, or like Brewdog, Magic Rock, Beavertown, Brew By Numbers et al, have come and gone - sold off (or out?) to big beer or venture capital, before becoming amalgamated into global brands, or rinsed out and sold off to the lowest common denominator. That said, the need for change in our beer culture was very real, and 'craft beer' may well stake claim to instigating that change.
Either way, very few of it's loudest exponents are still around or remain relevant. The handful that are, are thankfully those who embody the indie, DIY spirit of craft - passion led breweries that form an valued part of their community and wish to play a positive role within it. Perhaps that is the legacy of craft? Oh - that and the emergence of the taproom!
How do you stay creative and inspired in your brewing?
By drinking delicious beer! Trying new things. Trying old things. Remaining collaborative and open to working with interesting people within and outside of beer.
What’s your favourite Beer (from another brewery) and why?
Pretty much anything from Burning Sky or Brasserie De La Senne. Beautifully balanced, exceptionally made beers which express their time and place without shouting and screaming about it. Epochal up in Glasgow are also doing some really interesting things. Equally, very happy to sit and drink Wreckless from Red Willow or Table Beer from The Kernel all day if required. Oooh - whilst we're at it, could I also pre-order a bottle of their Export India Porter whilst we're at it.
If you could have a beer with anyone dead or alive who would it be and why?
Had a couple of accidental beers with Tim Key after a gig at Cultplex recently - I'd definitely do that again. But perhaps not on a Monday night next time please.
You can see our full range of Runaway beers available here.
