Women put the 'ale' into FEMALE with a special tasting night

Women in Jersey will be encouraged to swap their usual glasses of wine or gin and tonic for award-winning real ale, at a special tasting event organised by the Jersey Brewery. The FemALE Cask Ale and Tasting night will be held at the recently-refurbished St Mary’s Country Inn with the local women’s networking group The Langtry Club.

Jersey Brewery’s Head Brewer Paul Hurley will explain to women how to appreciate the natural ingredients, aromas and flavours of cask ale, which has attracted a new generation of female followers in the UK.

Paul said: "Women have sophisticated tastes and are interested in the recipe-making side of producing a hand-crafted product. It’s easy for women to detect the "caramel", "honey" or "floral" notes or the "chocolate" or "fruity" aromas – and the fact that it is not gassy or alcohol-heavy has resulted in its popularity. The number of women drinking real ale in the UK has doubled in recent years * and we hope that trend will continue in the Channel Islands."

As well as being put off by the beard-and-sandals image of real ale drinkers, women are also reluctant to try a large measure in a chunky glass. Stemmed glasses, which are already popular on the continent – will be used for the tasting night which will also feature a Genuine Jersey menu.

Jo Reed, Marketing Manager of the Liberation Group, said: "Stylish glassware and an education on the benefits of real ale has bought about huge change in the UK.

Beer has historically suffered from a poor image, and advertising has been strongly aimed at men. When it comes to health, in reality ale offers a number of health benefits when drunk in moderation as it contains virtually no fat and contains the least calories on the bar. A typical 250ml serving of beer contains 102 calories - considerably less than a Gin and Tonic".

* A survey of 1,000 adults for the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) showed that 30% of women drinkers said they had drunk real ale, compared with 16% in 2008.

“Beer is a fantastic match to all sorts of food in the same way as a glass of wine. Liberation Ale is a good starting point as it is light and refreshing and goes great with some of Jersey’s locally produced cheeses.”

The event will also include a special tasting of Jersey Brewery’s summer seasonal beer Blonde.

The tasting night will start at 7pm on the 27th April and there are still spaces available. The cost per person is £25 and includes a three-course meal and goodie bag. Transport is being organised to and from St Helier.

Suzy Hughes, founder of The Langtry Club, said: "In the spirit of learning and trying new things we thought this seemed like a perfect event for our members. The image of real ale is changing – rather than being brainwashed into thinking it’s not right for anyone with heels or lipstick, women in the UK are adding it to their drinks choices - and we don’t want to miss out."

Real ale is believed to be helping many pubs in the UK ride out the economic downturn. As the only growth category in the UK beer market, it cannot be drunk at home and so has helped slowed the rate of weekly pub closures from 52 last year to 39 a week.

The Jersey Brewery has recently been accepted as a corporate member of Cask Marque – a scheme to ensure beer is kept and served in optimum conditions so customers receive a ‘perfect pint’ every time.