Beer, Together 🍺 – Finding what’s worth sharing.

Elton and Matt
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Food
  • Updated weekly

Two mates with years in pubs and hospitality sit down each week to drink great beer and talk about what actually matters. From craft beer discoveries and UK breweries to honest opinions, food pairings and industry insight, this isn’t a review show — it’s a conversation. No snobbery, just good beer and good company. New episodes weekly.

  1. 4 days ago

    London Pride: Brilliant Beer, Terrible Space Programme

    Fuller's London Pride is one of Britain's most recognisable traditional bitters. But in a world of craft beer, hazy IPAs and modern pale ales, is there still a place for the classic British pint? This week on Beer, Together, Elton and Matt review Fuller's London Pride, the iconic amber ale first launched in 1959, and ask whether traditional British bitter is being left behind by a new generation of beer drinkers. Brewed at the historic Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, London Pride has been a fixture of British pub culture for decades. But since Japanese brewing giant Asahi acquired Fuller's brewing business in 2019, has anything really changed? And can a traditional bitter compete with today's increasingly adventurous craft beer market? Armed with a 500ml bottle of London Pride at 4.7% ABV, two very different glasses and an unreasonable amount of brewery trivia, we get stuck in. 🍺 Fuller's London Pride: Our Beer Review We're tasting the bottled version of London Pride, exploring its amber colour, biscuit and caramel malt character, dried fruit sweetness and gentle hop bitterness. How does it compare with other classic British ales such as Hobgoblin, Badger Tangle Foot, Spitfire and Wadworth 6X? Does London Pride deserve its reputation as one of Britain's great bitters? And why does a hand-pulled pint of cask ale offer such a different experience from the bottled version? There's also a surprisingly passionate discussion about creamy beer heads, sparklers, proper cellar management and the lost art of serving a great pint. 🏭 Fuller's Brewery: History, Heritage and Japanese Ownership Elton shares memories of touring the historic Griffin Brewery, including its extraordinary layout, wartime cellars and connections to London's pub history. Along the way, we discover and discuss: Why London Pride takes its name from a tiny flower associated with London's Blitz-damaged streets. How Fuller's became connected to Brentford Football Club and the famous Griffin Park. The unlikely story of Fuller's producing 7UP alongside its traditional ales. What happened when someone attempted to send a pint of London Pride towards space. Why the sale of Fuller's brewing business to Asahi in 2019 marked such a significant change for an iconic British beer brand. London Pride's surprising connections with rugby sponsorship, including the British & Irish Lions. As ever, Matt is on hand to question how much of Elton's brewery-tour knowledge should actually be believed. 🇬🇧 Is Traditional British Bitter Dying Out? This is where the conversation gets particularly interesting. Why are modern craft beers like Beavertown Neck Oil and BrewDog Wingman so accessible to new drinkers, while traditional bitters struggle to attract the same attention? Have British drinking habits fundamentally changed? Did the marketing of Boddingtons and John Smith's help or harm the reputation of bitter? And are pubs doing enough to introduce drinkers to classic cask ales? We explore the difference between cask beer, bottled bitter and modern craft ale, and ask whether traditional British beer needs to evolve or simply rediscover its audience. 🍽️ What Food Goes with London Pride? From sausages and mash to steak and ale pie, fish and chips, roast beef and East London's famous salt beef bagels, we explore the best food pairings for a classic English bitter. Naturally, the conversation descends into a disagreement about what qualifies as brown food and the proper pronunciation of bagel. 🥊 Choose Your Fighter: London Pride vs Erdinger Weißbier Last week's champion, Erdinger Weißbier, returns to defend its title. We judge London Pride within its own beer style using our three categories: Flavour – Does it deliver everything a great traditional bitter should? Finish & Appearance – Can bottled London Pride match the presentation of a properly poured pint? Drinkability – Is it a beer you'd happily return to? #LondonPride #FullersBrewery #BritishBeer #BeerPodcast #BeerTogether

