YOU may have noticed the increasing number of new friends sitting next to traditional beers on the bottlo and pub shelves.
For some, the thought of abandoning Tooheys, XXXX, VB or Carlton Draught for some new-kid-on-the-block craft beer is about as appealing as leaving the pub before midnight.
But that narrow line of thought is dying out, according to Brisbane's Grand Central Hotel manager Matthew Coorey.
And he reckons the sales are proving it.
Coorey says that over the past five years there has been a surge in consumer interest in locally brewed, craft beer.
He says because the beer drinker's palate has become more sophisticated, like wine connoisseurs, they are now looking to match food with the perfect drop.
While he's explaining this line of thought a few people can be seen shuffling awkwardly in their lunch seats, one of whom is former Wallabies hooker Jeremy Paul.
Here is a man who smashes his head into the middle of a scrum against some of the toughest athletes in the world for a living.
He's a comforting sight for those around the table who previously silently questioned their masculinity in coming to an event that talks about matching beer with the right food.
After Paul speaks up to let others know they are not alone in their distaste for eating food with Australia's mainstream beers, Coorey puts everyone's minds at ease.
He says that unlike your standard mainstream lagers - which all taste virtually identical and clash with food - more sophisticated and higher-quality brews can be achieved in non-mass-produced production breweries.
Like wine, flavours inside beers can be subtly crafted and brought out to accompany similar tasting food of all flavours.
Spice, steak, pepper, fish, ginger or chocolate - you name it, there's a beer out there that can go with it.
But herein lies the problem. Most people have enough trouble matching food with wines, let alone beers.
So to help guide guests, the Grand Central Hotel, along with 12 other watering holes owned by hotel group Drinx, have set up the Rubber Stamp list.
The Rubber Stamp is a seal of approval given to a beer by a panel of five beer experts that meets the criteria of being Australian, boutique and handcrafted.
"We live and breathe beer. We're dedicated to bringing people the very best handcrafted beers around," Coorey says.
He explains that the tasting panel match a hotel's food with recommended beers.
"Our tasting panel work long and hard - often well into the night - before they award the Rubber Stamp of approval," Coorey says.
"Sounds like the best job on Earth doesn't it? And it is, we love it. We love it because just like you we're here for the beer."
There are some seriously sharp minds, and palates, on the selection panel.
They include the 2008 Savour Contemporary Australian Restaurant of the Year E'cco Bistro's owner and chef Philip Johnson, master brewer Ian Watson and editor of Beer and Brewer magazine Matt Kirkegaard.
Kirkegaard says his theory as to why craft beers are starting to take off in Australia is due to a breakdown of the `80s attitude where states stayed fiercely loyal to their home beer.
"A Queenslander could buy XXXX beer from Coolangatta up to Cairns, but couldn't buy that beer if they travelled south into New South Wales," Kirkegaard says.
"We're breaking down the barriers and we are a little more eclectic in what we drink and because of that, it's started a willingness to try other things."
Kirkegaard also said the emergence of imported beers has paved the way for crafted beers in Australia.
"We've also become more discriminating in what we eat and drink and have moved towards the gourmet," he said.
"The advent of wine has seen us develop our palates and it's not just boutique cheese, great restaurants or great wines, but beer now fits into that category as well."
Both Rubber Stamp and Mr Kirkegaard hold monthly beer club meetings where all things craft beer are discussed.
(The writer was a guest of the Grand Central Hotel.)
AAP
