Time to plan your festive beer lists

Beer experts are already urging pubs to think about their festive beer line-ups, including brands especially aimed at women.

The BitterSweet Partnership and the Marston's Beer Company have been quick to identify lists of beers that pubs and retailers can stock in the run-up to the Christmas season.

The 12 festive beers iden-tified by the BitterSweet Partnership, launched by Molson Coors to challenge the image of beer among women, are all recommended as options that might encourage women to go for a beer rather than another alcoholic beverage at Christmas.

The list for 2009 includes Kasteel Cru, brewed with Champagne yeast, raspberry beer Bacchus Frambozen, Coors Light and Kasteel Cru Rosé, which is considered to be a good accompaniment to party canapés such as prawns or black olives.

Also on BitterSweet's list is a recipe for mulled beer, the orange and coriander flavoured Blue Moon, cherry-sweet Bacchus Kriek, BeeWyched Honey Beer and Innis & Gunn, which has hints of caramel and apple.

The final three are Grolsch's Weizen wheat beer, to link up with salmon canapés or sausages; Worthington's White Shield, for those with less of a sweet tooth; and the smooth and crisp Cobra.

Marston's Christmas guest ale line-up meanwhile, includes the sweet and malty 4.5% abv Marston's Ugly Sisters and the hoppy and fruity 4.5% abv Jennings Redbreast.

Also on the list are two beers described as "Christmas pudding in a glass", which are the 4.8% abv O be Joyful from Brakspear and Wychwood's 5% abv Bah Humbug.