  2. 9 Oct

    Erdinger Weissbier: The German Wheat Beer That Isn’t Allowed at Oktoberfest

    Erdinger Weissbier is one of the world’s best-known German wheat beers — so why isn’t it served at Oktoberfest?This week on Beer, Together, Elton and Matt try the Bavarian Weissbier from Erding, tackle the very particular Erdinger pouring ritual and discover exactly why there’s so much banana and clove hiding in a bottle of wheat beer. We get into German beer purity laws, bottle conditioning, Erdinger’s brewing traditions, Bavarian food pairings and the brewery’s rather unfortunate position just outside Munich. There’s also a suspiciously medical-looking Weissbier glass, an unnecessary running-water sound effect and Elton attempting to finish a beer from a style he openly dislikes. Then it’s Choose Your Fighter. Erdinger faces reigning champion Mad Squirrel Sumo across Flavour, Finish & Appearance and Drinkability, judged within its own Weissbier category. And somehow, against almost everything Elton believes about banana-flavoured beer, we have a new champion. 🍺 Beer: Erdinger Weissbier🇩🇪 Style: Weissbier / German wheat beer📍 Brewed: Erding, Bavaria💪 ABV: 5.3% If you enjoy beer reviews, craft beer, German beer, wheat beer, brewery stories and two mates taking beer considerably more seriously than necessary, follow Beer, Together on Spotify. Like, follow and comment: Are you an Erdinger fan — and where do you stand on banana in beer? 🎥 Beer, Together is also available on YouTube. Beer, Together — Finding Something Worth Sharing.

  3. 2 Oct

    Darbys Premium Lager: The British Lager We’d Pick Over Madri?

    Darbys Premium Lager has returned — and given the choice between this, Madri, Beck’s or Holsten, we know which one we’d order. But how much of the original Darbys has actually returned? Beer, Together is back with Darbys Premium Lager, a revived British beer name with roots in the Black Country and a history stretching back more than a century. The original Darbys brewing business grew into a substantial operation with around 100 pubs by the late 1930s before disappearing in the early 1950s. Decades later, the Darbys name has been revived — but that leaves us with a question: Can you actually revive a beer, or are you really reviving a brand? We try the modern 5% Darbys Premium British Lager and find considerably more malt, colour and character than we expected. There’s stone fruit. There’s a floral and herbal edge. There’s a surprisingly strong reaction from two people who aren't exactly known for making lager their first choice. And somehow we end up discussing whether you can actually taste the care that's gone into a beer. We also discover why the first bottles were deliberately hand-labelled slightly wonkily, why Darbys sells a branded glass that can't hold an entire bottle of Darbys, and why Matt has questions about a “no adjuncts” claim when wheat appears in the ingredients. Naturally, Elton responds to this level of scrutiny by proposing a Captain Pedant cape. Then comes food pairing. Fish and chips? Absolutely. Pork pies? Yep. Cheese and onion cob? Very Black Country. Grey peas and bacon? Things deteriorate quite rapidly from there. Finally, our newly rebuilt Choose Your Fighter returns with three categories: FlavourFinish & AppearanceDrinkability Every beer is judged within its own style before taking on our reigning champion. Darbys puts up a much stronger fight than we expected — but can a premium British lager actually knock the current champion off its perch? And if you're standing at the bar choosing between one of these and a mass-market lager? Well... we have thoughts. Different beer. Real opinions. Minimal qualifications. Every week. Follow Beer, Together so you don't miss the next one, give the show a rating if you're enjoying it, and send this episode to somebody who still insists all lager tastes the same.

  4. 11 Sept ·  Bonus

    New Forest Beer Festival: 40 Real Ales, 50 Ciders & the Future of the Pub

    New Forest beer festival, 40 real ales, 50 ciders and one very traditional country pub — Beer, Together is unexpectedly back. We head to the Cuckoo Inn for a surprise episode from its real ale and cider festival, drinking New Forest IPA and working our way through a proper old-school beer festival. There’s Rebellion Brewery's Bee's Knee honey beer, disappearing festival ales, questionable cider aromas, live music, camping, burgers and the slight logistical problem of trying to record a podcast in a packed little country pub. But it also gets us talking about something bigger: what makes a great pub? Are traditional pubs becoming impossible to run? Are taprooms and bottle shops starting to replace them? And what happens when the only beer somebody can find locally is Madri? Plus, we start revealing what's coming in Beer, Together Series 2, including listener beer suggestions, some very small breweries, a more structured journey through the series — and one unexpected lager-drinker confession. Series 2 begins on the first Friday in October. Follow Beer, Together now so you don't miss it.

