While all you suckers were stuck in the snow last month, my husband (from here on I will refer to him as Jones) and I were busy drinking some cervezas on the beach. And wow the Mexican Riviera is really warm and sunny this time of year! Our cruise out of San Diego took us down to Mazatlan, home to the Pacifico Brewery, and because I did absolutely ZERO prep-work for this trip I had no idea it was there. (So it kinda counts as trail magic.)
Jones and I made the 10 block walk through the Mexican ghetto following the large tower we could see from the ship.
And TA-DA! the brewery tour (led by the two cutest girls in Mexico) is free! We got the basic, "how we brew beer" tour, which isn't really different from any other brewery tour. However, I did learn that Pacifico is the same company as Modelo Negro, Corona and Estrella, AND I learned that it was started by 4 German immigrants. The tour also takes you through their bottle washing, sanitizing and refilling plant, which was something new for me to see... and yes, it is just like Laverne and Shirley, but we couldn't find a glove to put on the conveyor.
We ended up at the top of the tower, sipping some free Pacificos while walking through a mini-museum and using the city's cleanest bathrooms. (I'm no
t joking here folks, when yo
u find a clean bathroom, even moderately clean, use them!)
As we moved down the Mexican coast the weather got hotter and the cervezas got cheaper. $1 Amercian could get you a cold one just about everywhere, pour it in a plastic cup and you're free to walk around. But don't overlook the deliciousness of the margarita, or the luxury of Coke made with real sugar when you go... I don't know what's in the Diet Coke in Mexico, but it tastes awesome and I swear it got me a little high.
Back in San Diego we stumbled across the bar Top Gun's "You've lost that lovin' feeling" scene was filmed at (Kansas City BBQ) and even better the Coronado Brewing Company. Just a 15 minute ferry ride from San Diego is the little island of Coronado. It's famous for the Hotel del Coronado, where Some Like It Hot was filmed. It's totally worth the ride out for the cupcake bakery and a great brewery. The West Coast kinda thinks it kicks butt at hoppy beers, and generally I think, "ppfffttt". But Coronado Brewing Company makes a delicious, fully hopped IPA that they call the "Idiot" mainly due to the 8.5% alcohol making you into an idiot that thinks drinking 3 of them is a good idea. I loved it! The hardest part for me was deciding which beers to try with only one night to drink. If falling down drunk isn't in your vacation plans they have the Islander Ale IPA or the Mermaid Red Ale that has a little more caramel roast, but not too sweet.
Skal!
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