*Disclaimer: BitterSweet Partnership is client of Shiny Red, and the view expressed here are mine and not necessarily those of my employer*

As a self confessed lover of cocktails, I was very excited when the Shiny team invited me as a London blogger, to a beer/food pairing event and beer cocktail tasting session organised by BitterSweet Partnership last week.

The BitterSweet Partnership (a business set-up by Molson Coors Brewing) works to examine and address the relationship between beer and women, and to bust the myths surrounding beer.

Overweight, chav, masculine were words that used to spring to mind when I thought about beer. Ladies, believe it or not, this cocktail lover would like to confirm that beer can indeed be stylish!

1) Beer can be matched with food
I am not a beer drinker and I was amazed to discover that the flavour intensity of the beer can be matched to the flavour intensity of the food, very much like you would serve certain wines with certain foods.

I really enjoyed the Kasteel Cru Rose, a beer brewed using high quality Champagne yeast in Alsace, with a hint of elderberry and elderflower, and I loved the coriander and orange flavours of the Blue Moon.

2) Ever tried a beer cocktail?
If you prefer sweeter beverages you simply have to sample one of the beer cocktails BitterSweet Partnership created, better still, why don’t you have a go at creating your own?

There are a few photos of the cocktails and beers we sampled on my Flickr stream

Verdict
BitterSweet Parternship isn’t just a ploy to get more women drinking beer, but a genuine collaboration to make beer more appealling to women. I personally think they identified an fantastic opportunity in the market and I am very excited about their offering.

There are a couple beer bars in my hometown in France such as the Ninkasi or le Palais de la Biere, and I think that beer cocktail bars could represent a fantastic opportunity in London.