By 8 o'clock on a Friday evening the queues are growing outside Olley's Fish Experience in Herne Hill, South London. Inside the tables are groaning with outsize portions of cod, chips and mushy peas, pots of tea, lager and the odd bottle of wine.

We're here to test which beer goes best with the food. And the contenders are: restaurant owner Harry Niazi's bestselling lager Foster's Ice; a rich malty macho brew called Battleaxe from the Rudgate brewery near York; and FCP - aka fish chips and mushy peas - from the Daleside brewery near Harrogate, a sophisticated little number brimming with citrus and elderflower which was the winner of the recent Ultimate Fish and Chip Beer competition.

But the locals aren't impressed, mostly voting for Foster's because it doesn't overpower the food. While he enjoyed drinking the other two beers, punter Frank Kelsall found them "too malty" for the food. David Francis likes beer in the pub but thinks fish and chips go best with tea.

But Mark Dorber, landlord of the White Horse in Parsons Green, West London, reckons the fruity hop taste of FCP is the best accompaniment."It tastes a bit like seville oranges. There's a lovely deep bitterness which can stand up to quite a heavy batter and all those flavours on the plate: sweet peas, salt, lemon, vinegar and tartare sauce."

I liked the beefy Battleaxe, which almost acts like a slosh of malt vinegar with the chips and goes down a treat with Harry's homemade mushy peas. Dorber likes it, too. "It's a very well-made, well-balanced beer with broad, rich assertive flavours that deal with the batter very nicely."

Traditional brewers are struggling to keep up public interest in British beer. Real ale only accounts for 11 per cent of sales - the rest being keg beer and brand lagers like Foster's and Budweiser.

In recent years the National Hop Association has run competitions to find the Ultimate Pizza Beer (a porter from Harvey's brewery in Sussex) and the Ultimate Curry Beer, won by Banks's UCB.

During our tasting, women appeared more adventurous than men. Student Jo Vibert drinks cider more often than beer but said she'd try FCP again, and Ros Snowdon thought it went well with the fish's batter. Dorber believes that women aren't afraid to discuss flavours whereas men regard that as a bit cissy.

"In a pub or a chippy men tend to go for a brand they recognise - something reliable that they feel is acceptable to drink," he says.

Matching beer with food, while popular in America, hasn't really taken off here yet. "People are more prepared to be experimental with Belgian beers but they overlook how well British beer goes with our native food."

FCP should be on sale in mid- September, initially stocked by Booths' supermarkets. For other stockists call Daleside (01423 880022). Olley's Fish and Chip Experience, 67-69 Norwood Road, Herne Hill, London SE24 (020-8671 8259)

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