However hard they tried at uni to force pints of cheap beer down their throats at the student union, many women found that they were simply not put on this earth to drink beer. Yet as Julie O'Neill, marketing manager for Interbrew UK's speciality beer brands such as Hoegaarden, Leffe and Belle-Vue points out: 'Speciality beers are definitely a way of bringing women into the beer market. We are seeing many women starting to drink fruit beers, such as our Belle-Vue brand. There are also a number of women who are switching from RTDs (ready to drink) to fruit beers, particularly people in their 20s.
In response to this, Interbrew UK is test-launching Belle-Vue Kriek on draught in a number of pubs, including De Hems in Soho, London.
Other new fruit beers to the market include Coconut Mongozo, a wheat beer that's imported by Cave Direct and is from the Huyghe-Brewery, in Melle, near Ghent, Belgium.
Interbrew UK's O'Neill adds: 'We're also hoping to attract a share of the wine market. After all, speciality beers have as much history and provenance as wines, and are also a great accompaniment to food. Hoegaarden goes particularly well with seafood, Leffe Blond and Brun with casseroles and strong cheeses, and Belle-Vue Frombois with a summer pudding. For this reason, speciality beers should be afforded the same kudos as the wine category.
Given the variety of flavours, this opens up the category to a number of different drinking occasions. While Budvar Dark was only launched in June to the UK market, Tony Jennings, Budweiser Budvar chief executive, comments: 'Dark beers tend towards the sweet. Many people have compared its flavour to roasted coffee with hints of chocolate.
He predicts that the huge variety of flavours will change the drinking patterns of many consumers. 'I think this will persuade drinkers to look more for quality than quantity, to get them drinking less, but better.