Double Diamond beer is back, and somehow the pint once treated like the enemy of real ale has returned as a surprisingly drinkable summer beer.

In this episode of Beer Together, Elton and Matt open a 440ml can of Double Diamond, the revived 3.8% pale ale that claims to be “brewed as a pale ale, drinks like a lager, tastes bloody wonderful.” What follows is part beer review, part British pub history lesson, and part rambling tribute to the beers your grandad probably drank while you were left outside the pub with a packet of crisps.

We get into the story of Double Diamond, from its Samuel Allsopp roots in Burton-on-Trent to its place in the keg beer revolution, its huge advertising push, and why CAMRA once saw beers like this as everything wrong with British brewing. There is talk of “Double Diamond works wonders,” old pub culture, Watney’s Red Barrel, tankards behind the bar, keg beer, lager-style pale ales, and whether bringing back nostalgic beer brands is a good idea or a warning sign.

On the tasting side, Double Diamond turns out to be lighter, crisper and more modern than expected, with citrus, a little tropical hop character, low bitterness and an easy-drinking finish. The question is whether it should be judged as a pale ale, a lager alternative, or simply a fridge-cold beer garden pint for hot weather.

There are also food pairings, including fish and chips, burgers, bangers and mash, chicken tikka masala, salty pub snacks, scotch eggs, sausage rolls and possibly halloumi that has had its tension released in boiling water. Yes, apparently that works.

Finally, Double Diamond enters Choose Your Fighter against the reigning champion, Seven Giraffes by Williams Bros Brewing. Can revived pub nostalgia beat elderflower, caramel malt and actual memorability?

Spoiler: not quite.

Also featuring: elderflower rocket fuel, Geraldine the goat, Scottish taxi drivers, Madri confusion, the Blue Stoops, Kirkstall Brewery, beer festival danger, and the promise that Elton will one day prepare an intro properly.

Beer reviewed: Double Diamond
Style: Pale ale / lager-style pale ale
ABV: 3.8%
Brewery connection: Samuel Allsopp / Kirkstall Brewery
Previous champion: Seven Giraffes by Williams Bros Brewing

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Northern Monk Faith is in the glass this week as Beer Together takes on one of the UK’s best-known modern craft beers: a 5% hazy pale ale from Leeds with big gateway beer energy, soft tropical fruit, pineapple, citrus, stone fruit and a clean, gently bitter finish.

In this episode, Elton and Matt crack open Faith by Northern Monk and ask whether it still deserves its reputation as one of the beers that helped bring hazy pale ale, NEIPA-style flavours and modern craft beer into the mainstream. Is Faith the perfect first step for someone moving from lager into craft beer? Is it still interesting enough for people who chase double dry-hopped, experimental, limited-release cans? And does being available in supermarkets make a beer less “craft”, or just more successful?

We get into the history of Northern Monk, its Leeds roots, its proudly northern identity, and how Faith became a recognisable name in UK craft beer. The tasting notes lead us through tropical fruit, pineapple, light citrus, stone fruit, oats, wheat, a soft body, low bitterness and that clean finish that makes you reach for another sip without feeling like the beer is shouting at you. We also compare it to other familiar supermarket craft beers, including Beavertown Neck Oil, Camden Pale Ale and BrewDog Hazy Jane, and ask where Faith sits in that everyday craft beer line-up.

There is also a proper craft beer debate: what does “craft beer” actually mean in the UK? Should craft beer have a tighter definition? Does independence matter more than scale? Can a beer still be craft if you can buy it next to dishwasher tablets in Sainsbury’s? We compare the looser UK pub definition with stricter European ideas of craft and artisanal beer, and end up somewhere between admiration, suspicion and mild confusion.

As always, there is food pairing chat. Faith gets matched with barbecue halloumi, buffalo chicken wings, Thai food, Vietnamese food, herbs, spice, citrus and anything fresh enough to work with a soft, fruity pale ale. There is also a warning about katsu curry, a brief halloumi boiling tip, and the usual level of completely unnecessary threat-based storytelling.

