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25-05-2014, 08:18
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Another 9 am pick up by Grant and we head off to Balboa Park. Heading for a museum, though there is a beery connection.


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The museum only opens at ten leaving us some time to kill. Walking around the park slits time's throat pretty well. It's a fantastical place, filled with exotic museums and massive, contortionist trees. Many of the museums are housed in extravagant Spanish-style buildings left over from the World Fair of 1915. Including our destination, the Museum of Man (http://www.museumofman.org/).


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It's currently hosting an exhibition called BEERology (http://www.museumofman.org/beer). About beer, obviously. Mostly beer in Latin America. Grant knows the curator and he gives us a little private tour.

There are impressive drinking cups - I'm surprised the golden one didn't get melted down by some conquistador looter. But best are the crazy South American growlers, in all sorts of highly-decorated forms.

The modern head-hunter beer drinkers sound even crazier. They have the longest word for beer the curator has found. Don't ask me what it is. It has about a dozen syllables and, as I keep telling you, I'm not taking notes. The head-hunter's beer is made from cassava roots and they get the majority of their calories from it - 80%. Each adult male gets through four gallons a day, women two gallons, kids one gallon. Just like Newark.

Next stop is Coronado Island. Which isn't quite an island, being connected to the mainland by a narrow spit of land. It's home to a big military base and some rather swanky housing. The approach - across a dramatically humped and curved bridge - reveals a perfect panorama of the city.


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Our first beer of the day will be in Coronado Brewing (http://coronadobrewingcompany.com/)'s brewpub. Grant knows the brewer and, as he's not busy, we get a tour of the brewhouse. It's very cramped, in contrast to Liberty Station, though both are 10-barrel units. And built from copper rather than stainless steel. It's clearly seen a lot of use. In a separate extension out the back there are rows of conical fermenters.



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We head back to the bar for a sampler flight and a chat with the brewer. There some pretty nice beers, especially their regular IPA. Very tasty. The food looks very tempting, but we need to move on. Back over to the mainland.


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Next is Monkey Paw (http://monkeypawbrewing.com/), a low black box with a corner location. It's just after noon and boiling hot. Which is why it looks closed. On closer inspection, there's a note on the door saying they are open. They've just closed the door to keep out the heat.

It's very dark inside. Rather like a dive bar, which is what Grant tells me it used to be. A pretty unslaubrious place, from his description. Now it's both a beer bar and brewpub. The brewing kit is hidden in another part of the building. Unfortunately, the brewer isn't around, so we can't take a look. He's off judging somewhere.

I get a sampler flight of Monkey Paw beers and a cheese steak with waffle fries. I thought cheese steak was a Philadelphia thing? As they have malt vinegar, I finish all my strangely-shaped chips.








San Diego Museum of Man (http://www.museumofman.org/)
1350 El Prado, Balboa Park
San Diego, CA 92101
Tel: +1 619 239-2001
http://www.museumofman.org/


Coronado Brewing Company (http://coronadobrewingcompany.com/)
170 Orange Ave
Coronado, CA 92118
http://coronadobrewingcompany.com/


Monkey Paw (http://monkeypawbrewing.com/)
805 16th St,
San Diego, CA 92101.
Tel: +1 619-358-9901
http://monkeypawbrewing.com/

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