HAVING drunk beer for a few years, I hardly expected to find anything surprising at a real ale competition in Worcester's award-winning Dragon Inn.

I'd also seen a stereotypical landlord or two in my time. How different could brewers be? 'Very' is the answer, as I found when I stepped into a room full of scientists, plumbers, electricians and delivery men.

The Society of Independent Brewers Western Region Beer Competition was being held in Worcestershire for the first time - it goes on until 11pm today - and 19 brewers had entered.

It soon became apparent that the wide range of skills needed to run a local brewery could only be matched by the range of real ales they produce.

The first two brewers I met were micro-biologists, one with a degree from Sheffield, the other from Birmingham. The third was an ex-Gulf War paratrooper.

This variety set the tone for one of the more interesting afternoons - in terms of both conversation and beer - I have spent in a Worcester pub.

While the 35 different ales were judged on Thursday afternoon, it was clear that - for most of the competitors - the occasion was more important than the result.

"Some people are pretty serious, but it's all about raising the profile of real ale," said event organiser Chris Gooch. "If we want to make a mark, something like this is crucial to us. Hopefully, people will realise the range of different beer available."

Jim Kenyon, owner of the Spinning Dog Brewery in Hereford, said: "Anyone who says they're not a fan of real ale is mad. If you don't like the first or the next, there are many more to chose from. That's the beauty of it."

Only 6 per cent of beer sold in Britain is real ale, but he's convinced there's enough demand for that to increase massively.

"People want to drink the beer, but there just aren't enough free houses who'll deal with local breweries.

"These events raise people's awareness of what's available to them, but the problem is they have to look for it - their local pubs rarely deal with small firms like us."

Don Burgess, of Hereford's Freeminer Brewery in Hereford, explained the attraction of the cask ale, for brewers and punters alike.

"Maybe I'm a scientist who's never grown up, but I'm very hands-on and the subtlety in taste each time always leaves me thinking I can improve. Beer-making's a craft, not a science."

And for those who cram in to the rapidly-diminishing freehouses round the county, that's the attraction.

Mass-produced beer -like a burger meal - is the same wherever you go. No better, no worse. But cask-conditioned ale offers subtle variations from day to day, pub to pub. People buy it waiting for the perfect pint and, when it comes, they buy it the next day to see if it has improved further.

By the time I'd found all this out, the results were in. For the record, the competition was split in to six categories, five for cask ales and one for bottled beers, with the winners of each going into the national final.

Group winners were Salopian's Shropshire Gold and Golden Thread, Cannon Royall's Fruiterer's Mild, Corvedale's Dark & Delicious, Wickwar's Station Porter and Highgate's Davenports Bitter.

Not that people seemed too concerned by 5pm, after 35 different beers had been tasted and judged - and generally re-tasted.

The overall winner was announced as Salopian's Shropshire Gold, but the real winners were the punters.