Best Hefeweizen this side of Munich! I've been frequenting Lightning for 18+ years, and in all that time the quality of the beer has remained exceptional. The ambiance has evolved, of course, but it has always stayed warm, inviting, and genuinely friendly. I've made many new friends at Lightning -- I bet you will too. Jim is a terrific host, and with the wide selection he keeps on draft, there truly is something for everyone. Come for the beer, stay for the hospitality and the special events! read more

Always love coming here for Oktoberfest. Jim and the rest of the employees always treat their customers like family. We love coming here since it's such a unique spot and always feels like a welcoming gathering of friends and family. Beers are so so soooo good every time. This is the best microbrewery in San Diego! We've come for the last 5 years, onto the next 5 years! (and more of course) read more

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I've always been on the look out for great German style beer in San Diego and I really found a winner when I started going to Lightning. Jim makes a solid hefe and his fruited beers are always great. I really enjoy my time in the taproom with Lauren and all the regulars and there's no better way to end my week than with a cold brew during happy hour. Between the IPAs and more traditional styles, my husband and I both always have something on tap we like. read more

Lightning Brewery - Patio at Lightning is a great spot to catch the 4th of July fireworks. - Breweries Near Me - Poway, California

I don't normally write posts like this, but I feel like others deserve a heads-up about my recent experience at Lightning Brewery. We stopped in hoping for a relaxed drink and maybe to discover a new favorite local beer. What I got instead was one of the worst customer service experiences I've had at a brewery. First, the place was nearly empty--which should've been a red flag. There were dirty glasses sitting on the counter, no greeting when we walked in, and the general vibe was cold and unwelcoming. The woman was sitting on a stool sipping an orange drink. I ordered a beer and after just one sip, realized it was sour, off-tasting, and honestly just bad. When I politely asked to exchange it for something else (having barely touched it), the response was shockingly rude. The staff member--who was visibly irritated from the moment I walked in--refused, saying they "you can buy one." No apology, no flexibility, just attitude. It was a simple request that could've been handled with a little professionalism or basic courtesy--but neither was an offer. When a place serves questionable beer and doubles down with terrible service, it's not a spot I'll be returning to--or recommending. There are too many great breweries out there doing it right. Don't waste your time here. read more

Cute little place in poway near Costco. When you turn into an industrial park, drive to the back corner. I tried: Thunder weizen 9 Biergarten helles 8 light beer Elemental Pilsner 7 Ionizer lager 9 Passion fruit wheat 8 Sauerstrom ale 10 Electrostatic 8 Red arc 8 heavy beer read more

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I've been stopping by Lightning for the past year and really like their different varieties of beer and unique rotations. Sometimes I'll come by and they'll have a taco truck and other times it's a fun celebration like Saint Paddy's Day or Oktoberfest with really good free food. It's a chill bar with a nice patio and the beertender always lets me sample the seasonal selections before I commit to a new beer. I highly recommend the Electrostatic Ale. read more

Best beer in San Diego! The black 'n tans are very satisfying, so is the root beer & cream soda

Loved the craft brews and the owner and woman working were lovely!! They do samples so try before you pick--great way to taste the selection! read more

Delicious beer made by knowledgeable dedicated folks. Happy hour 3-5pm everyday for $1 off each pour.

Outstanding beer and service! New brew with crushed grapes Vintners Special Ale Electrostatic ale Spicey imperial farmhouse ale with a smoker bbq taste. Ask Brian for history and beer information. Very interesting. Must stop for beer lovers! read more

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Went to "lightning brewery"the other day. Great verity of beers & a root beer for those that don't care for beer. Plenty of COVID Measures in place. Unfortunately you can not sit and enjoy a beer when we went, but get this wineries are ok to sit at. Makes you wonder why the wineries are allowed to sit people and Breweries are not?? I guess I need to know a politician-to understand this! Lightning is a great find-so glad we found it after a long COVID season. read more

Lightning Brewery - a man standing at the counter - Breweries Near Me - Poway, California

