When Jim Crute opened Lightning Brewery in an industrial-zoned business suite in Poway, it was the inland North County municipality’s lone beermaking facility. That was 2006. Fast-forward two decades and nothing has changed. Despite AleSmith Brewing and Karl Strauss Brewing having non-brewing locations down the street from Crute’s business, and Little Miss Brewing having operated a satellite tasting room on Scripps Poway Parkway from 2022 to 2025, Lightning remains the only beer-brewing site within city limits. (Editor’ Note: Green Flash Brewing also operated a brewhouse-equipped barrel-aging facility in Poway called Cellar 3 from 2015 to 2018.)
Even though there were only around 10 other competing brewing companies in all of San Diego County when Crute chose where to lay down stakes, Poway’s “craft-beer desert” status was still a big part of its appeal. Being the only game in town allowed Crute to largely do things his way, forming long-lasting relationships with his clientele along the way. He says “being around nice folks that also enjoy really great beer” is what he will miss most, but the scientist-turned-brewer says he will permanently close the doors to his business following taproom service on Friday, January 30.
“The COVID pandemic was a game-changer that accelerated an alteration of the marketplace,” says Crute, when asked what prompted his decision. “There are more options, in general: a much larger number of little breweries, the introduction of pre-packaged craft cocktails, wider spread availability of kombucha-based hard beverages, the introduction of actually-OK-tasting non-alcoholic beers, an aging population where older folks more closely watch their alcohol consumption and a younger population that is not as attracted to beer or other alcoholic beverages.”
Operating under the tagline “better beer through science”, Crute’s outlier status extended beyond geography to the styles of beer in Lightning’s portfolio. While most local breweries were locked in an all-out war to craft the boldest, most blatantly bitter West Coast IPA, Crute initially vowed not to produce that style at all (he later relented), instead crafting Old World styles hailing from the U.K., Belgium and Germany. Far ahead of lager’s modern-day renaissance, he was brewing multiple lagers, regardless of the fact there was not yet much of a market for them.
In 2010, Crute expanded his production capabilities after Stone Distributing Co. signed Lightning to its brand catalog. Both entities believed there was a place in the market and holes on store shelves and tap lists, which Lightning’s beers – particularly its Bavarian-style wheat ale, Thunderweizen, and German-inspired Elemental Pilsner – could fill. Ultimately, underperformance led to the partnership being terminated, leaving Crute to figure out a way forward on his own, which proved challenging but not impossible.
“Being optimistic in the face of challenges is always a challenge,” says Crute, referring to the difficulties of self-distribution post-Stone and attracting as much foot traffic to his brewery as in previous years as more and more brewing companies and satellite tasting rooms opened up throughout the county. Those obstacles and others prompted him to put Lightning up for sale in 2016, before instead choosing to completely reconfigure his business to keep it going in a different form.
In 2017, Crute sold off most of Lightning’s assets, while decreasing his business’ physical footprint to fit into a single business suite and resizing the business into a nanobrewery. Fans of Lightning rallied to assist Crute in this pivot, contributing funds to help with construction of a patio-equipped taproom that has been the lone spot to enjoy the company’s beers since its debut in 2018. It has served Crute well over the years, though not well enough to bring in the revenue necessary to continue on.
Looking back on the past 20 years, Crute cites his first keg sale and getting bottled beer to market as his biggest achievements as a brewery owner. He’s also immensely proud of taking gold in the Wheat Beer category at the California State Fair in 2011 and 2012, and earning Best of Show at the 2012 competition for his English-style old ale, Old Tempestuous Ale.
Crute says he will miss interacting with his regulars, and hopes they will come out before the week is through to share a toast and a proper farewell. Lightning’s tasting room will be open this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 3 to 7 p.m.
Lightning Brewery is located at 13200 Kirkham Way, #106 in Poway