If there’s one person you want to go for a pint with it’s Melissa Cole. The self-confessed beer expert is on a mission to turn the image of the drink, usually associated with big-bellied men, into something sophisticated, chic and attractive to female drinkers.

I attended her Girls’ Guide to Beer tour running at this week's Great British Beer Festival at Earl's Court. Looking round the mixed crowd of beer fanatics and reticent wives and girlfriends, encouraged by their spouses, it seemed Melissa had a task on her hands. Unperturbed she led us enthusiastically around the arena, battling the crowds of jovial beer drinkers, men in Viking helmets and post-work red-faced businessmen.

“There’s a huge history to beer and women are a part of that vast history. The name ‘Brewster’ actually stems from the name for a woman who used to brew the beer and it was only when the industrial revolution came that women were less likely to drink it.

“It’s not obligatory to like every beer I give you but I will take it personally if you don’t,” she said with a laugh.

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We were each handed a third glass (a glass a third the size of a pint, likened to those found on the continent). Similar in shape and delicacy to a wine glass, this is the Campaign for Real Ale's (CAMRA's) attempt to “feminise” beer. After months of research, the organisation which campaigns for real ale, real pubs and consumer rights and has a 25 per cent female membership, discovered that women were much more likely to drink beer out of an elegant-branded third glass rather than the traditional pint glass.

Fellow tour member Jacky Cross from Surrey, a beer connoisseur who has been attending the festival for the past 15 years, said she had certainly noticed a difference in the festival's clientele.

“When I came here years ago there were hardly any women but more and more come nowadays. Everyone has a good time; you do get some men passed out on the pillars but mostly it’s all in good spirits.”

The first beer we tried was Wells & Youngs Waggledance. Cole advised us to hold it up to the light and smell the flavours before taking a hearty gulp. A golden ale brewed with honey it had a distinctive flavour and you could instantly smell the mix of honey, grapes and hops which creates what is a light and refreshing beer.

The next was a much more bitter ale, Copper Dragon’s Golden Pippin. “The good thing about beer tasting,” boomed Cole, “is that you can’t spit it out like wine. You taste the bitter right at the back of your tongue so you have no choice but to swallow to get the full flavour.”

The strangest beer I have ever tastest came next. “This one will keep you awake all night,” said Cole. A mixture of stout and coffee, Dark Star Espresso’s strong coffee aroma was complemented by the coolness of the beer and I was surprised to find I actually enjoyed it.

Fuller’s Discovery followed, which is a light, blonde beer with rich biscuity flavours that make it perfect for a summer’s day. Apparently it also goes wonderfully with cheese, a theory that members of the group agreed with.

Cole said: “I never liked cheese and wine but cheese and beer is absolutely fantastic. With a pint of beer on one side and a plate of cheese on the other, I could have died and gone to heaven.”

When we started the tour Melissa insisted that we would try only one so-called “girly" beer and this came last in the form of Iceni’s Raspberry Wheat. Reminiscent of the student favourite, snakebite and black (a mixture of lager, cider and blackcurrant), this fruity beer was refreshing and proved a favourite among the ladies, no doubt much to Cole’s disapproval.

About 65,000 people are expected to walk through the gates of the Great British Beer Festival at Earl’s Court arena, which has, in effect, been transformed into a giant pub; games, bar snacks, singing men in novelty hats and more beers than you can ever imagine await beer lovers — male or female.

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