Full disclosure/brag: This Edinburgh blogger is currently wearing a Closet Brewing sweater and discovered this news before the media release via a local bar preparing for D&D actual play sessions.
Personal wardrobe choices aside, the collaboration between London’s dedicated gaming space, RPG Taverns, and Edinburgh’s Closet Brewing is news worth noting for any tabletop gamer. Together, they have released Tabletop, a new beer brewed specifically for the long haul of a gaming session.
Announced this week, the collaboration brings together two queer-led businesses from opposite ends of the UK to create a drink tailored to the habits of dungeon crawlers and board gamers.
A Sessionable Brew for Long Campaigns
The primary design philosophy behind Tabletop addresses a common logistical hurdle in tabletop gaming: the session length. With campaigns often stretching three, four, or more hours, high-ABV craft beers can sometimes cut an adventure short.
In response, Tabletop has been brewed as a 3.2% ABV Pale Ale. The intent is to provide a “light, refreshing, and highly sessionable” option that allows players to stay sharp enough to calculate THAC0 (or just their proficiency bonuses) late into the evening.
Lucy Stevens, head brewer and director at Closet Brewing, highlighted the functional aspect of the collaboration.
I’ve been playing Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop RPGs since I was a kid. We leapt at the chance to work together, not just on creating a great, super-sessionable beer, but also the opportunity to run a one-of-a-kind D&D adventure.”
Biblically Accurate Dice
The release’s aesthetic leans heavily into modern TTRPG culture. The can features artwork by Orion, an Edinburgh-based trans designer and tattoo artist. The design concept centres on a “biblically accurate D20” – a surrealist take on the iconic twenty-sided die used in many TTRPG systems.
Both companies emphasise inclusivity as a driving force behind the partnership. Closet Brewing is a queer-run nano-brewery known for vegan-friendly beers, while RPG Taverns operates as a community-focused space in Elephant & Castle.
“RPG Taverns has always been about bringing people together around the table,” said co-owner Josh Saco. “Collaborating with Closet Brewing felt like a natural fit; they’re creative, share many of our values around community, and are unafraid to do things differently.”
The limited-edition run of Tabletop is available via the Closet Brewing webshop and is being stocked in select independent bottle shops and bars across the UK.
