Our Brewing Process

Ever want to know what goes into brewing Summit beer – besides hard-earned experience, a passion for the craft and many, many tastings? Join us as we follow your beer from its humble beginnings to that glorious moment when it crosses your lips.

It takes years to know how to properly combine the four ingredients that produce beer (malts, hops, yeast and water). But it starts with the ingredients themselves. At Summit we choose the finest available to impart the exact aroma, flavor and body we’re seeking for each style.

The next step in the brewing process is called milling. This is when we run barley malt through a mill that crushes it, preparing the crushed grain (known as grist) to be cooked.

Next up, mashing. We cook the grist in hot water to convert the starches in the malt to fermentable sugars.

Now your beer enters the lautering phase. Here, the sweet liquid, called wort, is separated from the grain solids in the lauter tun.

During the boiling phase, we boil the wort and add hops to provide the right amount of bitterness and aroma.

The hopped wort is then spun in a whirlpool. This separates the spent hops and unwanted proteins from the brew

During fermentation we add yeast, carefully choosing just the right strain to bring the beer to life. This produces alcohol and carbon dioxide (our beers are naturally carbonated with no extra CO² added).

During this step, the beer passes through our centrifuge, which removes solids like yeast and hop material, resulting in brighter beer. Beer styles which call for exceptional clarity, like our Pilsener, are then passed through our polishing filter for a final touch-up.

After passing final inspection, the batch of Summit beer is placed into kegs or bottles and distributed to the beer-loving public.

Ahh, our favorite step: getting to the bottom of a fine, hand-crafted Summit. Care to join us?