Lightning Strikes Twice and a Mouth Full of Dishsoap

Lightning Brewery has started brewing again.  The West Coaster reports on the brewery's smaller scale re-boot.  Lightning has re-tooled its business model to focus on its tasting room, rather than retail distribution.  Lightning was ahead of its time, offering a pilsner as its core beer right when IPA's popularity was crushing all other styles.  I never drank much beer from Lightning, but I liked its beers when I had them, and while I find myself in Poway even less frequently, I am glad for Lightning that it is open again.

In unrelated news, I recently had a crowler of pale ale from an Ocean Beach tasting room that had a persistent taste of dishsoap.  And no, it was not a glass washer issue.  I do not want to name the brewery because I like the space.  I know that is a silly reason, but a good tasting room atmosphere is not easy to achieve and I don't want to slam the place for one off beer.  But I have found this brewery's beers inconsistent, and unfortunately its beers are only fair at their best, so even small errors in the brewing process make drinking a crowler a challenge.