France finally gives us a beer we actually enjoy — and then immediately confuses us by calling it a pils.

This week we’re in Carcassonne, inside a 700-year-old fortress, drinking Ciutat Pils from Les Brasseurs de la Cité, a small artisanal brewery based in Carcassonne. Ciutat is the Occitan word for “the city”, and the brewery describes itself as a family-run artisan beer producer reconnecting with Carcassonne’s brewing history.

The beer itself is 4.5%, bottom fermented, and described as a pils with pleasant bitterness and Central European-style aromas. But the moment we pour it, things go sideways: it’s hazy, murky, maltier than expected, more floral, more bitter, and not quite what either of us would confidently call a pilsner.

There’s also chat about French beer culture, why wine dominates the South of France, why supermarket beer shelves feel weirdly sad, why Desperados is everywhere, and why Matt briefly relocates Carcassonne to Wales.

A surprisingly good beer. A questionable pils. A fortress. Some frogs. And two men slowly losing confidence in their French pronunciation.

Beer, Together — finding what’s worth sharing.

Matt tried Leffe Blonde for the first time in 20 years. It did not go well.

This week on Beer, Together, we’re on the Canal du Midi for the second of our France specials, drinking Leffe Blonde from a 750ml bottle and asking whether one of Europe’s most recognisable Belgian beers still deserves its reputation.

There’s abbey history, AB InBev, monks, marketing, banana notes, clove, honey, Belgian beer trauma, questionable pronunciation, and the return of Matt’s long-standing problem with beers that smell even slightly of banana.

We talk about the story of the Abbey of Leffe, how the beer’s historic identity sits alongside modern global ownership, and whether Leffe Blonde can really be considered craft under our working Italian craft beer definition: independent, under 200,000 hectolitres, unpasteurised and unfiltered.

We also get into the important stuff: what food Leffe actually belongs with, whether it works better with pork, chicken, bacon, chips and mayonnaise, or even a roast dinner, and whether a famous beer can still be worth sharing when one of us absolutely detests it.

Expect Belgian beer, boat noise, French canal chaos, monks, marketing, a suspicious amount of banana, and two mates trying to work out whether Leffe is a classic, a gateway beer, or just a very well-made pint that Matt never wants to drink again.

His name is Matt.
He is Elton.
And we are Beer, Together.

Finding what’s worth sharing.

Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Goodpods.
Follow us on Instagram and TikTok: @BeerTogether123 and @Beertasting123

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#Craftbeer
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This week Beer, Together goes international.

Recording from a canal boat on the famous Canal du Midi in southern France, Elton and Matt crack open a bottle of 3 Monts Saison from Brasserie Saint-Sylvestre and explore one of Europe's most traditional beer styles.

What exactly is a Saison? Why were they brewed for farm workers? And how has a humble farmhouse beer evolved into the 6.5% French classic we're drinking today?

Along the way we discuss:

🍺 The history of Saison beer
🇫🇷 The last historic brewery of French Flanders
🧀 The incredible food markets of Narbonne
🦐 Perfect food pairings for a French farmhouse ale
🚤 Life aboard a canal boat on the Canal du Midi
🏆 Whether 3 Monts can dethrone Dead Reckoning in Choose Your Fighter

Expect canal boats, questionable French pronunciation, excellent food recommendations and a beer that surprised us both.

Find us on Instagram & TikTok:
@beertogether123

#BeerTogether #CraftBeer #FrenchBeer #Saison #ThreeMonts #CanalDuMidi #BeerPodcast #DrinkDifferentDrinkTogether