Customers flock to Sheps' beer-with-food events

Kent brewer Shepherd Neame is running a series of beer-and-food evenings in some of its 370 pubs and free-trade accounts.

Customers at the Crown Inn, in Sarre, Kent, recently hosted a beer-and-food event, with 25 regulars taking up the challenge, at £20 a head, to enjoy a four-course meal in which an expert from Shepherd Neame guided them through the complex range of flavours on offer.

Sharon Williams, who with husband, Bryn, has managed the pub, near Canterbury, for the last two years, says: "Customers thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The majority were beer-drinking people, but the diners were divided almost 50-50 between men and women."

For the starter, a dish of mushrooms with Stilton and bacon, the brewer's Moray Neame chose Bishops Finger Premium Ale and Old Speckled Hen, while Spitfire Premium Ale and London Pride were offered with the main course of lamb and apricot pudding. Bellevue Framboise was picked to complement the dessert - bread and butter pudding - while Bishops Finger and Old Speckled Hen accompanied cheese and biscuits. The beer and food sessions are to be rolled out around the company's 370 pubs, varying the menu and taking in both managed houses and tenancies.

Evenings will be tailored to local circumstances, with nibbles offered for larger groups and sitdown buffets for less formal groups. The beer is served in 4oz tasting glasses to promote responsible drinking and a "respect" for the product. Some events involve a discussion about beer and food and a quiz so customers can test how much they have learned about the beers tasted.