Summit Brewing Company

Very nice taproom. Beers are inexpensive with pints being 4 dollars and an extra 3 dollars to take your pint glass home with you. A nice selection of beer for all palates!

Loved this brewery. We got there to late to make a tour but enjoyed ourselves anyway. They have a huge tap room and lots of choices on tap to enjoy. We were able to sit outside in the sun and they had live music going on. Lots of games in the lawn to pass the time with friends. Local food truck was on scene and the pork tacos where delicious. Will definitely have to make it there again to try and get on again tour. But if not I’ll enjoy more beer anyway!

Great taproom with a ton of great beers to try! Cool gift shop too. Lots to look at. Reasonable prices. Time it right for a free brewery tour and samples!

Man, I LOVE this place! It has such a great beer-​hall vibe! I love this place all year, but around Christmas time its extra cozy.
Anyway, the tour they offer is very quick, but you get 4 4-​ounce samples to try, so you might as well do it. After that, grab a board game and a full size beer for a mere $ 4 and settle in. They always have really tasty food trucks on site too, and some less common beers on tap, like the ones from their Unchained series, which I HIGHLY recommend.

This place has been around since the late ‘70s. Quite a fixture in the Twin Cities area. I tried their Saga IPA, Nitro stout, and a couple of others. Everything was solid as was the space there. I was there for a private event but I’m sure this place would normally be rocking. Good prices as well. I’ll be back for sure whenever I’m in the area.

Tried the new brew in the Unchained series. The Sticke Alt cask ale was very dark (black) and very smooth. I’d compare the carbonation to that of Guinness drought. But the flavor is much better.

I like their location, facilities and big parking lot. But… I’m not a fan of their beers. The flavor is more on the line of mainstream than craft. But oh well…

Don’t miss this place if you are visiting the Twin Cities. If you have the time, take the tour as this is the craft brewery that started the craze in this area. As others have said, they have a large beer hall and an excellent outdoor patio to enjoy if the weather permits. Great beer at a good price. They do not have a kitchen, but they do have food trucks on Friday and Saturday nights when the beer hall is open to the public.

Tour = 2.5−3 stars
Staff = 5 stars
Bottom line: skip the tour, go for the beer hall
Given how nice the folks at Summit are and what they do to give back to the community, it saddens me to say that the tour was a letdown. We arrived a bit early for the tour and were warmly greeted by the staff. Your tour gets you 4 samples and they let us get started on ours while we waited in the beer hall. They have a stash of games to pass the time. The brewery is big and very nice, it looks much newer than it is. When compared to Surly, Surly feels like an adult playground and Summit feels industrial, like the area it’s situated in. That’s not a bad thing, there’s just a very different vibe.
Things to note when coming for a tour:
1) You have to wear closed toe shoes, no exception
2) You can’t buy beer onsite, unless the beer hall is serving that evening
3) Bring some food to donate
The website is really good about breaking down all of these details for you.
Our tour started out with an explanation of Summit’s history and how they came to reside at their current location; the talk was supplemented by a PowerPoint. Personally, I think they could jazz this part up a little; Milwaukee Brewing Company is an example of a brewery that has made their video portion quite entertaining. After the talk we learned that we couldn’t see much of brewery since they were brewing. I thought this was really odd since (1) breweries are almost always brewing and (2) I’ve been on at least a dozen tours and this has never been an issue. We donned our safety googles and went behind the scenes, but we really just stood in one loud room straining to hear and then moved into the bottling/​kegging area to see how that was done. In other words, if you really want to get a birdseye view of their process, this tour will leave you wanting more.
If I could do it over again, I would’ve booked our tour on a day when the beer hall was open. We really enjoyed the knowledge and kindness of the staff and Summit’s ongoing commitment to St. Paul*, but felt the tour fell short.
* In addition to accepting food donations, they let local non-​profits use the beer hall for events.

Wanna relax on a big patio with your dog and a great beer?
Here’s your place.
They do have the big hall which you can sit in and enjoy your choice of beer, but even better they have a huge patio outside that has a lot of seating and tables to enjoy yourself. They are very dog friendly and even had a table set up while I was there to purchase your dog a treat. Also set up in the parking lot was a dog was, kinda random but neat since a lot of pups were out there. I noticed a lot of people that biked up here to grab some beers too, they had little posts to lock your bike up. I’m sure it’s not the same truck here everytime, but they did have a food truck parked outside if you wanted to grab some grub too.
Onto the beer. I’m not too familiar with Summit beers, so I asked the ladies behind the bar what they recommend and they were very knowledgable and I ended up getting exactly what I wanted. I believe it was called Summer? How fitting. Definitely want to come back on a lazy day and play some board games over some tasty beer!
Forgot to mention, they do Brewery tours! I did not get to do one yet, but I hear you get FREE BEER!!!

