Summit Beer Blog

No Excise Tax Hike on Beer for 2013

As you may have seen and heard reported by various news outlets including the Pioneer Press, there will be no increase in excise taxes on beer from this year’s state legislative session. For those of you who actively contacted Gov. Mark Dayton and your legislators, Summit Brewing Company would like to say ‘thank you’ for your activism. We also want to thank the legislators and Governor Dayton for listening to our concerns in regard to the effect the proposed tax hike would have had on not only Summit and our consumers, but on the growing craft brewing industry at large in the state of Minnesota. Although we agree the state needs revenue to support education, and to build and maintain roads and bridges, we are also clear on our position that taxes should also be transparent to the citizens and consumers, which excise taxes are not.

Thank you for all your support.

Cheers.
Mark Stutrud
Founder/President, Summit Brewing Company

Summit Oatmeal Stout Conditioned in 2 GINGERS Irish Whiskey Barrels

Summit has a surprise for you! About 9 months ago we asked our friends at 2 GINGERS Irish Whiskey for some whiskey barrels. We immediately filled them with Oatmeal Stout. Our brewers conditioned the Oat Stout for eight months in the barrels. Recently, they racked a very limited amount of firkins of this beer. There will only be four firkins of this beer that will hit the Twin Cities area.

All four firkins will be made available at the four Cara Pub locations in the Twin Cities during the month of May:

On Saturday, May 11th we will be doing a pre-party for American Craft Beer Week and Kieran's Irish Pub in Minneapolis. They will feature a Summit Tap invasion and 1 of the firkins will be tapped at 2pm.

On Saturday, May 18th we will be at The Local hosting a American Craft Beer Week celebration. They will tap their firkin at 5pm that day. At The Local that day, the 2 GINGERS folks will be giving away a 2 GINGERS whiskey barrel for home brewing purposes. They will also have Summit/2 GINGERS cocktails (Extra Pale Ginger and Twin Town Old-Fashioned), food pairings and a Summit Tap Invasion.

Outside of American Craft Beer Week, we'll tap one of these firkins at Cooper Pub & Restaurant on Friday, May 24th at 4pm. And Friday, May 31st at 3pm at The Liffey.

Hope some of you can make it out! If not, we will be tapping the remaining two firkins at The Liffey and Cooper later in the month. Stay tuned for more details.

Summit Helps Feed My Starving Children

This past weekend Summit Brewing Company hosted Feed My Starving Children non-profit organization for two days of meal-packing. Summit co-workers were also among the volunteers on the last shift that packed meals and then helped break down/clean up.

For Shift 6, which we were a part of, 95 volunteers packed 24,192 in 90 minutes... enough food to feed 66 kids for one year. Over the course of the entire weekend, 648 volunteers packed 171,027 meals... enough to feed 469 kids for one year. These meals are now headed to school children in Nicaragua.

Thanks to Feed My Starving Children and the St. Paul Rotary Club for their efforts in helping to feed hungry children all around the world.

PHOTOS COURTESY Doug Hartford / St. Paul Rotary Club

Cellar Expansion Update (April 24, 2013)

Summit COO Tom Thomasser talks about the progress of our cellar expansion project. From the first wall panel to just before our new fermentation tanks arrive... it's all right here!

Behind the Beer: Summit Pilsener

From our traditional brewing techniques to our close-to-home ingredients, head brewer Damian McConn talks about what makes the award-winning Summit Pilsener so unique. Let us know what you think of Summit Pilsener in the comments below.

More information on the beer:
http://www.summitbrewing.com/brews/pilsener

Mark Stutrud on Proposed Excise Tax Hike

During the current state legislative session in Minnesota, Summit Brewing Company founder Mark Stutrud has been included in several reports discussing how badly a proposed hike in state excise tax on breweries would hurt the brewing industry and business in Minnesota. The tax amount that would go from the current $4.60 per barrel to a proposed amount of $27.75 per barrel. Stutrud says this legislation would discourage growth for Minnesota businesses. See the links below to learn more about the issue:

Report by Pat Kessler on WCCO:
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/04/17/alcohol-tax-hike-will-hit-consumers-opponents-say/

Editorial from Pioneer Press:
http://www.twincities.com/opinion/ci_23047137/minnesota-closer-look-at-beer-tax-consequences-pioneer

Star Tribune:
http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/203939631.html

KSTP's "At Issue" program:
http://mnbeeractivists.com/newsfeed/video-beer-taxes-on-kstp-at-issue

CONTACT YOUR MINNESOTA STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATOR:
Find yours here: House of Representative / Senate

"Get to the Bottom of It" Winners (Feb/March 2013)

Here are the winners for the latest round of our "Get to the Bottom of It" contest.

