“We Are Committed To Making Beers That Are Distinct
From Others Brewed In San Diego County!”

Our fine hand crafted European style beers have a distinctive Lightning Finish: a crisp, clean aroma, pronounced maltiness and a prolonged and slightly bittering finish. Our beers are good to drink on their own, and great with food. We have proven that you don’t need to travel to Europe to enjoy beers of these styles and of this caliber!

At Lightning we brew “Better Beer Through Science.” We believe that good beer can be the result of chance and that great beer is the result of an in-depth understanding of the beer making process. We take care to control each stage of the brewing cycle, never skimp on how long each step takes and only use the highest quality ingredients: malted barley, hops, yeast, plus a healthy dose of science.

- Jim Crute, Ph.D. (Biochemistry)
Lightning Philosophy


What makes our beer different?

Our goal is to make the best beer possible using traditional, finely-honed brewing, fermentation, and packaging processes. First, we decided to mostly focus on premium European style beers made from only the finest available ingredients. We take great pains to internationally source our malts, yeasts and hops. Second, we have decided to invest in a brewing system that allows us to recreate distinctive European beer styles locally. Third, we have decided to use selected strains of yeast for each of our beer styles. We do not have a “house strain” of yeast. Instead we use separate yeast strains to ferment our Kölsch, Lagers, Hefeweizen, Porter, and Ales. Finally, we ferment and age each of our beers with their own yeast long enough to allow the yeast to smooth out many of the rough aromas and tastes associated with young beer.

At Lightning, we are focused on being a brewery that does not follow-on the great beers made by other breweries in San Diego County. Instead, we pride ourselves on extending the spectrum of great beers made locally. Included in the implementation of our philosophy is the adage of “Better Beer Through Science.” We strive to make truly great beers in a way that is robust and reproducible.


Learn more about the brewery and brewing process