Real ale hits the right food notes

The wine industry has had its way for too long," declared Roger Protz, editor of the 2004 Good Beer Guide, at its launch in London last week. "If more people are to be attracted to British beer, pubs have to get the message across that fine beers are every bit as good with food as wine."

This is the message being trumpeted by the publication from the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), which includes descriptions of 4,500 British pubs.

And about time, too, some would say - including Protz: "I remember my first visit to the USA in the early 1990s. I went into a restaurant in New York and was handed a wine list and a beer list and I thought, ‘How sophisticated.' These days, the USA has more small breweries than Germany, so you naturally expect to be offered beer alongside wine in a restaurant there."

The UK itself now has some 2,500 real ales to choose from. "I think the restaurant industry needs to make much more effort with beer," says food and wine writer Fiona Beckett, who wrote an article in the new guide on beer's food-matching potential.

She adds: "I want to see our chefs get behind beer in the same way that they get behind our seafood and other produce. What I find annoying is that many of our pubs these days are offering more upmarket food, and even wine lists, but they don't offer a beer list."

A growing number of breweries are taking things into their own hands by launching initiatives that promote drinking beer with food. Greene King is one such brewer. Managing director Rooney Anand has teamed up with celebrity chef Ed Baines to a launch a "Beer to dine for" campaign, backed by a new food-friendly beer of the same name.

"It just makes so much more sense to carry on drinking beer with a meal," says Protz. "People still think beer is something that you drink in several pints. But there's such a diversity of beer flavours, from pale ale to porters, that we really do have something to suit every taste and every food."

To mark the book launch, Camra laid on a special lunch to show off beer's compatibility with food. Held at the Skinner's Arms, near London's King's Cross, it included pairings such as Greene King IPA with pan-fried chilli tiger prawns with pak choi and radicchio, Old Speckled Hen with roast rack of lamb and minted mashed potatoes, Abbot Ale with a line-up of cheeses, and O'Hanlon's Port Stout with strawberry tart.

It worked. More than that, there was a real harmony going on. The star of the show, though, was the Abbot Ale, which managed both to bring out the flavours of the cheese and accentuate the fruitiness of the beer.

Shorts

Winning wine list Which gastropub has the best Champagne list? Let's hear it for the Inn at Whitewell, near Clitheroe, Lancashire, winner of this year's Trophée Gosset Célébris, which rewards restaurants that have a diverse selection of Champagne on their lists and promote Champagne as an accompaniment to food.

Acclaimed at a ceremony in London two weeks ago, the Inn at Whitewell also wins a gourmet visit for four at Champagne Gosset in Aÿ, north-east France.

The Red Cat at Crank near St Helens took the runner-up slot, while equal third place went to the Bell at Skenfrith, near Abergavenny, and the Nobody Inn at Doddiscombsleigh, near Exeter.

Sommelier consultancy The Capital Group (020 7808 0600) has launched Liquid Assets, a wine list consultancy service for independent restaurants, bars and caterers. Managed by the group's own wine whiz, Matt Wilkin, it is claiming to "increase revenue and beverage profitability".

Wilkin says: "It's aimed at those businesses which can't afford a top sommelier but which might benefit from the knowledge, list management, staff training, stock control, sourcing and, most importantly, pricing and margin expertise."

Wilkin's accolades include the coveted Ruinart UK Sommelier of the Year award, and he is responsible for the Capital's two-Michelin-starred restaurant wine list. He also buys wine for the group's other restaurants and is responsible for the revolutionary People's Palace list, which pairs different wines with each dish.

The Liquid Assets service costs from £290 per day plus VAT, and an average business listing 100 bins would need to budget for about two days per month after initial set-up.

Kiwi experience Want to know what Central Otago Pinot Noir tastes like? Or Martinborough Chardonnay? Then experience New Zealand's wines a little closer to home at two tastings in Birmingham and Edinburgh this autumn.

Part of the New Zealand Winegrowers wine fair tour around the country, the Birmingham tasting will take place at the Exhibition Hall, Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Edgbaston, on 7 October, 2-6pm. The Scottish tasting will be held in Edinburgh at the Round Stables, Prestonfield House, Priestfield Road, on 12 November, 2.30-6pm.

For more information contact New Zealand Winegrowers on 020 7973 8079.