Then Choose Your Fighter returns as Northern Monk Faith goes up against Seven Giraffes by Williams Bros. Faith brings smooth, tropical, easy-drinking hazy pale ale energy. Seven Giraffes brings elderflower, biscuit, caramel, hops and a more memorable botanical character. Which beer wins on taste, drinkability and character?

This is a funny, opinionated UK craft beer podcast episode for fans of Northern Monk, Faith hazy pale ale, NEIPA, pale ale, supermarket craft beer, beer tasting, beer history, beer and food pairing, independent breweries and the ongoing argument about what craft beer actually is.

Beer Together is a beer podcast about tasting beer properly, arguing about it badly, and trying to work out why some beers stick in your head while others quietly behave themselves. New episodes drop every Friday.

Featured beer: Northern Monk Faith
Style: Hazy Pale Ale / NEIPA-style Pale Ale
ABV: 5%
Brewery: Northern Monk, Leeds
Key tasting notes: tropical fruit, pineapple, citrus, stone fruit, soft body, gentle bitterness, clean finish
Also discussed: Seven Giraffes by Williams Bros, Beavertown Neck Oil, Camden Pale Ale, BrewDog Hazy Jane, UK craft beer, gateway beers, supermarket craft beer, beer definitions and food pairings

Seven Giraffes IPA from Williams Brothers Brewing is the focus of this Beer Together craft beer review, as we taste a Scottish gluten-free IPA from Alloa and ask whether this unusual beer is really an IPA, an ESB, a golden ale in disguise, or simply one of the most drinkable beers we have tried so far.

This week’s episode explores Williams Brothers Brewing, the Scottish family brewery behind Seven Giraffes, including its origins as a Glasgow home brew shop, the story of a traditional heather ale recipe, early brewing in a railway station, and the move to Alloa, a town with strong beer and malting connections. We also look at the wider Williams Brothers range mentioned in the episode, including heather ale, Scots pine ale, gooseberry wheat ale, seaweed ale and elderberry black ale.

The beer itself gives us plenty to talk about. Seven Giraffes IPA is a 5.1% gluten-free IPA made with seven different malts, including lager malt, wheat, Maris Otter, Vienna, pale rye, pale crystal and Munich. We discuss how those malts shape the flavour, bringing caramel, sweetness and body without becoming too heavy or biscuity. We also talk through the hop profile, including First Gold, Cascade and Styrian Goldings, alongside elderflower and lemon, and how those floral and citrus notes lift the beer into something lighter, brighter and more memorable.

As a beer tasting podcast, we dig into the full drinking experience: colour, aroma, flavour, balance, drinkability, bitterness, carbonation, malt character, elderflower aftertaste, IPA style, and whether Seven Giraffes would work for both experienced IPA drinkers and people who normally avoid IPAs. Matt does not usually like elderflower, which makes his reaction to this beer even more interesting.

There is also plenty of pub chat along the way, from questionable Hawaiian shirts and not Googling “lei” on a work laptop, to foraging in the Lake District, elderflower wine bubbling away at home, old pub beer batter traditions, dial-up internet memories, Father’s Day beer choices, and whether your dad would trust the beer but question the label.

For food pairing, we move away from the obvious burger or fish and chips match and explore why Seven Giraffes IPA feels more like a posh picnic beer. Think pork pie, sausage roll, roast chicken with lemon, garlic and thyme, goat’s cheese tart, herbal salads, lighter fish dishes and food with floral, citrus or savoury notes that work with the elderflower, lemon and caramel malt.

We also test Seven Giraffes against our craft beer definition discussion, including the Italian-style craft beer test around independence, production size, pasteurisation and filtration, before landing on what we call UK pub logic: this is a proper independent craft beer, even if we cannot legally certify it by the Italian definition from the can alone.

Finally, Seven Giraffes enters Choose Your Fighter against the current Scottish champion, Vault City’s You Choose We Brew. We compare flavour, drinkability, character and memorability, and decide whether this balanced, floral, caramel-led Scottish IPA has enough to beat the big mango sour from last week. The result gives us a brand-new Choose Your Fighter champion.

If you enjoy craft beer podcasts, Scottish beer, IPA reviews, beer tasting, independent breweries, gluten-free beer, Williams Brothers Brewing, food pairing, funny pub stories, or discovering beers worth sharing, this episode is for you.