The bloody idiots who think they are defined by what they eat or drink are beginning to drive me mad. It is not about what or where but it is about how. These are the people that will subtly sprout "I'm a whisky man, myself" when offered a cold beer.

Enjoy the bloody stuff. Wolf it down if you're hungry / slug it down if you're thirsty. If it tastes good, savour. But don't have it in your hand if you merely think that it make you look good, intelligent, discerning, macho or sexy.

Yes. Most of us have our quirks - the beer brand that we cling to probably has more to do with the advertising or the image rather than the taste. I used to drink Castle in summer and Lion in winter pretty much based on their linked sponsorships to cricket and rugby respectively. (Now both are sponsored by banks and mobile phone companies neither of which I have a taste for - but that is another story). But it's not quirks that I have issue with since quirks go a long way to defining the individuality of someone. It is with the bloke that drinks single malt whisky (never beer - unless the boutique type), smokes Cubans or eats raw fish with wasabi because he wants because he thinks his peers or girlfriend will appreciate the matter or wishes to give the impression that he can afford to do so.

Don't get me wrong - I adore whisky, have savoured great sushi and enjoyed the occasional cigar, but sometimes have not even shared the experience.

It is all posturing. The real folk are those who, as in a drinking song from my youth, "drink when they're thirsty, smoke to get high & if you don't like them you can f*** off & die". And by the way "I'm a beer man, myself" if you hadn't gathered & god I love the stuff. In the words of my late great uncle Beric there is no such thing as bad beer - only good beer and better beer.