  5. 14 Aug

    The finale - Mad Squirrel Brewing: Sumo, Wetherspoons and Staying Independent

    Mad Squirrel Sumo is a 4.7% hazy pale built around Summit and Mosaic — and tasting it raises a bigger question: can an independent craft brewery get into Wetherspoons, supermarkets and more taprooms without losing what made people care about it in the first place? Sumo is the beer we used for our never-released practice recording before Beer, Together properly began. Now it finally gets its own episode. We get into the citrus, mango and grapefruit, the dry bitter finish and whether “dank herbs” is actually a useful way of describing a beer. For Matt, Sumo is pretty much the Goldilocks beer: not too sweet, not too fruity and not too bitter, with enough dryness to make you immediately want another mouthful. Then there’s Mad Squirrel itself. We talk about the brewery’s journey from Red Squirrel and traditional cask beer towards modern craft styles, its taprooms, supermarket presence and the slightly dangerous word in our recording: Wetherspoons. Is getting an independent beer in front of thousands more drinkers clever growth — perhaps introducing people to Mad Squirrel who might then visit one of its own bars — or does going that mainstream risk alienating the people who liked the brewery in the first place? We also pair Sumo with spicy Asian food, Tex-Mex, jerk chicken, Korean fried chicken, strong blue cheese and the sort of heavyweight burger this beer can actually stand up to. Fish tacos, for reasons best left to the episode, are temporarily banned. Finally, Sumo faces current Choose Your Fighter champion I Can Get Better at Tesco for a Quid. Taste. Drinkability. Memorability. The result is fairly emphatic. This is the final episode of Season 1, but Beer, Together returns in October. Follow the podcast now and the first episode of Season 2 will be waiting for you when we’re back. And help choose what goes into the fridge next: send us the beers you love, hate or simply want to hear us struggle to describe via Beer Tasting 123 and Beer Together 123 on Instagram and TikTok. Mad Squirrel Sumo: the beer that started Beer, TogetherSummit + Mosaic: why Sumo gets its nameTasting Sumo: citrus, mango, grapefruit and bitternessWhy Sumo is the “Goldilocks beer”From Red Squirrel to modern Mad SquirrelCan Mad Squirrel scale without losing its identity?Mad Squirrel in Wetherspoons: clever move or big risk?Pub snobbery, chains and finding your tribeWhat food pairs with Mad Squirrel Sumo?Choose Your Fighter: Sumo vs I Can Get Better at Tesco for a QuidThe Vault City beer Matt couldn't finishSumo takes the final 3–0 victoryWhich beers should we try in Season 2?

  6. 7 Aug

    DEYA Steady Rolling Man: Is This Britain’s Best Beer?

    DEYA Steady Rolling Man has twice topped We Are Beer’s Top 50—but is this 5.2% pale ale really Britain’s best beer? Elton and Matt review its Mosaic, Motueka, Amarillo and Idaho 7 hops, its famously soft, pillowy mouthfeel, the Robert Johnson blues story behind the name and why different batches of Steady Rolling Man can offer a different drinking experience. Then DEYA faces I Could Get Better At Tesco For A Quid in Choose Your Fighter as Beer Together debates drinkability, complexity and what really makes a great British craft beer. Follow Beer Together for weekly beer reviews, brewery stories, food pairings and two opinions delivered with considerably more confidence than preparation. DEYA Steady Rolling Man reviewBritain’s best beerbest British craft beerDEYA Brewing Cheltenhampale ale reviewMosaic hopsMotueka hopshazy pale aleWe Are Beer Top 50British beer podcastcraft beer tastingbeer food pairing 00:00 A new Choose Your Fighter champion[TIME] DEYA Steady Rolling Man first taste[TIME] Is this Britain’s best beer?[TIME] Mosaic, Motueka, Amarillo and Idaho 7[TIME] Why each batch can taste different[TIME] Robert Johnson and the Steady Rolling Man name[TIME] The beer’s soft, pillowy mouthfeel[TIME] Food pairings for Steady Rolling Man[TIME] Pale ale, hazy pale or IPA?[TIME] Choose Your Fighter[TIME] The Beer Together series finale

  7. 31 Jul

    I Could Get Better at Tesco for a Quid: Is Craft Beer Worth More?

