I don't know about you, but I have certainly been making the most of the government's Eat Out to Help Out scheme.

After months of lockdown, it is great to be able to go out again, especially if it means for not much you can enjoy a lovely meal and be spared the cooking and washing up afterwards.

Rishi's dishes, or as the tabloids might call them, 'Dishy Rishi's dishes', have certainly gone down a treat.

We are very fortunate in Lincolnshire and Rutland to have a delightful array of restaurants, country pubs and the like to go dining to. And we should all be proud of the eateries in our towns and villages.

This was confirmed in the Good Food Awards announced earlier this month, where we had many finalists across both counties. And we have so many other places that are still brilliant that didn't get listed and don't seem to win awards.

Trouble is, while many venues will take painstaking care and attention with devising their menus, seeing which wine matches best with which food, sadly, beer seems something of an afterthought.

Perhaps determined by which bin end bargains their suppliers have to offer.

At times like this, when pubs have been closed for several months, you can understand why landlords might want to pick the cheapest, but does that always work out the most profitable?

The other week, I was at a pub in the Vale of Belvoir, just off the A52, about to tuck into a rare (as in something I don't buy often) fillet steak and to be honest, my beer was positively revolting!

Why was this lovely country inn selling beer from 'darn sarf' when we have plenty of excellent local breweries?

Furthermore, it was also offering the bland national brands, like Doom Bar, that you can easily find in the supermarket. There wasn't a local ale to be had.

Now don't get wrong, I like to try different beers, so much so I am often branded a 'ticker' by a mate, who likens me to those CAMRA members (I am one too) who have half of one beer, then they tick it off a list, before moving on to the next half.

Incidentally, I am speaking on behalf of myself, not CAMRA, in this piece, though I expect many of its members will agree with me.

But this pub was not far from Belvoir Castle, close to accommodation sites and other venues frequented by tourists.

Here was an opportunity for us to not only showcase our local foods, as many seem to do so well, but also our local ales, something our visitors might want to try along with our cheese, pork pies, gingerbread, etc, etc.

Grantham has three excellent breweries, all of whom have won awards. As a lover of stronger beers, Newby Wyke is a favourite, with its 6.0 per cent Queen Elizabeth keeping me sane over lockdown. This was thanks to Queen Elizabeth becoming available in bottles last year thanks to a deal with the Royal Navy vessel of the same name. The brewery has also recently extended its bottled range to include Yamato and a stronger 'extra' version of its popular Bear Island.

Last weekend, I had an excellent pint of Decadence from Brewster's at the Marquis of Granby in Granby, which the brewery also owns. As previously reported by Nub News, Brewsters launched online sales during the pandemic to help sell their wonderful beers.

Zest's (Oldershaw's) Mosaic Blonde is also delicious and the brewery's Kathy Britton works hard, including on social media, to sell her fine ales.

Further south, in Ketton, we have Baker's Dozen, and brewer Dean Baker, who also has the Jolly Brewer pub in Foundry Road, Stamford, has earned national acclaim for his Electric Landlady ale, and the 555 ale Dean made last year for the Beerheadz chain of micropubs was superb.

Oakham also has the popular and wonderful Grainstore, and though now made in Peterborough, Oakham Ales remains a county favourite, with its fine beers.

In addition, Round Corner at Melton produces some fine craft beers, and in and around Newark you will find Beermats, Blue Monkey and Cat Asylum, all producing a lovely drop.

I'm sure the region has others, so why the need to buy southern and sell the same old stuff you can find in the supermarkets?

Thanks to the pandemic, this is the staycation summer, where in Lincolnshire and Rutland we can showcase our local produce?

Our brewers have had a tough time this year and sadly, beer is not included in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme. Therefore, the brewers are missing out on any benefit that scheme might bring, especially if it means the meals trade at our pubs has now switched to early in the week, as one or two publicans now tell me.

Fortunately, some publicans have realised that as communities rallied round during the pandemic, they too can more do to support our brewers and other members of the local community. The Kings Head in Stamford has pledged to use more local supplies, including food and drink.

Our local ales are what set us apart, giving us in Lincolnshire and Rutland our distinctive character.

Surely when we go out, it is to enjoy something special and different, something we cannot or do not get at home.

Looking at so many of our pubs- and I've been to quite a few across Rutland and Lincolnshire- I can tell you, local ales are sadly, often a rarity.

By not offering or drinking local ales, you are truly missing out.

Certainly, I and friends do our best to support those good landlords who do back our local brewers.

And when I am out of town, I like to try something local, that I won't find back home.

Furthermore, when back home in Yorkshire I see the pubs stocking beers from 'God's Own County', so why can't publicans and drinkers here do more to support their own local breweries?

So come on publicans and drinkers, dump the Doom Bar and back the breweries in your back yard!

You should find it a most profitable move.