Beer, glorious beer! That was the theme for an unusual, and brave, lunch produced by John Silver, recently returned to the fold after a long absence and back in the kitchen for the first time. It was an all-Silver affair, with all the food and drink provided by him except the coffee. Starting the adventure was a Deus Cuvee des Flandres, a Belgian beer brought to France and matured in old champagne casks before being bottle under cork and wire in the traditional champagne manner. It was interesting, with a good mousse and a citrus, almost sour, note on the palate which reminded some of ginger beer. Served with it were some roasted spiced cashew nuts in little paper cups, just right for the footy.

In another break with tradition, John gave us a sit-down entrée featuring some large freshly-shucked, and briny, Sydney rock oysters, universally acclaimed. To match them, the traditional stout, but this one a dark toasted malty brew called Sinha from Sri Lanka, regarded as one of the best stouts in the world. It was terrific, but tended to overpower the shellfish.

On to the main course, a very presentable Singaporean (or Malayan, more accurately) chicken curry, made on skinless thigh fillets and containing the usual panoply of ingredients, including tomato paste, tamarind, coconut milk and blachan or dried shrimp paste. It was medium heat, with chopped birdseye chilis on the table for those who wanted to step it up a bit, and grilled naan bread on the side. The accompanying beer was a light and relatively bland Hooten lager from Holland, refreshing but not much more.

The cheese saw another ale, aBlue Chimay Trappist dark beer from Belgium, with a fine and subtle malt and hop blend and 9% alcohol to give it punch. It was a good match with a super-ripe Red Square washed rind from Tasmania, nicely oozy but with bit of ammonia on the rind which some found acceptable and others not.

Spencer Ferrier gave us a repeat of last week's blend, a superior coffee from an estate near Victoria Falls in Uganda, with plenty of rich bitter chocolate in the mouth and a good lingering slightly tangy finish. No need for a beer with this one.