Bolt Brewery to strike in Little Italy

It’s the fastest expansion in the history of the San Diego County craft beer scene. Just two months after opening La Mesa’s first brewery, the ownership of Bolt Brewery has taken possession of a property on Little Italy’s main drag and is in the process of permitting and build-out on a satellite tasting room to bring their beers to San Diego proper. Co-founder Molly Rust admits it’s all happening fast and faster than they’d planned. She and her partners weren’t even in the market for a second location (though it has always been a part of their business plan), but they were so enamored with their new digs that they simply couldn’t pass it up.

Located at 1971 India Street, the future tasting room will be installed in the 1,800 square foot former home of North End Lounge. Once remodeled, it will offer 20 taps of Bolt beer, wine, food, and both indoor and outdoor seating. The latter will be available from a patio with a view of the San Diego Bayfront. Rust says it’s all about getting their beer out to more people along with the “Bolt experience.” To that end, the Bolt teams hopes to create a friendly, comfortable atmosphere where people can chill out over beers.

The time frame for the Little Italy project has yet to be solidified, so for now, the only place to enjoy the full-on Bolt experience is at the sprawling outdoor tasting room at the company’s La Mesa brewery. On February 8, a fundraiser will be held to benefit a La Mesa fire inspector who is desperately in need of a heart transplant. Fifty percent of proceeds from all sales that day and monies raised via a raffle and silent auction will benefit his cause. If this is part of the Bolt experience, I’m all for its proliferation.