Gone are the days when beer was the domain of Friday-night binge-drinkers. Fighting back against the image of beer bellies and lager louts, beer is undergoing something of a renaissance - particularly when it is an accompaniment to food.
With both kings and paupers, beer once reigned as Britain's favourite drink, but the invasion of imported wines over the past few decades has seen people reaching for the Merlot as their staple tipple. Anyway, beer's certainly no drink for a "laydee".
No longer content with letting prejudices lie - or letting people reassure themselves that their daily bottle of wine is single-handedly saving them from heart disease - beer is making a comeback.
With more than 2,000 brands of lager, stout and ale brewed in the UK, and made with a huge variety of natural ingredients such as heather and bananas, beer is beginning to rival wine's traditional standing as food's best friend. Beer also offers fewer calories measure-for-measure than wine. Beer Academy chief executive George Philliskirk suggests you try Brakspear Triple with Green & Black's 70% Organic Dark Chocolate if you still need convincing.
Increasing numbers of restaurants and gastropubs are offering Britain's national drink as a partner to food.
Michel Roux Jnr, of Le Gavroche, is among the most notable of chefs welcoming a beer list. For the first time since the restaurant opened in 1967 a variety of unusual styles of beer will now be offered as suggested accompaniments to menu items. "Perhaps one of the most surprising pairings is the Liefmans Cherry beer with rare peppered tuna, spicy ginger and sesame dressing - but so far the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive," said Roux.
So, dear reader, shed some prejudices, get a pint in, and proudly don those beer goggles.
- The White Horse, Parson's Green, London, "a centre of learning on the subject", offers courses of six two-hour sessions on ingredients, processes, history, beer styles, brewing and packaging technology and just about every other beer-related topic. Call 020 7736 2115 for more information or go to www.beeracademy.org.
- Mju restaurant, Knightsbridge, London, in conjunction with the Meantime Brewery, is offering beer-pairing dinners throughout March. £46 for five courses, with beer pairing an extra £25. Call 0800 075 2415 to book.
By Ximena Holliday