Image of beer: Beer-fest

Beer festival introduces drinkers to the world of lager, while the Brewing Industry International Awards go continental.

It isn't just cask ales that can benefit from a beer festival. Lager-style beers also offer a diverse range of brews and the chance to take your customers on a global tour. Mitchells & Butlers' community pub chain Ember Inns is currently in the middle of a six-week Lagers of the World festival.

It features lagers from 11 different countries and, as well as getting the opportunity to taste some unusual beers, drinkers can expand their knowledge with the help of comprehensive tasting notes and fun facts about the nations where they are brewed.

Each week throughout the festival Ember Inns pubs are stocking two different draught lagers, some rarely found in British pubs, plus bottled Coors Fine Light, which is sponsoring the event.

What's more, it includes a "try before you buy" service, so if a customer is unsure whether a Bitburger from Germany will tickle their taste buds they can ask for a small sample first.

"This is the second year for Lagers of the World. We hope to build on and improve on last year's successful festival," says Ember Inns marketing manager Oliver Devine. "Britons are travelling more often and going further afield and it seems our taste buds are too."

In addition to Coors Light, the lagers include: Jupiler from Belgium, San Miguel from Spain, Peroni Nastro Azzurro from Italy, Cobra from India, Kirin from Japan, Red Stripe from Jamaica, Cruzcampo from Spain, Amstel from Holland, Bitburger from Germany, Sleemans Honeybrown from Canada, Staropramen Granat from the Czech Republic and Kingfisher from India.

Beer awards​

The biennial Brewing Industry International Awards is leaving the country for the first time in its 119-year history.

Beers, including about 200 British cask ales, will be judged at Drinktec 2005, the world's largest drinks exhibition, held in Munich in September.

The UK-based organiser of the awards, Brewing Technology Services (BTS), is looking to reinforce awareness of the event throughout the brewing world with a trade audience of thousands.

It raises the daunting challenge, however, of shipping competing cask ales to Germany in peak condition, a job which is being taken on by BTS at its own expense.

BTS is in talks with UK trade associations about the marketing opportunity this represents, and is seeking support for the extra costs involved.

"Only a very special opportunity would have prompted us to consider moving the competition wholesale and Drinktec, with its truly global character, is just that," says event director John Bass. "We expect to increase awareness of the competition significantly among brewers in emerging brewing markets and the publicity will also be good for award-winners.

"We are also locating to a region where there is great reverence for beer, and we expect there to be much interest in the UK cask beers."

It is currently expected that the competition will return to the UK in autumn 2007.

• Further information can be found at www.brewingawards.org.