Camra calls for menu push to lift beer sales

by MA Reporter Pubs should attract diners to beer by including recommendations and tasting notes for beers on their menus, according to Good Food Guide editor Roger Protz. The call comes as Camra plans to make next year the "Year of Beer and Food" with the launch of the 2004 Good Beer Guide. Protz said: "Wine has ruled the roost for too long. If more women and younger drinkers are to be attracted to real British beer, pubs have to get the message across that fine beers are every bit as good with food as wine." Camra claims that the vast diversity of tastes and regional varieties of British beers mean they can be perfectly matched to dishes in exactly the same way as wine. Protz added: "The market positioning of wine since the early 1980s means that most people see it as more sophisticated and therefore a more appropriate drink to enjoy with food. This is not true. There are some 2,500 different real ales in the UK, each with unique aromas, flavours and other qualities which make beer a perfect match with food. "Food may well be an important growth area for most pubs, but beer still represents about 60% of the turnover of many pubs. It's time to bring the two together and take action to change the image of beer forever. "It seems to be acceptable to drink beer with a curry in an Indian restaurant and pubs need to act to make it the norm in the pub too ­ the rightful home of good beer." Leading food writer Fiona Beckett has noted a trend in the last year that has seen a number of brewers matching food and beer. She said: "Beer and food matching are the new rock n' roll, with brewers falling over themselves to prove their beers are food-friendly. "Over the past 12 months there has been an avalanche of promotional activity on the beer and food front." l News of the Brews, p23 Matching beers to the food Camra is calling for:

Pubs to recommend different beers matched with key courses on their menus

Pubs to include beer lists' with tasting notes on menus

Pubs to offer tasters of beer to customers ordering food

Brewers to put tasting notes on bottled beers in the same way as wine

Brewers to present bottled beer in a more stylish way