PUB landlord Paul Marshall wants to get one thing clear - and it isn't his beer.

In fact, the licensee at the Rook and Gaskill in Lawrence Street, York, is organising a special event to debunk what he says is a myth - namely the idea that clear beer is better beer.

Paul says Britain is alone in the world in regarding haziness as a sign of a fault in beer, and he is inviting brewers who believe the same to join him for a taste-test challenge in his pub.

He says very few British drinkers realise that clarity is often achieved only by adding finings to beer. Often that is in the form of isinglass, which is derived from fish bladders and which clears the beer, but which also means many beers are unsuitable for vegetarians.

"There is an argument that you should do not need to put finings in beer," said Paul. "You do not need it. The public perception is that a cloudy pint is off, but that is not true at all. It would be good to get rid of the perception that a cloudy pint is a bad pint, but people sadly drink with their eyes."

Paul plans to stage an event in late April or early May, inviting brewers to produce two versions of one of their beers - one using finings, and one not. Brass Castle Brewery in Malton is taking part but Paul wants to hear from others interested in rising to the challenge.

Phil Saltonstall, from Brass Castle, said: "Unfortunately, finings reduce the life of beer by adding an unnatural synthesised product to a natural product. Also, in stripping out the hazy particles, they remove a great deal of flavour and - some would say - some of beer's anti-carcinogenic properties. So the beer is less natural and less healthy."

He said it was possible to brew good beer that was naturally clear, but said: "If you cut corners, then the chemical finings are a way of making your beer look good when it is not."

He added: "Everyone else in the world sees haziness as a sign of quality. When I worked in the United States, I saw pints returned because they were not hazy enough. It's only British people who have this ludicrous requirement for a clear beer."

Brass Castle uses natural seaweed-based finings earlier in the brewing process, to help meet the public's appearance preferences, but Mr Saltonstall said he wanted to fight back against the idea that beer had to be clear and he hoped enough breweries would change their approach, to help change customer perceptions.

Any breweries interested in taking part in the taste-test challenge should phone Paul Marshall at the Rook and Gaskill on 01904 655450 or tweet him on @RookGaskillYork