I think anyone who likes beer, local business, environmentalism or free stuff would love this. It’s not a far drive from the center of St. Paul.
You get free beer (a full tasting menu at another place that could run like 11 $). The gift shop is good too, we bought two really nice pint glasses for not too much.
I do think the tour could spend a little less time on how great the Summit EPA is but then again, I hate EPAs in general. I really loved how they talked about Finnegan’s which is a non-​profit craft brewery that uses some of Summit’s materials and helps the homeless. (I’m specifically going to buy that now that I am aware of it.)
Thanks Rachel! She did a great job and was really funny for a tour that could be really boring.

This is a review of the taproom. As all long time Twin Cities craft beer drinkers know, these guys are the first. Despite the fact that I have been drinking their brews for 20 years, I have never visited the brewery. A Friday evening out with my brother was reason enough to visit their tap room/​beer hall. It was fairly crowded as we arrived at 6:30pm and slowly faded as we approached the 9pm close. 9pm? Well it is St Paul and it was actually great to be home by 10.
The beer assortment was good, all of their regular beers and a couple of unchained series as well. My brother and I have been a big fans of their unchanged series which has created several outstanding efforts. When I told my brother that I was going to Unilocal the taproom, I asked what rating he would give it. He said 3.5. I agreed but said I was going to round up to 4 because it has a nice atmosphere, has a food truck outside, and plenty of variety. They cover the spectrum of malty to hoppy and lager to ales. They are really only missing the Belgian niche.
Far better beer than 612, better variety and atmosphere than Indeed, but not quite as cool as Dangerous Man. More taprooms to go.

Take a free tour during the week and you’ll be given 2 free samples of their beer! Pretty awesome deal if you ask me because tour is actually interesting and nothing beats beer right outta the brewery — seriously.
Aside from that, their taproom is open Fridays & Saturdays 4−9PM for flights and pints :-)
Sadly, no growlers. If they did have growlers, I doubt they would have any beer left… So maybe that’s a good thing.
The taproom is nice and spacious. I’ve never had a problem finding a seat. They also have board games and coloring books.
The staff are awesome. I didn’t expect them to remember us when we returned for another visit but they did, which is always a good/​welcoming feeling! :-)
Oatmeal Stout is definitely a favorite of mine. If you’re able to get Oktoberfest while its in the taproom, definitely do so – it doesn’t get any better than that!

Great beer, great tour, at a fantastic price-​free! The tours are held Saturdays at 3 and you need to make a reservation ahead of time as they only take a limited number of people. Arrive early to get a spot and your 4 beer tasting tokens. A brief PowerPoint is given about the brewery and the beer in the tasting room. The group is split up into 2 smaller groups for a tour which lasts about 30 minutes. Our tour guide was great and it was neat to see the inside operation behind brewing and bottling. I was ready for some sampling after the tour and tried the pale ale and Octoberfest. I also recommend the root beer! Lots of indoor and outdoor seating and a fun thing to do on a Saturday!

My buddies and I were on a bus tour of the history of St. Paul Brewing put on by the Minnesota Historical Museum. Super cool bus tour and fun.
The first stop was the newer Summit brewery. I have been here before when they used to host our homebrew club’s awards ceremony. I have met the owner multiple times and he is always super cool.
They give you 4 chips for 4 7 oz brews, I got a specialty Australian lager for the tour, which was awesome. They showed us the boiling kettles, the bottling line, the fridge, basically everything in a brewery.
They also have great food trucks that show up to soak up the booze for when the tap room opens. Gotta love good food and beer and they have some outside seating when it is a nice day outside.
The owner’s kid gave the tour and she was super nice and had a lot of good levity on the tour. At least I think it was the owner’s kid.
The beers were fantastic and I really enjoyed the slide show showing the history of the brewery from where I remembered them on Summit Ave. in St. Paul.