Winning Question from Roddy "Rod" Payne of Cedar Falls, IA:
In movies why do they always park four blocks away from their destination and walk?

Runner-up Question from Adam Fleitman of Richfield, MN:
If you were going to die at midnight, what would you be doing at 11:45?

You can enter your own mind-bending question at http://www.summitbrewing.com/conversations/get-to-the-bottom-of-it

Every other month, we pick a handful of the most intriguing questions and then put it up for a vote. Summit fans vote online to select their favorite post. The winner receives a $50 gift card good for the Summit Gift Shop. We may even use it in our ads. Good luck.

Hops Like a Kangaroo IPA Release Tour

We're pleased to announce the “release tour” of an exclusive small-batch beer brewed specifically for our friends at the Blue Plate Restaurant Company. Blue Plate’s Highland Grill celebrates its 20th anniversary this month. Summit beers have been proudly on tap at Highland Grill since Day One back in 1993. To celebrate this partnership, head brewer Damian McConn brewed a refreshing springtime IPA inspired by Blue Plate co-owner Dave Burley. Dave is, of course, a native Australian. Damian devised the recipe for "Hops Like a Kangaroo IPA” using new Australian hops (Topaz and Stella), a traditional Western Australian yeast strain, and American malt. It's color is hazy straw, 6.5% ABV and 80 IBU.

What’s the beer taste like? McConn says: "This assertive unfiltered White IPA combines the fruitiness of a classic yeast from ‘Down Under’ with the spicy earthiness of next generation Tasmanian hop varieties. Expect a clean assertive bitterness, stone fruit flavors and a solid aroma of spicy peach and mango."

Update on New Fermentation Tanks

As many of you Summit fans know, we will soon install twelve new 600-barrel fermenters in our expanded cellar to add much needed capacity. Our existing cellar has twenty-four 300-barrel fermenters so this addition doubles our fermentation capacity. As you can see, the tanks are in various stages of completion at DCI in St Cloud, MN.

On May 1, four tanks will arrive and be set into place. This process includes standing the tanks up outside and hoisting them into the air, then lowering them into the room through a 16’ x 16’ removable roof hatch. The tanks will be set onto four sets of wheels and carefully rolled into place. Piping for these tanks will start immediately with brewing to commence into the first four tanks starting June 3.

On May 2, four tanks will arrive and will receive the same treatment for getting them into place and piping. These tanks will be brewed into starting June 10. The final 4 tanks will arrive sometime in June and immediately be placed and piped for use some time in July.

Here are some pictures of the tanks and a diagram of their layout in the new cellar space.

Cheers!
Tom Thomasser
Chief Operating Officer

Employee Chili Cookoff 2013

The employees of Summit recently gathered in the Beer Hall for the 8th Annual Employee Chili Cookoff. Check out this video from the event and try your hand at the winning recipes listed below.

Emily’s Slow Cooked Pork Chili – 1^st Place Winner
Recipe by Emily Johnson (Sales & Marketing Administrator)

I hope that some of you will be able to recreate this yummy recipe! Unfortunately, I NEVER measure anything, so these are my best guesstimates. Enjoy!

3.5 lbs Pork Shoulder – cut into 1” cubes

4 Tbls. Cumin

4 Tbls. Chili Powder

2 Tbls. Garlic Powder

2 Tbls. Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

¾ cup Apple Cider Vinegar

4 Tbls. Oil (I used Roasted Garlic Oil)

4 cloves of Garlic – smashed and chopped

2 Tbls. Black Pepper

2 Tbls. Salt

½ Tbls. Cinnamon

12oz bottle Summit EPA

1 Large Yellow Onion – Diced

2 Fresno Chili Peppers – Diced (seeds removed)

28 oz can pureed tomatoes

28 oz can Rotelle (diced tomatoes with chilies)

1 can Black Beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can Mexicorn (drained)

Juice from 1 Lime

1 bunch of Cilantro – chopped

Cube pork and add to large Ziploc bag with cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, cinnamon, crushed red pepper, vinegar, chopped garlic and salt & pepper. Mix well so meat is evenly coated and store overnight in refrigerator.

