Beer to Cheer Michael Jackson is the world's leading writer on beer. He is known to RTÉ viewers for his series The Beer Hunter. In a new, highly visual book called Beer , he chooses different beers for different occasions. Here, he shares some thoughts on beer and food.

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Beer-loving young Americans coming to Ireland are horrified to see the most ordinary of their lagers being favoured by the young in a country world-famous for something as distinctive as Guinness and also known to beer-lovers for Murphy's and Beamish.

"Young people everywhere reject the lifestyles of their parents," I offer, apologetically. "But why has Guinness become less textured, less roasty, less hoppy, less complex and why is it served so tastelessly frozen?" they persist. (This question arose long before Guinness Extra-Cold). "To appease the kids who incline to Bud," I explain.

Even in a diminished form, the Irish draught and bottled versions of Guiness are among the world's great beers (lower in alcohol, incidentally - and calories - than lagers like an American Bud, but far fuller in flavour). The growing popularity elsewhere in the world of the heftier export versions of Guinness give the lie to the notion that the whole world wants ultra-pale, bland, beers.

People in the US are forever asking me why they cannot find Irish ales - the style represented by Smithwicks - in their local stores. This product has sporadically appeared there, but been somewhat hobbled by its owner's trading relationship with Bass. In the absence of the original, dozens of American breweries have produced their own Irish-style ales, often much more assertive in character.

"So can we come to Ireland and find some microbrews?" they ask. Until recently, I had to concede there were no tiny breweries in Ireland. In the last two to three years, that has changed. When, in the next few weeks, Messrs Maguire opens on the old Tommy Wright's site near O'Connell Bridge, Dublin, there will be 10 brewpubs or micros in the 32 counties, from Thurles, Co Tipperary, to Newry, Co Down.

Much as I love drinking the super-fresh Guinness in Ireland, these days I also enjoy, for example, the gentle smoky fragrance of D'Arcy's Stout, from the Dublin Brewing Company.

Veggie Day Organised by the Vegetarian Society of Ireland in association with the splendid Dublin Food Co-Op, World Vegetarian Day takes place today in the St. Andrews' Centre on Dublin's Pearse Street, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

It is a celebration of Ghandi's birthday as well as of vegetarianism, and alongside all the delights of the market the day promises stalls by restaurants such as Blazing Salads, brewers such as The Dublin Brewing Co., and Earthwatch and there will be talks during the day on Nutrition and Health, Catering for a Vegetarian in the Family, the Vegetarian Baby and other topics.

"The number of people turning away from a meat-based diet is growing every day," says Gerry Boland of the co-op. "What is needed is comprehensive nutritional advice for both parents and young vegetarians to enable them to steer a healthy and nutritionally beneficial path through to healthy adulthood. World Vegetarian Day will educate people on the benefits of a vegetarian diet."

Letters to the Editor Sir, - I was pleasantly surprised by David Grant's letter (August 10th) calling for mandatory ingredient labelling on alcoholic beverages. As a producer of natural ales, stouts and lagers, the issue is of obvious concern to us. However, whenever we raise this issue, we are accused of having an axe to grind. The responsibility for the continued absence of ingredient labelling on alcoholic beverages rests with all levels of the marketplace.

Firstly, it rests with the producer. The use of additives represents an effort by the large brewers to produce a more consistent, cheaper product with longer shelf-life (thus lowering the cost of distribution). Large brewers argue that beer is an inherently safe product that has never killed anyone directly (unlike dairy, meat or poultry products, for example). They also argue that if they were to list all of the ingredients, the average consumer would merely be confused and wouldn't understand what all of them are. Maybe they're more afraid of the massive public relations campaign they would have to launch to maintain their market share in the presence of mandatory ingredient labelling.

Secondly, responsibility rests with the Government. In the absence of regulatory legislation to force the issue, producers will continue to dodge it.