    Can craft beer justify costing more than a supermarket can? Matt and Elton review I Could Get Better at Tesco for a Quid, the 4.5% Session IPA from Pretty Decent Beer Co. We taste the tropical mango, tangerine and grapefruit flavours delivered by Simcoe and Mosaic hops, uncover the one-star Google review behind the beer’s extraordinary name and ask whether supermarket beer can ever offer the same value as a small independent brewery. There are spicy food pairings, arguments about bottle shops and taprooms, an attempt to define what “craft beer” actually means and another question nobody asked: should anyone spend £19.50 on a bottle of beer? Then I Could Get Better at Tesco for a Quid enters Choose Your Fighter against long-reigning champion Seven Giraffes. Can a beer born from a one-star review finally take the title? Follow Beer Together on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and send us your beer suggestions for Series Two. Instagram and TikTok: @BeerTogether123 Matt’s beer account: @BeerTasting123

  8. 24 Jul

    London Craft Beer Festival 2026: The Best Beers We Tried

    23 beer tastings and three standout craft beers: Anspach & Hobday London Black, St Ives Brewery Slipway and Oakham Ales Citra. Beer, Together goes live from Southwark Park for our most chaotic episode yet — tasting nitro stout, New England IPA, session IPA, pale ale, lambic, sour beer, wheat beer and more while becoming steadily less capable of recording a podcast. We begin with London Black by Anspach & Hobday, the 4.4% nitro porter brewed in South London. Is it simply London’s answer to Guinness, or does its creamy mouthfeel, roast coffee, chocolate, red-fruit sweetness and softer bitterness make it a genuinely different stout? We compare London Black with Guinness, discuss why nitro changes the texture, and match it with oysters, barbecue meat, slow-cooked dishes and chocolate brownies. Next is Slipway from St Ives Brewery: a 5% New England IPA brewed with Simcoe and Idaho 7 hops. Expect apricot, passion fruit, peach, floral aromas, gentle spice and a soft oat-led mouthfeel. It became one of our favourite beers of the entire London Craft Beer Festival, prompting comparisons with Beavertown Neck Oil and a debate over whether Slipway is the fuller, fruitier and more satisfying session IPA. We also cover its alcohol-free version and pair it with fish tacos, grilled chicken, burgers, spicy street food, citrus salads and creamy cheese. Our third featured beer is Oakham Ales Citra, one of the UK’s best-known single-hop beers. We explore how Oakham helped introduce the Citra hop to British drinkers, why the beer’s grapefruit, lychee, gooseberry and mango flavours still stand out, and how its dry bitterness avoids becoming another thick “fruit juice” IPA. We also discuss its Champion Golden Beer of Britain wins and why Citra works with pizza, tomato and basil dishes, spicy Asian food, beef and venison. The festival promises around 800 beers from breweries across London, Britain and beyond, but our ambition quickly collides with heat, loud music and generous pours. This episode captures the real London Craft Beer Festival atmosphere in Southwark Park: packed brewery tents, traditional hand-pulled ales, neon-lit craft beer bars and two hosts attempting to keep useful tasting notes. Those are only the three favourites. Along the way we also taste Orbit Beers’ tzatziki sour and Peel Belgian wit, Five Points XPA, Radio City Shortwave table beer, Timmermans Kriek Black Pepper lambic, Signature Brew Roadie session IPA, Proper Job, Mad Squirrel Roadkill and several beers we can no longer reliably identify. There are cherry sweets, banana foam sweets, cucumber battery acid, rave music, questionable counting and an unsuccessful attempt to find Vault City’s Iron Brew sour. We compare modern craft beer stands with traditional cask ale breweries, explain lambic fermentation and coolships, discuss food pairings, and discover exactly what happens when two podcast hosts try to sample more than 20 beers in one afternoon. Which beer won the day: London Black, Slipway or Citra? Was the Timmermans cherry lambic genuinely vile, or was Elton simply defeated by cherries? Can a 2.8% table beer still have real body? And at what point did “responsible tasting” become “we are still ambulatory”? This is Beer, Together at the London Craft Beer Festival: honest beer reviews, British craft beer, brewery stories, beer tasting notes, food pairings and the slow collapse of two men who believed tiny glasses could not possibly be dangerous. Listen to the end for the original festival exit recording — preserved despite several attempts to justify deleting it. Follow Beer, Together and join us every Friday for more beer reviews, brewery history, tasting notes, food matching and Choose Your Fighter. London Craft Beer Festival 2026London Craft Beer Festival podcastLondon Black Anspach and HobdaySt Ives Brewery SlipwayOakham Citra beer reviewBritish craft beer podcastLondon beer festivalBest UK craft beersCraft beer tastingNitro stout versus Guinness

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About

Two mates with years in pubs and hospitality sit down each week to drink great beer and talk about what actually matters. From craft beer discoveries and UK breweries to honest opinions, food pairings and industry insight, this isn’t a review show — it’s a conversation. No snobbery, just good beer and good company. New episodes weekly.

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