Beer is not a four letter word

Imagine this. One of the foremost beer writers of the day is presenting a television series about the world beer scene. He's not a 'celebrity', he doesn't have an ex-comedian in tow. Although he does own a few choicely patterned shirts.
He's already established himself in the national press with regular feature articles about beer, brewing, travel and tastings. Those articles are read widely, particularly by those who remember an iconoclastic column about beer that appeared in another national newspaper some years before.

The future of beer journalism? No. It's the past.

In the early nineties Michael Jackson was re-visioning the syntax of beer appreciation whilst fronting a Channel 4 show and writing for the Independent. Richard Boston had already established a regular column in the Guardian, "Boston on Beer", almost twenty years before. That led to the book 'Beer and Skittles', possibly the most under-rated and over-looked beer book ever published.

So why, with the UK beer scene at its most vibrant and experimental, is current media coverage so apologetic?

Two cases in point. The recent Guardian article on 'real lagers' was curate's egg reporting - worthy comments kneecapped by inaccurate PR whilst lazy journalism looked the other way. It was practically an admission that they want to be positive about beer but can't really be arsed to get the facts right. It's only beer, after all. The geeks can go get excited over at Word of Mouth.

Jay Rayner is a different kettle of bouillabaisse. I've got a pancake-stack of respect for him as a food writer and restaurant critic. But he seemed uneasy talking about beer and food on The One Show, making it clear several times that he's usually a wine drinker. Although if he thinks his shirts must mark him out as a flowery vine-lover, he's never met Ashover brewer Roy Shorrock.

To be honest, I'd be uneasy if I offered Jane Asher a beer on live TV and then realised it wasn't the one I was talking about. He twisted the bottle of Doom Bar around desperately as if to transmogrify it into the already-mentioned Chalky's Bite. The whole piece withered on the bine as Chris Evans pledged his troth to lager, Asher was cut off from asking again why her wheat beer was brown and Alex Jones tried not to gag on a double chocolate overdose.

The One Show could have done the decent thing and let Des De Moor run the tasting rather than being a mere talking head behind the Brodies' bar. But Rayner let slip the prejudice that holds back objective, entertaining and factual beer coverage in mainstream media when he dismissively used the phrase "beer obsessives". Like being beer-obsessive is a bad thing.

Put it this way. When I read the weekend papers, I want the motoring column to be written by a petrolhead. I want the gardening pages to be written by someone so green-fingered they could be mistaken for an alien. I want the food features to be written by those who are obsessive, passionate, knowledgeable and witty when it comes to all things gastronomic.

Why should beer be treated any different?

I don't want the beer commentator to be whoever has it listed as third-choice on their interests list. Nor someone who can barely transcribe a press release.

Good journalism can educate, entertain and inform. Obsessive characters who can manipulate their chosen subject and make it accessible to a wider audience make some of the finest journalists. Michael Jackson exemplified that. He knew - and, more importantly, persuaded others - that beer is not a four letter word.