Heat ½ of oil over medium high heat in Dutch oven and brown meat in small batches. Add meat and remaining marinade to crockpot with tomatoes and beans. Deglaze Dutch oven with 1 bottle of EPA (or Summit beer of your choice) and scrape up all of those yummy bits. Add liquid to crock pot. Add the other ½ of the oil to the Dutch oven along with diced onions and Fresno chilies and cook until tender. Add to crock pot along with can of Mexicorn and the lime juice.

Cook on High for several hours. If it is boiling too much, turn to Low heat. Add cilantro and cook for 2 more hours on low. Garnish as you like and ENJOY!

Pork Loin Chili Recipe – 2^nd Place Winner
Recipe by Betsy Faber (Visitors Services Coordinator)

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Pork Loin

12 oz bottle Summit Pilsener

4 Strips Bacon

2 Large yellow onions

5 cloves of garlic

1 bag of multicolored small sweet peppers

1 jalapeño pepper

2 cans chili tomatoes

1 can fire-roasted tomatoes

3 cans black beans (drained)

1 can mexi-corn (drained)

2 cups beef broth

2 Tbls. Cumin

2 Tbls. Chili Powder

2 Tbls. Garam Masala

2 Tbls. Lemon Juice

1 tsp. Salt

Preheat oven to 250. Place Pork loin in covered casserole dish, wrap with bacon. Pour in bottle of Summit Pilsener & Roast for 3-4 hours until soft and flaky. This makes GOREGEOUS pulled pork. Shred this with fork and set aside. (I ate a good amount during this phase as it was LIKE BUTTER).

In a Dutch oven, chop onions, garlic, peppers and jalapeño and sauté in olive oil over low heat until soft. Pour in tomatoes, beans, corn, beef broth & spices. Add meat and lemon juice. Simmer. Transfered to crockpot for serving at cook-off, but cooked solely in the Dutch oven.

Smoky Triple Pig Chili – 3^rd Place Winner
Recipes by Melinda Eggleston / Brewery Ambassador

1 smoked bone in pork chop

1 lb mild pork sausage

1/2 pound cooked bacon

1/2 large white onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup frozen corn kernels

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 small can tomato sauce

1 can white northern beans (drained)

1 can black beans (drained)

2 bottles of Summit Great Northern Porter

3 smoked dried chipotle peppers

Chili powder

Garlic powder

Ground cumin

Cayenne pepper

Cumin seed

Dill seed

4 season salt

Pork chop:

Coat pork chop in the following: 1/2 tsp each : cumin, chili powder, garlic powder. Brown pork chop on both sides in chili pot. Do not cook through, just brown. Remove chop and set aside. Leave spices in bottom of pot.

Chipotle/Porter reduction:

In a small saucepan simmer 1 bottle of porter and the chipotles until reduced into a thick "syrup,” when peppers start to soften, break apart to release the seeds and heat! Set aside.

Meat:

In the same pot chop was cooked, add 1lb sausage & spices: 2tsps each: chili powder,cumin; 1 tsp each garlic powder, cayenne pepper. Cook meat thoroughly until browned. Place pork chop on top of cooked ground meat. Chop cooked bacon & add to pot.

Veggies:

Add chopped veggies, canned tomatoes and 1/2 bottle of GNP. Cover and simmer on medium until veggies are almost tender. Check after 1/2 hour mark. Remove pork chop and dice meat into chunks; return to pot. Discard bones.

Flavor:

Once veggies are cooked, add both beans, chipotle reduction sauce, and 1/2 bottle of GNP. Stir in 1/2 tsp crushed cumin seed, dill seed (crushed with mortar & pestle). Simmer uncovered for another 1/2 hour on med-low heat. Season with salt to your taste. Serve and devour!