I've been reading with interest for the last year or more about Scott Kerkmans who has the dream job as Chief Beer Officer advising the Four Points by Sheraton chain of hotels on local beers to stock in their properties around the world. WIth the recent mentions in Australia I have been quite excited that an Australian hotel chain might be doing something interesting with beer...so I followed the link from The Australian story to see what delights they would be stocking in Australia. The US properties stock such luminaries as Fat Tire Amber, Stone Arrogant Bastard and Dogfish Head 60 Minuute IPA on their local craft list and Duvel and Chimay on their imported list. Click on the Asia Pacific properties and we are blessed with such rare and wonderful delights at VB (the biggest selling beer in Australia...the mainest of mainstream beers), Tooheys and XXXX. Even the biggest selling low-carb beer Pure Blonde makes the grade. The closest thing to "craft" are the unspecified beers from James Squire and the Matilda Bay Redback. These are excellent beers, but by the US Brewers Association's definition of "Craft" even they wouldn't qualify as craft beers, though in Australia's relatively nascent industry they do fit into the catch all description. A selection like this is bad for three reasons. Firstly it doesn't provide the "unique, local experience" Scott promises in his extensive media statements; secondly, it does nothing to develop the local beer industry or support the true small brewers, finally it does nothing to educate Australian guests about their beer and provides international guests with a false impression about our beers.
Managing the beer portfolios for an international suite of hotels would be a monumental job but, despite the marketing hype surrounding the Four Points initiative, beer is something Scott does seem genuinely passionate about. It'll be interesting to see what sort of notes he took during his recent visit and whether the beer list (and website) is updated as a result!