Given that relations between the pub trade and the supermarket industry have been somewhat strained of late, I was a little surprised a few weeks back to receive an invitation to join the judging team assessing bottled beers for the Tesco Drinks Awards 2008.
However, whatever we might think about the pile-it-high-and-sell-it-cheap approach to standard lager adopted by the nation's favourite grocer, it's hard to argue that Tesco hasn't helped to revitalise the speciality bottled beer market over recent years.
So, in a building-bridge spirit, I rolled up in West London on the appointed day to join a range of brewers, beer writers and assorted other industry figures.
We were tasked with assessing beers from smaller, regional and specialist brewers, all vying for the lucrative prize of a national listing and pride of place in Tesco's beer aisle.
With the bottles carefully disguised, we didn't know what we were tasting. Inevitably, there was no shortage of guesswork - most of which will probably turn out to be have been wide of tne mark once the results are announced next month.
Some of the beers were good, a few were awful and one or two were sublime. What most of us did agree afterwards, though, was that the bottled variety, however well brewed, is really no match for good cask beer served in a pub.
So all credit to Tesco for its commitment to beer and brewing.
But, just for the record - mine's a pint.