Lastly, and perhaps most sadly, a good portion of the responsibility rests with the consumer. Joe and Patricia Punter continue to encourage the large beer producer in their ways. Unless consumers speak with their money, producers will resist change. The average consumer thinks ingredient labelling is a non-issue. I frequently hear remarks like, "I've been drinking Brand X all me life and I've never been sick a day!" In response to that, let me relate a story. In Canada during the 1960s, a brewery erroneously added too much of an allowed foam enhancer called cobalt sulphate. A dozen people died of a mysterious heart ailment (all chronic drinkers) but there was no conclusive proof that the beer was to blame. Nonetheless, the brewery closed and the additive is no longer allowed in any quantity. Draw your own conclusions.

I would encourage consumers to press their political representatives for change and to try to wake the sleeping giants in the beer industry. Speak with the money you spend by spending it on an alternative to their products - or even brew your own. If we all did this today, we'd probably see voluntary ingredient labelling some time next week. Incidentally, there is another industry which also avoids ingredient labelling: tobacco.

Yours, etc.,
Liam McKenna
Head Brewer
Dublin Brewing Company
North King Street, Dublin 7

Sport Takes a Stand Against Racism Several thousand people gathered at the Law Society's Sports ground in Dublin's Blackhall Place over the weekend for a unique multi-racial soccer tournament and sports festival. The 24 teams drawn from refugee groups, the travelling community, inner-city communities, the Garda Síochána, the media and others competed in a seven-a-side tournament in the unseasonal sunshine.

The festival, which also included a basketball competition, music, open-air theatre, ethnic food stalls and children's entertainment, was organised by a group of Dublin community workers who came together last year to form Soccer - now changed to Sport - Against Rascism Ireland (SARI).

They were promised an EU grant of £320,000 to put on the festival, but this never materialised and they went ahead anyway with £35,000 in sponsorship money from the Dublin Brewing Company and All Sports Cafe.

Bosnian, Vietnamese, Congolese, Somali, Angolan and Nigerian teams were among the refugee teams involved. The final, overseen by the English Premierships' first black referee, Urjah Renee, Saw Monto defeating Éire Óg by three goals to one.

Yesterday afternoon saw a match between two celebrity teams, one headed by Curtis Fleming of Middlesbrough and Ireland, the other by the comedian Brendan O'Carroll. Other star players included the designer John Rocha, the former Bradford and Stoke manager Chris Kamara and the actor Patrick Bergin. Pele, Eric Cantona and George Best, all patrons of SARI, sent their best wishes.

One of the festival's main organisers, Frank Buckley - a former road manager with leading Irish rock groups, and later a community worker in the Smithfield area - said the idea was "to integrate people through sport, which, like music, is a universal language. You don't have to speak the same language to play on the same football team."

Plea to Save Historic Church One of Dublin's oldest churches, St Michan's, in Church Street, will have "no alternative but to close" unless it can raise a further £230,000 to restore its roof.

"If this happens, not only have we lost a substantial part of Dublin's and of Ireland's history but we have failed in securing our heritage for the next generation," said Canon David Pierpont, of the church, which was founded in 1095. "Unfortunately, local parishoners don't have the wherewithal to fund such a massive undertaking so we are left appealing for support from the personal and corporate communities and, in particular, from Government sources."

The £40,000 grant, under a special scheme for the restoration of historic buildings, was announced last week by the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal, Ms Liz McManus. She said she hoped it marked a turning point. Last year, there was wide spread shock when the vaults of St Michan's - which contain numerous well-preserved bodies - were vandalised. Since then, the vaults, once a significant tourist attraction, have remained closed.

The church can boast a close connection with the 1798 rebellion and is also associated with Robert Emmet. Its organ was used by Handel to rehearse his Messiah before its premiere at the Fishamble Street Music Hall.

Mr Kieran Finnerty, managing director of the Dublin Brewing Company, on North King Street, said it would be "tragic if St Michan's was forced to close due to indifference and inertia...We cannot allow that to happen." As a "wake-up call" to other businesses in the area, his company is organising a benefit for St Michan's on Friday, March 14th...