If "Cheers" and a brewery made a boozy baby, that baby would be Lightning. It's a cross between a cozy neighborhood bar and professional brewery. Surprisingly, it does both well! Here's what Lightning is not. It is not a place to go for dinner. It is not a place to go with a big group. It's not a flashy date spot. What you will find here is their main brewing location which also has a small bar / tasting lounge. I haven't had any beer here I haven't liked, and I've had a couple that I've loved. They also have good prices on growler fill-ups. You can get new growlers here too. There's a small outdoor seating area that is cute, and often cooler than it is inside. I like all of their "extras": days with free tastings, occasional snacks being served, special events (engineering night!), and more. It's a small but fun spot, and worth checking out for a brewery experience in Poway that is a bit outside the norm. read more

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What won me over was the great interaction with the gentleman(Brian) that was working. Very friendly, informative and REAL customer service. He check in on us and brought us testers of favorite types of beer(without us asking). You can tell he loves what he does because it spills over to his service. We tried 5 different beers.... all were great!! I love beer and honestly their beer is by far one of my favorites. Lightning Brewery double threat...Amazing beer and outstanding service. *** Brian was like this with everyone in the brewery, not just us. Again, real customer service! read more

Lightning Brewery - Double Integral and Biergarten Helles - Breweries Near Me - Poway, California

Small cozy venue with so many interesting persons that drop by. Every time I visit here, I've met new people, and spent the entire time in great conversation! It's mentally stimulating! Dog-friendly, which is important to me. Great food trucks on occasion. Highly recommend you give this place a try. I live in La Mesa, yet drive up to Poway regularly (and past multiple breweries on the way) to enjoy the conversations and low-key, welcoming atmosphere. read more

Chill brewery in Poway's business district. The bartender was friendly & hilarious haha. Great brew! Tasters cost either $1.50 or $2 so you can definitely try a good bulk of their menu. Thunderweizen Ale (Bavarian-Style Hefeweizen): Good! Elemental Pilsner (German-Style Lager): Really tasty & light! read more

Lightning Brewery - Breweries Near Me - Poway, California

Dropped by here today with Mr. W for redeeming a Groupon deal. Beer Tasting for Two: Includes 2 Four-pour 4-Oz Flights, 2 Souvenir Pint Glasses, 6pk Bottles. Entrance was more to the back after you see the sign for Lightning Brewery. We accidentally walked into their office - so you have to make sure to go past the place where you see the tanks and to the entrance where there's a small fenced seating area outside. Person behind the counter serving our drinks was such a sweetheart. She approved the Groupon deal, checked our IDs to make sure we were legal and then explained to us about the 6 pk bottles - you could take the Elemental Pisner or Thunderweizen. We ended up taking the Elemental Pisner as we were not fans of the Thunderweizen. I ended up getting those as 2 of my choices for tasters and the other 2 were the Saison Noir and the Helles Lager. Saison Noir was a bit sour - definitely could taste the fermentation. Helles Lager was the lightest of light - clean and crisp. Mr. W got the Electrostatic, Blue Sky IPA, Black Lightning Porter and the Deep Electron Bock. They were all too bitter in my opinion (as I love drinking something more on the fruity side) and one of them was sweet - I believe the Blue Sky IPA but had quite the bitter aftertaste. He was a fan of the Electrostatic even though it was a bit on the strong side. Got our 2 Souvenir Pint Glasses and could just grab the 6 pk bottles to go after we were done. Bathrooms were right next to the fridge with the bottles. Pretty fun to try out - and would not mind doing it again. read more

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If you love good, real beer, you gotta love San Diego County. Every time I'm in the area, I try to visit another craft brewery I haven't been to yet. On a recent visit, the girlfriend & I went to Lightning Brewery in Poway. It's hidden in the side of an industrial building in an unremarkable industrial park, but it has a tasting room open to the public. That tasting room & the entire brewing operation is all inside a not-too-large room. It's a small & basic setup with about 1/2 dozen taps + some of their stuff in bottles. It's a brewery in the simplest sense, so there's no food. If you need something to eat, you're on your own. This place is about drinking beer. The folks we met here were very cool. I discussed a number of beer topics with Rick, the "Beer Ambassador," who was very passionate & opinionated about beer. But, more importantly, I tried a bunch of beer! In fact, I tried just about everything they make. & liked all of it, to varying degrees. My personal favorite of their beers was a Barrel-Aged version of their Black Lightning Porter. Trying it side-by-side with their regular Porter, the Barrel-Aged Porter had richer flavor. San Diego County is an amazing place for high quality, full flavored craft beers. In an area with plenty of other well-regarded breweries, little Lightning Brewery has some good stuff to contribute to the San Diego beer scene. read more

