Rain, rain - Go Away!

Another long day, but we made it out in time to check out a few stores in town. Len got a haircut (not the painted Mohawk that Leon suggested), and I headed over to a bottle shop and a chocolate store. The Red Zebra (http://www.redzebradrinks.com/) is located next to the Olde Dolphin, and the owner boasted that last weekend he had over 300 bottles, but today he had about 50 different beers. They were beers that I hadn’t seen before, so I got a six pack to go. These included several from Titanic Brewery (Captain Smith’s, White Star, and their Stout), and some from Spire Brewing (Sgt. Pepper’s Stout, Dark Side of the Moon Dark Mild). If I’m fortunate enough to return to Derby in the future, I’ll definitely be stopping by again. I then went over to Thornton’s Chocolate (http://www.thorntons.co.uk/ThorntonsSite/pages/home/default.asp), the chocolate store that Jenn fell in love with when she was over in August. They were offering some deals so I picked up some gifts for Christmas, and I got Jenn a mixed pack of their mint chocolates. She liked them a lot, I can tell since she hasn’t offered to share them with anyone.

Now for dinner. What I really like about travelling with Len is that he lets me choose the places to eat, and he never seemed to mind that each of the places had a beer theme. Tonight we headed over to the Nelson & Railway (http://nelsonandrailway.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4&Itemid=4) in nearby Kimberley, a recommended stop in the Good Pub Guide. It was pouring out by this time, and the M1 had an accident that had us waiting for a bit. And then there is the uncertainty of Garmin, telling us where to go when we’re not really sure where we are going. But we made it there in one piece, and the pub was really quaint. I had the food special, a mixed platter of fish and curries, with the Kimberley Dark Mild and the Cool Bitter on draft. In the UK, cool implies that the beer is on draft and it has been chilled as we get it here in the States. They were good, but not as good as their Hardy & Hansens Best Bitter on cask. We couldn’t say no to dessert, so I tried their Crème Brulee which was superb. We made it back to the hotel soaking wet, but very well fed. - 5205

"There is more to life than beer alone, but beer makes those other things even better." – Stephen Morris