Recently I was sent some beer to try.
Four bottles to be precise, and all of them from a new brewery based in Manchester.
I know very little about them other than they have an ace logo (very important) and wanted to know what I thought of their beer (very kind).
I was going to interview them, but then I tried the beer and decided that no, I’d let it speak for itself.

Pale Ale (4.7%)
With its bubbly white head and satsuma and cut flower aroma, this little golden hued Pale Ale looks and smells very inviting.
And it doesn’t disappoint when you take a swig.
A soft and lightly creamy baguette and caramel malt gives way to an enormous hit of spiky fresh lemon zest, grapefruit and orange pith and a decent squeeze of lime.
All very citrusy, all very fresh and tangy, which makes for a long dry bitter finish.
Very good.

American Brown Ale (5.7%)
Zingy fruit sweets and toffee fingers.
And that’s just the smell.
Runaway’s American Brown Ale is very good.
It sits in my glass a deep inviting conker red and hits you with a big squelchy honey and marmalade, toffee and digestive malt.
There’s a good hop hit too, with lots of mango and mandarin, lime and sherbet coated red cherry.
The finish is bitter sweet, sticky and lasting.

India Pale Ale (5.5%)
Pouring a deep amber, this IPA smells of oranges and mango.
There’s a very good malt body full of crunchy cornet wafers, honey and breadcrumbs, and lots and lots of hops.
Fresh and bitter and sharp as a tack, you get a face-full of lemon zest and kiwi, grapefruit, mandarin and peach, all wrapped up in a sticky pine resin jacket.
And with a long dry finish this is a very good little IPA.

Smoked Porter (6%)
Pouring an inky black with an enormous fluffy cappuccino head, this little bottle of beer is an absolute delight.
The aroma is smoky bacon crisps and fruit salad sweeties, and taking a swig you get a big fat chocolate liqueur booziness, a hit of espresso and a good helping of toasted bread.
The hops are crunchy brittle red leaf litter, autumnal woodland walks with a flask of honey and lemon in your satchel, sweet and tangy, leathery dry and pithy.
And rumbling along underneath is a warm misty smoke that adds an extra depth to the flavour and feel of this rather good Porter.

Source: The Runaway Brewery