My
last full day in England for this trip, and to start it off I had to brief a
room of people what I had seen for the past two weeks. Fun. I
survived though, and after dropping Steve and Ross at the Laundromat, and
waiting to leave town past an accident, I made it down to the town of Solihull. It was close to the airport, and just so
happens the Royal British Legion hall was hosting the 14th annual
Solihull & District Beer Festival.
Again, advertising wasn’t apparently high on the budget (but to be fair,
doesn’t beer just naturally sell itself?), but I found the spot and was one of
their first customers.
I
got another souvenir glass that allowed me to try the 1/3 pint sizes so that I
could sample more. I was flying solo, so
I needed to watch my pace (the rental car still needed to be returned to the
airport. I met one of the event’s
organizers, and he was pretty confident that I would get the reward for
travelling the farthest to participate (they took a picture, and promised to
send me a copy of their newsletter). I
was able to try 12 beers, and some of my favorites were:
-
Churchend
Stout Coffin: Black, chewy and creamy. A first class example of what a stout
should be.
-
Silhill
Yankee: An amber beer with a sweet citrus aroma and a dry bite from the
American hops (although I’m not sure which ones), it was brewed in Solihull
(doesn’t get more local than that).
-
Thornbridge
Galaxia: The Galaxy hop imparts aromas of mango, guava and grapefruit, while
providing an intensely bitter finish.
-
Old
Pie Factory Case Bitter: A classic ale using only English ingredients, brewed
in nearby Warwick.
-
Millwights
Rum Cask Cider: A dry cider aged in barrels from the Jamaican Rum Company, Jenn
would have loved this one.
I
was quite hungry by this time, and knew what I wanted to try. My friend Richard had told me that Birmingham
was the birthplace of Balti Indian food, so I knew of a Balti house on the way
to the airport that I was anxious to try.
Balti is adapted from a Pakistani style of cooking, and means
"bucket" in Punjabi. The Balti
is a small, flat-bottomed, two-handled wok, in which the food is both cooked
and served. Balti involves the fast cooking of marinated meat and spices over a
high flame. The cooking and serving
method ensures that the flavors of all the spices are retained. I went to Titash, and tried their Trio Balti,
a selection of meats in their own house spices, and ate the concoction using their
garlic naan (delicious, and I was told the proper way to dine). It was a great meal, and a fantastic way to
end my trip.
I
returned the car and rested at the airport hotel. I ended my trip the same way that I started it, with eggs benedict and in this case, a nice cider (Crabbies Spiced Orange, almost orange juice). My flight back to the States was uneventful
(the best way to fly), and besides paying way to much for long-term parking, I
was able to make it home safe and sound.
It was a great adventure, but it sure felt good to get back to my
family. – 6119/12990
“No soldier can fight unless he
is properly fed on beef and beer.” - John
Churchill, First Duke of Marlborough
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