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OK, this time was a much better experience! BTW we had the Groupon deal with four 4-oz flights each, 2 glasses, and a 6 pack. Sweet deal for $16! Bartender Annie was SUPER sweet and helpful - love that she gave us little cards she designed with beer options that we were able to choose from, and then she numbered them to identify our beers on the sampler. I really enjoyed the Black Lightning Porter, that was my favorite of the 4 that I tried. I liked the Bock a lot as well. We took home the Thuderweizen Ale as our 6 pack. Much more fun experience this time. Last time wasn't bad, it's just this time was much better. Definitely will go back, with or without a deal! :) read more

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In a word.... Wow. I was not thinking I would like these brews as much as I did, but they were impressive. The Black Lightning Porter and Electrostatic Ale alone are worth visiting here. The other beers are tasty too as they offer an Amber, Hefe, Pilsner, and a strong. They sell "short pours" at a discount which is a great bargain. Another no frills small industrial brewery that is making San Diego beer drinkers proud. Sure it is a little further away than the other San Diego based breweries, but well worth adding this place to your South County Brew tour along with AleSmith, Hess Brewing, and Ballast Point. Bring a designated driver... you'll need it read more

Lightning Brewery - Tasting at Lightning - Breweries Near Me - Poway, California

I bought a Living Social deal some months ago and the deal was expiring soon. I bought the deal not b/c I love beer but b/c the deal also included pint size glasses you get to take home. A friend works close by so we were actually able to make this tasting into a catching-up kinda get together. All four of us haven't hung out in ages so we were excited to visit this brewery mid week. The tasting room closed at 7p that day so that kinda sucked as we all met around 5:30p after work. The room is quite small (maybe 4 little tables) and it was completely empty when we got there. One lone bartender woman worked the counter that evening. Friend and I each received I think 4 tokens for a small tasting. I had heard the tasting pours were generous so we were a bit disappointed at the tasting size (so stop exaggerating about the sample pours on here everyone! - jk). Tasting pours should be just that - tastings. So we get it. I don't remember which beers people had so can't really offer any input there. The girl was nice explaining that we can trade in our two (?) tokens for a bigger pour than what we'd get in our medium pour (from the Living Social deal) I believe. So that was really cool of her to offer that tid bit. The tasting room eventually got busy and someone told us there's a private bday party at 7p. So it's nice to hear that this brewery has a following. It's hard not to compare this brewery to Ballast or Green Flash as the two aforementioned breweries are huge here in SD. I think I read that Lightening is expanding to hopefully have an outdoor space or beer garden (something like that). So I hope they succeed as there's potential here at Lightening. read more

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This place seriously cares about happy customers and making a great product. Great beer selection! And an opportunity to try their current experiments. The owner went above and beyond to make sure our cups were full and satisfied. Offered tastings of beers he thought we'd like just to get our feedback. Nice outdoor seating with a complimentary snack/app. Friendly atmosphere in a low key setting, highly recommend. read more

Great little place to try good clean beer. Pilsner is fantastic. It's just a bit small place but has lots of charm. read more

Lightning Brewery - Breweries Near Me - Poway, California

Jim makes great beer and is very user-friendly. Brian is a super nice guy. The customers here tend to be regulars and are very pleasant. I particularly like the dark brews. The Motor Oil stout is delish and the porter is excellent. They do half-pours, which I like as I prefer 4 of those (varying the product) to 2 full pints. read more

Somewhat quiet and out of the way, which was fine with us. Very kind, kid-friendly staff- free pretzels and mustard and craft soda for our kids. We liked the raspberry the best. Close to home, look forward to our next trip! read more

Great brewery with amazing staff. We stopped by for Friday happy hour and the brewmaster was there to talk us through the selection. Incredibly friendly and they told us to bring our kids and strollers next time. We will definitely be coming back with my growler! read more

