Summit Brewing Company is a regional

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, United States, that brews a wide selection of

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

s. In 2017, Summit Brewing was the 25th largest craft brewer in the country and produced approximately 115,000

barrels A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids ...

of beer, with a capacity of 240,000 barrels per year. Their flagship beer has been an English Pale Ale branded as Summit Extra Pale Ale''.'' The brewery was founded in 1986 by local homebrewer Mark Stutrud and a group of his friends in an old auto parts warehouse on St. Paul's University Avenue. The company grew as the beers became popular locally. In 1987, the Great Northern Porter won a gold medal at the

Great American Beer Festival The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is an annual beer festival hosted by the Brewers Association, held in Denver, Colorado. Typically held in late September or early October, the event is currently held at Denver's Colorado Convention Cente ...

and was featured on the cover of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's ''New World Guide to Beer'' (1988). By 1998 the company's beer production had exceeded the capacity of the original University Avenue brewery, and a new brewery, designed by architect Peter O'Brien, was built on the west end of St. Paul, overlooking the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. Still in operation, it was the first new brewery built from the ground up in St. Paul since before

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

. Having outgrown its original brewing equipment, Summit sold its 1938-vintage brew house to Mt. Shasta Brewing Company in Northern California. They then purchased an all-copper, authentic German brew house built in 1971 from the Hürnerbräu Brewery in Ansbach Germany. , Summit beers are available from distributors in five U.S. states (

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

). The brewery currently brews seven year-round styles, a variety of seasonal styles, and limited release beers. 2018 saw the launch of new year-round beers such as Summit Dakota Soul, a traditional Czech-style Pilsener; Summit Skip Rock, a white ale; and Summit Keller Pils, an award-winning, unfiltered German-style Pilsner. In July 2018, Summit Brewing Company completed a renovation of the Summit Ratskeller, its public bar and patio area in St. Paul. The Summit Ratskeller features Summit's entire lineup of beers, plus exclusive beers served only on site. The Rathskeller also provides access to the Summit Brewing Co. Gift Shop as well as tours of the brewery. , Summit Brewing Co. remains the second-largest brewery in Minnesota, after August Schell Brewing Company. Summit reached an agreement with the Minnesota Twins baseball team in 2021, renaming their Keller Pils to Twins Pils. The distinctive Minnesota Twins bat-shaped tap handles are made by Pillbox Bat Company in Winona, Minnesota. In 2023, Mark Stutrud announced that he was retiring as CEO of Summit Brewing Company after 37 years. He was replaced by Summit's former Chief Strategy Officer, Brandon Bland.{{cite news , work=Minnesota Public Radio News , last1=Crann , first1=Tom , last2=Ngoc , first2=Bui , last3=Levin , first3=Lukas , title=Retiring Summit Brewing CEO reflects on Minnesota's changing beer scene , date=20 October 2023

References

External links

Brewing Company
Beer brewing companies based in Minnesota Manufacturing companies based in Saint Paul, Minnesota