A party of 21 rugby players are coming to our pub for a slap-up, lunchtime feast today. A herd of cows have been slaughtered so that our burly chums can chow down on the finest rib eye. Meanwhile, a quieter but more interesting event will be taking place on the premises: the editor of What's Brewing? will be hosting a beer tasting session in the afternoon.

Earlier in the week, three major regional breweries couriered polypins of ale to us. The beers are Wells & Young's Burning Gold, Adnams East Green and Shepherd Neame Canterbury Jack. They're all ready for gravity dispense down in the cellar (pictured right), perched above the bottled mixers on a stainless steel shelf. That means I'm going to be up and down those stairs with a jug every time someone rocks up for a snifter.

Are we unfair to Greene King IPA? I imagine that few of you who read this website would have a kind word to say about it, but it's been named Champion Beer Bitter of Britain. That decision - at the 2004 Great British Beer Festival - might be the most controversial incident in CAMRA's history. A lot of people cried foul, saying that the result was less than legit.

Greene King is Britain's biggest producer of cask ale. The neo-national brewer has an unfortunate habit of buying up and closing down regionals, assimilating their brands into its own portfolio and producing them at the mothership in Bury St Edmunds. Hardy's & Hanson's, Morrells and Ridley's don't exist as breweries anymore, but you'll see them as fake guest beers in GK tied houses.

Someone I know is taking on the lease of a pub tied to Greene King in a few weeks. It's a great opportunity, and doubtless I'll visit fairly often. This led me to think about the brewery's beers. I can only name one I've enjoyed - a summer seasonal - but I'm now wondering whether or not I'm simply prejudiced against them, my mind poisoned by the bad feeling surrounding GK's acquisitive antics. Perhaps I need to try them again with an open mind.