Food & Beer Culture

In Yorkshire, Sunday roast comes with Yorkshire pudding, a light batter of flour, eggs and milk that puffs up in hot fat. Hannah Glasse described it for the first time in a 1747 cookbook, back then as a dripping pudding, set under the spit to catch the meat's fat.

Why does a bitter go so well with it? The beer's malt echoes the roasted flavours of the meat, and its gentle bitterness cuts through the fat of gravy and pudding. A low-carbonation ale feels lighter alongside the meal than a strong beer would.

In the pub, the cask takes centre stage. You order at the bar, not at the table, and return there when your glass is empty. The pint is the standard measure; if you want less, you order a half.

Wensleydale cheese comes from the Dales. It tastes mild and slightly tangy, and in Yorkshire it's often eaten with fruit cake. An old ale like Old Peculier pairs well with that sweetness, while a best bitter complements the cheese itself.

Yorkshire pudding has even found its way into beer. A brewery in Malton brewed a beer in 2019 with half a pudding per bottle, and Northern Monk in Leeds followed with a brown ale called Sunday Roast. Both are novelties, but they show how deeply the dish is woven into the region's identity. Still, the classic pairing remains a pint of bitter with Sunday lunch at the pub — ideally after a long walk through the Dales.