Beer to challenge wine for dining

Dinner and a glass of wine may go together like love and marriage, but a bitter divorce could be heading their way. Brewer Coors has launched a guide matching beers

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	Beer To Dine For: relaunched by Greene King

with foods in a bid to help restaurants and pubs latch on to the growing trend of drinking beer with a meal. Mark Dorber, of the White Horse pub in Fulham, London, who has been promoting beer with food for several years, said that pubs were in a great position to sell beer as an accompaniment to food because of the wide range of flavours and colours on offer. Thierry Tomasin, general manager of Michelin-starred restaurant Aubergine in Chelsea, agreed, saying that he would be failing his customers if he did not offer them a beer menu. James Cornewall-Walker, manager of Searcy's at London's Barbican centre, said that his own interest in beer led to the restaurant launching its first beer menu this spring. "Take-up has been spasmodic," he added, "but those who have taken the plunge have all been pleasantly surprised about how well the beer choice has matched the dish." A spokesman for the British Beer & Pub Association said that matching beer with food was a great way to change people's perception of beer as just a thirst-quencher or as something to drink only with a chicken vindaloo. Breweries are getting involved in the trend, as it offers a way to boost flagging beer sales. James Clarke, managing director of the Hook Norton brewery in Oxfordshire, said that pairing beer with food allowed his company to tap into a new audience. Greene King has gone one step further and relaunched its Beer To Dine For, which comes in a wine-style bottle, in a bid to bring beer back to the dining table.