Choosing which beer to drink was once a simple matter of heavy or light stubby or longneck, maybe local or imported, if you were feeling a bit posh.

These days, the choice of beers is overwhelming. Gone are the days when you drank the same beer all year round with all types of food. Now, if you feel so inclined, you can have a cold, refreshing pilsner on a hot summer's day, a wheat beer with fish and chips on a warm day and a dark stout with the Sunday roast in the middle of winter.

Some breweries have run with the idea and started to make small batches of seasonal beers - only available for a few months at a time - designed to complement the weather. For example autumn is the time for a dark, rich-tasting brew.

Much of a beer's colour comes from the malted barley used in its production. The malt is dry-roasted before it's mashed up and boiled in big kettles to make a fermentable liquid. And the longer the roasting, the darker the malt and richer the flavour.

• Pale golden malt is what's used for lager
• Darker malt gives an amber-coloured ale

Darker ales are perfect with the kind of hearty food you're probably eating in winter, like slow-braised meat dishes, bangers and mash and pies.

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Source:Better Homes and Gardens May 2004