Ales, lagers, dark beers, light beers, strong beers, weak beers, whatever……..they all have a place either as a drink in their own right, as an accompaniment to food, or as a culinary ingredient.

I've found that my main beer of choice is a very cold lager. It doesn't have to be too strong, as beer should be drunk in quantity in my opinion, but has to have a nice hoppy taste, with a dry finish. I know this sounds rather like wine tasting notes, but "beer" is a blanket term like "wine", which covers a very wide variety of drinks each having their own very individual qualities.

Sometimes, I have a "Beer Tour". This consists of a carefully-chosen selection of beers, culled from various supermarkets and wine merchants. They might be from all over the world or from a geographical area, or even specific country.

So, I might have a German wheat beer, a Czech pilsner, a Belgian fruit beer, a French country beer and an English ale. Then I taste each one, in no particular order and compare them. If I can remember what the earlier ones were like, I can then ensure that my taste-test gives me a guide as to what to buy in quantity.

Bottled beer seems to offer the widest choice, although some canned beer is quite good these days, and for normal, everyday drinking, cans are fine. After all, you can't really ruin a generic beer by canning it.

Every month I announce the "Beer Of The Month" from a carefully selected range of premium brews. If you can get hold of my selections, taste them and tell me what you think. Just drop me an e-mail!

1998's "Beer Of The Year" is now up here. It's an excellent brew that I've continued to drink ever since I first sampled it.

Of course, beer is an ideal partner for hot, spicy foods. A good chili or curry washed down with a cold beer or three is every bit as great a treat as a fillet steak and bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape.