San Diego, CA (10.03.-11.04.) (1) 1999 watapi.

Benchmark Brewing Co.

My first stop in sunny San Diego was Benchmark Brewing. Brewmaster and co-founder Matt showed me around their nice 10hl brewery. The brew kettle is steam-heated, and like many others, they also mash in the lauter tun. Despite having 10 beers on tap, they only use 4 fermentation & aging tanks (+2 pressure tanks), as they mainly brew lighter beers with an alcohol content of 4-5.5%. They also have a small can filler and a pilot brewing system. I always find it amusing to see the warnings in the tasting rooms reminding people that alcohol can be dangerous.

Of course, I couldn't miss the games of the new Alliance of American Football (AAF) team, San Diego Fleet (29:32 against Birmingham Iron), and the new Indoor Football League (IFL) team, San Diego Strike Force (45:53 against Green Bay Blizzard). The 'normal' football game at the former Chargers' stadium (NFL) was particularly impressive, and it got really exciting and loud in the stadium.