Since we're on the subject of great brews, I've gotta talk about Lightning Brewery. We love, love, LOVE us some Lightning. This place is a completely hidden, teeny gem that is turning out some of the best craft brews I've ever had. Two words for you: ELEMENTAL PILSNER. Lightning Brewery actually has its beers in a surprisingly large amount of locations now, including Total Wine & More, even though I believe it's still just small batches. But go on a pilgrimage to Lightning mecca if you're in the San Diego area and meet the great people behind the tastes you love. Just a word of warning, Lightning Brewery is really nothing like other breweries you've probably been to. There are no drunk hipsters eating fancy grilled cheeses or playing shuffleboard--it's really just kind of like you stopped by your friend's garage for a few drinks. There is literally just a little warehouse space in a weird industrial park where all the magic happens. Totally not close to anything. And there's no grub. But it's worth it. What does this mean for you? You can stand around and taste as many beers as you like and talk to the guys that make it. What a treat. Though it's a small staff, all the guys are super nice and enthusiastic. You're not going to get any cute little mason jars filled with beer, but you can buy tokens for as many tasters as you want and the love and creativity really shines through in each of their selections. There are maybe about 8-10 beers that they have in their repertoire now, the pilsner being my favorite. I think I like these beers so much because they're very bright, clean beers--much more true to German, American and British styles than any of the current Belgian fads which are kind of hit or miss for me. They do have their Honey and Fig now which is almost more like a mead...I tried it because I can go for the sweet beers occasionally, and though it was good, it's not something I'd drink in large amounts. Definitely purchase a growler if you live in the area or think you'll visit often...they also have super cheap European-style growlers that are a little smaller and more convenient than the regular jugs you might be used to getting. If you're a beer fan at all, come discover Lightning Brewery and be inspired by the awesome things they're brewing! read more

My friends and I came here because of the living social deal. The deal sounded amazing: a full round of tastings, a medium pour, and a souvenir glass per person. You can't go wrong with such generous people. You would fear that it would not be that great because they were so free flowing with their beer. However, I'm glad I tried it because their beers were amazing! Give me more? Oh yes! Black Lightning Porter: Amazing as is with its nice malty flavor and chocolaty notes but it gets better with... Barrel Aged Black Lightning Porter: Amazing with a nice earthy flavor to it. Barrel Aged Black Lightning Porter Nitro: Like the above but with less bite and more of a creamy flavor. Chardonnay Barrel Aged Lightning Ale: A must try. A complexity of flavors that I enjoyed even though I'm all about stouts and porters. Bourbon Barrel Aged Amber Ale: This was quite amazing but got a bit overshadowed by my favorite ones from the list. Dunkelweizen: A really nice, drinkable, and enjoyable unfiltered beer. One of those you enjoy on a nice, hot day. Not only that but amazing and nice people such as Sarah who took the time to help us choose our beers. So you have a "loud" tasting room. Honestly, it was bustling but that is how a place should be. If people are happy, have great beer, and want to talk like mad or loud then that is a good sign that people want to stay and drink. I could easily hear my friends talk. Either that or I was the loud one. Either way, this place is amazing and I can't wait to try more great beers from them. Especially a brewery so bold to give me a cask aged black lightning porter on nitro. I'm still dreaming about that beer now. read more

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Lightning is a brewery that is relatively hidden and run by a very small staff which basically just consists of the head brewer, Jim, and the sales manager, Jamie. They're both pretty friendly people that run the business like a very large home brewer's garage. The rest of the staff there during their tasting hours aren't too knowledgeable on the specifics and work there as volunteers. There's no "tasting room" to speak of... only 8 taps drilled into the side of their walk in cooler located in the midst of all their brewing equipment. The scale of the operation is similar to Alesmith or Hess breweries and feels a bit homey and exclusive. Although this brewery has quite a few beers available, their selection is limited mainly to ales and German style beers. These ales tend to be pretty high ABV though, and pack a bit of a punch. Their black lightning porter is the most standout and different brew they have, so it's definitely worth trying. Our hero would urge you to pick up a few of Lightning's beers from liquor stores if you see them and plan a trip out to their brewery one day. It's not a bad place if you're into ales (not of the standard San Diego IPA variety). PROS: - Well priced tasters at $1 each or 6 for $5. - Jim (the brewmaster) is a friendly fellow and offers some helpful advice to other home brewers. CONS: - A bit hard to find and not near much else of interest in terms of restaurants, bars, etc. It might be a bit difficult to find, as there's no signs or anything and it's nestled deep in a industrial park. A trip down to Lightning is usually a well planned and targeted trip. - Very limited hours of operation for only 8 hours a week split between Friday and Saturday. - Beer styles here are limited mainly to ales and German beers. read more

