Northern Ale Guide, Stop 13 - Summit Brewing

Stamp Number 13: Summit Brewing Company, 910 Montreal Circle, St. Paul.

Oops. I haven't posted in more than a month. I apologize.

I think most people reading this blog have heard of Summit beer. It's the craft brewery that thrived even before the craft beer boom. I was never a fan of their original beer, the Extra Pale Ale, so I was late to the Summit train. But it seems like each new beer they release is better than the last. They're become far more than a pale ale brewery.

Proof of visiting Summit. Pretty sure at least one of those beers
is the Summer seasonal.

Summit didn't always have a taproom to go with their beer, but now that they have one, they've done a good job with it. Their interior space is huge - they have far more indoor space than they really need, all with nicely arranged picnic tables. If I wanted to drink on a crappy day, that'd be a great place to pick. It'd be hard to feel crowded in there.

Their outside space is small, but well done. They have a big green space that's been used for games of Kubb both times I've been there, and their deck area is nice for its size. The biggest complaint I have is that its location - tucked behind the tall brewery building, next to the river trees - makes it often shady. We went in early May, and the sun was already behind the building at about 5:00, making it genuinely cold on the patio (maybe that's why the interior space was so nice?). Summit seems to have no problem with people moving their patio furniture into the parking lot to catch more sun, so that will extend your evening if you're there near sundown.

I'll go to Summit again. It's very close to our house, and I'd really like to learn how to play Kubb sometime.