As someone who loves beer and makes a living out of educating people on the subject, I'm dismayed when beer and those who consume it are portrayed only negatively in the media.

Too often library pictures of beer glasses, or stereotypical images of overweight middle-aged men chugging pints in pubs are indiscriminately used to illustrate news reports dealing with drink-driving or the general abuse of alcohol.

This unfortunate tendency was highlighted once again on Monday night when TV3 and TVNZ both led their 6 o'clock bulletins with the news that the Government is looking to lower the drink-driving limit.

While the story itself is great news, and about time, my gripe comes in the way the networks illustrated their reports.

In their coverage, both networks chose to depict the consumption of alcohol using close-up images of beer glasses and people drinking beer. No other alcoholic drink was shown at any point - no wine, no spirits, no RTDs. Only beer.

This implies that beer drinkers alone are responsible for the problem of drink-driving. That's simply not the case, and I consider it extremely unfair and discriminatory to suggest otherwise.

By coincidence, beer also got a mention on TVNZ's main evening news bulletin the previous day. One News on Sunday included a report on the visit of Canadian beer expert Mirella Amato, in New Zealand to present a beer tasting at Dunedin's annual ScienceTeller Festival.

As the world's first female Master Cicerone (that's the beer equivalent of a sommelier) and one of only seven in the world, Mirella was deemed newsworthy.

Mirella has impeccable credentials and shares my passion for great beer.

"My favourite thing about beer, apart from the fact that it is delicious, of course, is that it is a multifaceted beverage. There are so many different ways to appreciate it," she says.

At this stage I should probably declare a personal interest in the story: I first met Mirella in 2010 when we were both judges at the World Beer Cup in Chicago, then again last month in Denver as judges at the Great American Beer Festival.

Knowing I'm from New Zealand, but having never been here herself, she asked if I would recommend some suitable Kiwi beers for her presentation. Of course I obliged.

The news report indicated the Dunedin tasting went well and her presentation was well received.

After introducing the story with the usual reference to beer as "a bloke's drink", the TVNZ newsreader punned that Mirella was in New Zealand "helping Kiwis of both sexes get a better (at which point he paused and grinned) "handle" on the flavours in our local brews".

Later, during his report, the reporter condescendingly referred to Mirella's presentation as "a sort of wine tasting for beer".

Those criticisms aside, TVNZ's coverage was for the most part positive. The reporter noted Mirella was encouraging and teaching Kiwis to explore, identify and describe the flavours of local brews - and reckoned the secret to Kiwi craft beer brewing success was the local ingredients.

"The hops that are grown here which are quite distinct, and the fact that in New Zealand you're brewing all kinds of different styles using New Zealand hops, and how it transforms those styles," she added.

Mirella also stressed the need for brewers to strive for balance and drinkability in their beers: "There are a lot of brewers who are excited about these bold flavours and hops and crazy alcohols, and just trying to cram in as much flavour as they can, and maybe paying a little less attention to drinkability and to balance."

As for beer being a man's drink, Mirella was quick to point out that until the nineteenth century brewing was a woman's job.

"Beer is actually quite a feminine beverage," she said. "It . . . is certainly perceived more as a male beverage now, but I think that's changing. More and more women are getting into beer."

That's certainly true, and it's not just drinking beer that's appealing to women. Some are brewing it, too. Last weekend, the 2013 National Homebrew Competition was held in Hamilton, with 365 entries judged.

The award for the competition's overall best beer went to Auckland home brewer Barbara Joppa. As well as bragging rights, Barbara's prize is to have her winning beer brewed commercially at the Hallertau brewery in Auckland.

And just in case you're wondering, it isn't some sweet, fruity, "girly" concoction - it's a dry, roasty, Irish-style stout. Bang goes another stereotype.

Cheers. Full results of the Society of Beer Advocates' 2013 National Homebrew Competition are available online at nhc.soba.org.nz/results/2013

Cheers