Lightning Brewery - Lightning Brewery: 8 taps available for tasting and fills. - Breweries Near Me - Poway, California

time to kill while in Poway...what's there to do? i know! let's find a brewery..and we did. Lightening is super cute and intimate... service was friendly.. it's a bit hidden in the back of a warehouse complex... parking was easy. beer was good. nice =) i was a bit confused by the whole token purchase thing...since we just got all our samples at once...i believe it was 6 samples for $5...i guess if i wanted them one at a time the token's would have a good thing. read more

Lightning Brewery - Breweries Near Me - Poway, California

I've seen and been to a couple breweries were it's more of a bar/lounge setting. This is not one of those breweries. Imagine a small warehouse were you can see everything that's going on inside the warehouse and there's only 2 or 3 people working. That's how I felt when I came here. I really digged it because I felt like I found a hole in the wall and was getting a behind the stage VIP tour. Price. Most inexpensive brewery I've been to. $1 per 4 ounce cup or $5 for 6 tastes. We came on a Sunday around 1:30 pm and didn't know they weren't opened, but someone was actually working that day and was kind enough to give us a tour and some drinks. A little after we showed up, 4 or 5 other groups later followed. Maybe the boss should officially reopen the doors on Sundays if business is this good! The employee's name I believe was Rick and he was very nice and very patience to answer any all of our questions. He gave us a history of the brewery and all the beers. You'll probably try all the beers, but make sure you try the Thunderweizen if you like Hefs and the Electrostatic ale because it has a hint of all the different kinds of beers. read more

Lightning Brewery - Filling the kegs - Breweries Near Me - Poway, California

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I love the fact that there's finally a brewery in my home town of Poway. I love even more that Lightning is winning major awards. Made by brewers with a keen awareness of yeasts impact on flavor and German brewing laws, Lightning may just be what SD beer culture is missing. I hate the fact that I'm not their graphic designer. Snobby I know, but I just personally have a problem with their basic label design as it doesn't even come close to communicating the level of detail and craftsmanship that's put into each bottle. In fact, this is the 1st brewery I've been to in SD that's attracted people from other countries to specifically try their beer. We hung out with Germans during our tasting! That says a lot! Pros: 1) Owner Jim is accessible. Will gladly chat with you about beer. (He's also a Bio-Chemist). 2) Brewmasters are friendly and customer attentive with your questions. 3) Tastings are reasonably priced and the selection is exceptional for a small brewery. 4) Find the Beer You Desire with the Lightning Beer Finder App! 4) Makes a great day date. Cons: 1) Extremely limited standing space, with a token system for tastings. 2) Slightly hard to find. 3) I'm not their graphic designer. Try: Amber Ale Black Lightning Porter Double Strike IPA Electrostatic Ale Elemental Pilsner Old Tempestuous Ale Sauerstrom Ale Thunderweizen Ale read more

Doesn't even deserve 1 star. Twice now we've come and they've been closed despite posted hours and the hours on their phone recording. That's it for us, won't be back. read more

This brewery is definitely different than a lot of the beers I've tasted in San Diego, and trust me, I've been to plenty. The bock was my favorite. I usually like porters but the black lightning porter was a bit too strong for my taste. One of the beers tasted exactly like franziskaner. The tasting room is small and they don't offer food other than the huge pretzels. It kind of says how serious the brewery is about the beer. Get the Groupon deal, if it's around. For 16 bucks, you'll get 8 4-oz, 2 souvenir glasses, and a 6 pack ;) read more

