Monkey Paw, the newest member of the Blair Bar Empire, opened its doors on August 23rd at 5PM. Propietor Scot Blair stood by the entrance shaking hands as the first customers shuffled into the newest addition to the rapidly improving Downtown craft beer scene.
I was able to grab Scot for a few questions. What’s with the name? “The monkey’s paw is considered good luck in lots of cultures.” He also stated that the name lent itself perfectly to creative branding, gesturing to the stained glass bearing the pub’s namesake.
The bar took around six months from inception to opening, and Karen Blair describes the decor: “It’s like you’re drinking a beer in Ireland during the 1700s.” Stained glass adorns the south and south west walls of the pub, giving the interior a naturally-lit, abbey-style glow. The bar area fades into a communal seating area as you move south. A long, narrow communal table a few feet behind the actual bar provides bar stool seating. Then, low tables similar to the ones found in Small Bar bring groups together, while high tables with equally high chairs adorn the wall.
With 30 tap handles and 50-70 bottles, the beer selection is awesome. Drinking a Cantillon Kriek on draft, I saw the motifs from the previous Blair bars – but this recipe is different. “I wanted to provide painstaking quality without pretension” Blair explains. “This looks like no other bar in San Diego.”
The most exciting element of the ‘Paw has yet to be revealed. A five-barrel system will field 3-4 constant taps of house made beer by brewer Derek Freese (plucked from local homebrew club CHUG). Blair reports that there will be Monkey Paw beer on tap by the end of the year (3-4 months).
It was open less than an hour, but Monkey Paw hummed with the collective experience Blair earned from Small Bar, Eleven, and Hamilton’s. Sipping my beer, I grabbed Scot for one final question. “How the hell did you get Cantillon on tap?” He shrugs, “I’m awesome.” With a flawless record of opening outstanding craft beer establishments, I’m inclined to agree.
Want to know more about the other Blair bars? Check out our February 2011 cover story.
More pictures from the first hour of Monkey Paw can be found on our facebook.