For the love of beer

HYDERABAD: Sriram Aylur, chef of the Taj Group’s Michelin one star Quilon restaurant in Westminster, has been named ‘Beer Drinker of the Year’ by the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group.  He was presented with his award by the Group’s chairman, Andrew Griffiths, Member of Parliament for Burton upon Trent. Sriram, who hails from Warangal, is passionate about Britain’s national drink. His beer list has evolved into a Pandora’s Box of liquid delights. The main list numbers eighteen beers, including two beers fermented with Champagne yeast served in Champagne flutes, a Corsican beer made with chestnuts, an American wheat beer spiced with coriander and oranges, and a bright red Belgium ale using cherries, strawberries and elderberries, and served in an iced Martini glass. Not content with this exotic offering, Sriram has recently created a special five course all British beer menu — to add to his five and eight course global beer menus, each course served with a different beer. And to cap all that he has recently introduced Britain’s first Vintage Beer Menu boasting nine British beers from Fuller’s of Chiswick ranging from their ethereal 1999 vintage right up to their succulent, youthfully exuberant 2010.Chef Sriram Aylur started off a career in the Hotel Industry in a restaurant at Warangal in the State and has done his studying in the city. Currently as Head Chef in Quilon, he has taken beer to a new place in Britain’s gastronomy. Realising many years ago the farce of stocking several  hundred wines against just one or two token beers, he decided to complement his award-winning wine and whisky lists with beer menus of phenomenal originality and style. He says, “As beer is Britain’s national drink, with over 90 per cent of it produced in the UK and grown by hop and barley farmers, I wondered why so many of my fellow restaurateurs were holding vast and expensive stocks of fermented foreign grapes? Wouldn’t customers enjoy the chance to drink beers to suit my delicately spiced south-west coast Indian cuisine?  This is why I developed the Quilon beer list and it has proved to be a huge hit with customers.”