Lightning Brewery - Breweries Near Me - Poway, California

A tasting room that leans on the smaller side, but finished with several high tables and counter space along the edges of the room makes for a cozy little experience. The bar area is quite small so it can be somewhat difficult to order, especially if the bar seats are full. Service was quick and very friendly, though, and I'm glad they're open for longer hours on weekends now! I believe they're beginning to host food trucks on Fridays and they're also attempting to build a biergarten (per the sign posted near the restroom), but it's a great little stop to try their many special brews that you won't find elsewhere. Their pricing is run via tokens, however. $5 will get you 6 tokens. 4oz tasters run between 1-2 tokens, so depending on which beers you choose, you can either get 6 tasters of most beers, or fit in fewer tasters of rare beers (i.e. bourbon barrel aged) which run 2 tokens each. If you're headed to/from Costco the back way, you can spot their gray flag on the edge of the driveway. Keep going straight in the plaza until you turn the first corner and you'll see the brewery on your left! read more

Lightning Brewery - Look for this entrance, around the corner' - Breweries Near Me - Poway, California

Pretty good time at Lightning Brewery this weekend. We tried a flight with four 4-ounce pours. I had the Elemental Pilsner, Kolsch, Bock and Saison Noir. I definitely recommend their Saison Noir for a super unique take on the belgian beer variety, I had never seen a black Saison before and the roasted flavors went great with the saison base!! The Bock was my favorite, however. Really well-rounded with great flavors. Other ones were OK but nothing overly special. The tasting room itself is over 1 year old, and the brewery is 10 years old, making it one of SD's oldest. We got there right at 1pm when they opened, and boy was that a good decision. The place was PACKED by 1:30! The inside and outside, with a huuuuge line. Service was OK, but I'd recommend having two people pouring since the line seemed to take 10-15 min for some folks. To sum it up, lightning had some really good, unique choices. I'd say they are above the average SD brewery in terms of beer quality and taste, however I wouldn't say they go above and beyond either. Good place to check out on a brewery tour, but I'd say a definite MUST is their neighbor Cellar 3. Now that's an epic brewery you can't miss! Why not do both? ;) read more

I work really close to this brewery and have been a customer for some time. The staff is very accommodating and friendly. They have bar snacks that you can enjoy with the good variety of top knock craft beers. Thank you Lighting Brewery Crew. read more

Drove an hour with some friends to meet some people. Place is FANTASTIC. There's a ton of breweries in SD county, and this place is probably one of my favorites so far. Service is great, beer is great, croud is great. What more can you ask for? read more

Lightning Brewery - Breweries Near Me - Poway, California

I give this place a 5! Great beers and good prices on the growlers! Great service for the bartender to come by our table to ask us for Peanuts or Pirates Booty for snacks! They sale brand purple or black t-shirts for $20! Can't wait to try their banana type flavored twisted beer! A secret brewery in the commercial area of Poway! read more

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Just like all other reviews state, you are treated so very well when visiting for a tasting. When there is such a strong sense of pride and passion in what you do (in this case the craft of beer), it will reflect on how you treat those who come to share in what you love. Great selection of complimentary snacks and even homemade soda for kids. Enjoy time spent outside in the patio drinking beer and playing cards or having conversation. BONUS - if you are coming from or going to Costco, this is a great pit stop. read more

There is a lot that can be said about Lightening. I believe that this place does not receive the credit that it deserves. As a few other reviews have stated, this is not your typical SoCal brewery. This place is primarily focused on German style ales, lagers and pilsners, and they do them well. When I first came to the brewery a few years ago, I don't think i realized what great work that they were doing here. Since then, I have traveled to Germany and upon re-tasting these beers, I feel that their beer is well crafted and definitely true to style. Now for the detailed breakdown: New tasting room: I like it because it is much larger than the old space, but it does not depart from the no frills (you sit next to the malted barley) brewery tasting room. Service: Good! Beer highlights: Elemental Pilsner: Excellent Pilsner, very true to style. It reminded me of my favorite pilsner from Eastern Germany called Jever Pilsener Kolsch: Probably the best kolsch I have tasted. Perfect malt balance and a great mouthfeel. Double Strike with Nelson Hops on Cask with Passion fruit: Wow this was a rare treat that was juicy from both the Passion fruit and the Nelson hops. They didn't have the Lager on tap that day, but it is also good. The only thing that I worry about is that these guys are having a bit of a hard time with the hopaholics of SoCal. This is apparent with the mixed beer offerings ranging from lagers to double IPAs (and the recent re-branding of their Amber to a Red IPA). My advice (for what it is worth) is to stick with what makes this place great. I will be back and I have already told a few of my friends. read more