Guys… this is a NO BRAINER.
Summit Brewery is just off the bike trails that run throughout the city, tours are FREE, and with the tour you get 4 samples — FREE. Beers are tasty.
Definitely go with the later tour option (we did 3 or 3:30PM) so when you’re done, the tasting room is open. Tasting room opens around 4PM on saturdays, depending on how heavily they are staffed (possibly a little earlier). Otherwise you finish your samples and have to leave (lame).
Of the beers I tasted — Loved the red IPA, the Summit EPA, and the oatmeal stout. I had to get back on my bike, so three samples was about all I could ingest and not topple over (lightweight!!).
Overall — a great place to go with friends — beer hall is large, good for groups. There are outdoor tables as you ride/​drive/​walk up. Also plentiful bike racks if you bike with a group.
We will be back this summer to enjoy again!

It’s tough to give a place with free beer less than a stellar review. I think I love the Summit brand more than I actually like beer. Having been on the tour probably 6 times (embarrassing? no.) I was pretty impressed with last Saturday’s 330pm tour and how they are shaking it up to compete with the profusion of micro breweries popping up in our dear town.
No more reviews of hops, malts, or that scientific hodgepodge that used to span the 30 minute lesson; the team reviews more detail on the brews on tap and actually walking through the ever growing tank-​room. Then… onto the tasting!
3 10 oz pours… meaning 30 ounces of pure oatmeal stout delight. My only recommendation would to have pints of coffee flavored haagan daaz as a side dish. Hey now — it’s my review.

The tour was free! The beer Free! But when I toured the place I couldn’t buy any beer and that made me a sad panda. Hopefully the laws in MN have changed so you can take home some Summit ales. I didn’t have time to go to the local bars that the guide suggested. Cool place though no sales that day.

I hate to do it but the tour was a big letdown. It’s not really a tour, it’s more of a presentation. The «guide» was alright but we didn’t really see anything «in action». You can’t drink beer until after the tour, which to me is kind of silly since you’re sitting there anyways but it’s their rules I guess. Perhaps I’m harsh because I’ve been to a few tours before but this one is nothing special. The beer on the other hand, is very good and the tour and tasting is free, which is nice.
I would suggest going to a different brewery for a tour but if you want to hear a quick history lesson and get some free beer this is a good place to go. We also went to Flat Earth afterwards since it was less than a mile away. They don’t give tours but they give lots of free samples and the beer is better. ;) I’ll be trying to see a better brewery tour soon … I’ve heard Surly’s is better.

Free beer. Free tour. Free games. Patio. SOLD.
The tour is a good activity for groups and one of the only breweries to offer tours during the day on weekdays in the Twin Cities (obviously due to its size). Summit really came in handy for my midweek staycation with out of towners. Tour wise — lots of powerpoint and sitting around for the majority of it. On the other hand, this was my first time seeing beer being kegged and a bottle line. My group ended up playing a nice game of bags outside afterwards while drinking our 3 beer tokens.
Note: There is no food in sight besides the canned good donations and you cannot purchase beer on the premises.

This is a fun thing to do if you are visiting on the weekend and like local breweries. Having been to a few brewery tours (Miller, Guinness) this was a different feel since it is a smaller shop.
The Powerpoint seemed a little forced and or tour guide must’ve been on his first week because he struggled with his talking points and answering questions. I also know how beer is made so was probably less interested than other parties who have never been on a brewery tour.
BUT, the most important thing is the beer! You get 3 8 oz pours, and considering the tour is free this is definitely worth checking out to try their diff brews!
Oatmeal Stout was my favorite, Pilsner also good, and the season Octoberfest was quite tasty!

All-​in-​all a pretty fun tour once things got rolling and we branched away from our initial tour guide to another that was much more knowledgeable and entertaining.
The tour itself lasts roughly 45 minutes to an hour and is engaging and informational — even for those that have been on a number of brewery tours. At the end of said tour you get to sample 3 beers of your choosing and at your leisure. Of course, this is always the best part of any brewery tour — though it would be nice if you could use one of your beer tokens prior to or during the tour. I’m not saying I would have learnt anything more on the tour, but I would have been happier (though I don’t blame Summit for not wanting inebriated masses running through their brewery).
As an aside, my rating is also representative of my preference for Summit, or somewhat lack thereof. They make a consistent product and are the biggest game in town, but there are better and more innovative breweries that will usually be getting my greenbacks (though I hope they keep up the unchained series).
Also, if you want to go on the tour on a weekend be sure to make your reservation far in advance of when you want to go.