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 prod ...

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 be ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

, United States, that brews a wide selection of

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

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, u ...

of beer, with a capacity of 240,000 barrels per year. Their flagship beer has been an

English Pale Ale Bitter is an English style of pale ale that varies in colour from gold to dark amber, and in strength typically from 3% to 5.5% alcohol by volume. History The term "bitter" has been used in England to describe pale ale since the early 19th cent ...

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 A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

. The company grew as the beers become 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 Center. ...

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 one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

'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 second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. 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 ...

. Having outgrown its original brewing equipment, Summit sold its 1938-vintage brew house to

Mt. Shasta Brewing Company Mt. Shasta Brewing Company is a brewery in Weed, California. The company markets some brands as Weed Ales & Lagers. Owners Vaune and Barbara Dillmann began commercial production in 2003. Mount Shasta Brewing Company is licensed to distribute its ...

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 state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. 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 Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

). 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. The Summit Ratskeller features Summit's entire lineup of beers, plus exclusive beers serves only on site, tours, and the Summit Brewing Co. Gift Shop. , Summit Brewing Co. remains the second-largest brewery in Minnesota, after

August Schell Brewing Company The August Schell Brewing Company is a brewing company in New Ulm, Minnesota that was founded by German immigrant August Schell in 1860. It is the second oldest family-owned brewery in America (after D. G. Yuengling & Son)Fessler, Paul"August S ...

References

External links

Summit Brewing Company
{{coord, 44, 54, 50, N, 93, 8, 22, W, display=title Beer brewing companies based in Minnesota Manufacturing companies based in Saint Paul, Minnesota