Head Brewer and President, Jim Crute began brewing in graduate school in the early 80's and kept his hobby alive through a Ph.D. and over 20 years in the biotech and pharma industry. Through all the years of homebrewing his friends always enjoyed his beers and by 2006 Lightning began selling their first beers in the local market.

Now Lightning is in its 10th year and is recognized as a leader in lager and German beer styles with over 40 nationally recognized gold, silver, and bronze medals earned in competition. Better beer through science.

Lightning is dedicated to exploring and perfecting the classic craft beer styles. Achieving classic craft flavors involves painstaking selection from among the various strains of yeast, hops and grains from all over the world.

Our lager beers are made with yeast hybridized from a strain 17th Century explorers brought from Patagonian mountains. Visit the Lightning Brewery beer tasting room and see for yourself that we have some of the finest beer in San Diego.

Where some craft breweries speed up their maturation and intensify flavors by using additives, Lightning gives beer the time it takes to develop these distinctive notes . . . naturally.