The Wake

Need a reason to skip class and drink beer? Check out the Summit Brewery tour.

The beer at the end and the extensive lesson on brewing given during the tour will dilute any lingering guilt about missing class. Besides, it’s free.

The tour of this microbrewery that Mark Stutrud started in 1986 begins with a mouthwatering lecture by guide Debra Pursley. She begins by describing the nine beers that Summit offers in a fashion that makes visitors want to dive right into one of the giant brewing vats within sight.

Visiting connoisseurs then get a lesson on the only four ingredients used in Summit beers: water, barley, hops and yeast. Summit follows the German Purity Law, or Reinheitsgebot, which has been around since 1516 and restricts the use of any other ingredient in the brewing process.

Pursley then passes jars of some of the 11 different types of barley used by Summit along with a jar of hops that smells a lot like, well, beer. The hops smell so good that it wouldn’t be surprising if somebody tried to eat them.

The tour then moves to giant vats that reach five stories vertically. These are like giant coffee machines that steep purified water in the barley and hops, filtering out the new liquid, called wort. The used barley and hops have no further utility for the brewery, so they give them away to a man named Farmer Bob, who drives to the brewery every night to pick up the slop to feed his cattle. It is surprisingly nutritious for cattle because of its high caloric value.

Next is the storeroom where mountainous tanks that could give you a buzz from looking at them for too long store the beer while yeast is added to it, beginning the fermenting process. Lager beers take six to eight weeks to ferment while porters or stouts take around two.

Visitors are then shown where the beer is bottled and put into kegs. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see the bottling machine in action because it sometimes gets angry and throws bottles at unassuming targets. Pursley insists that this is not a joke.

Finally the tour’s guests are taken to heaven, also known as the bar within the brewery, which offers seven beers from the Summit family. Pursley pours cold ones at your request. The “limit” is two or three glasses, but it might be stretched if you’re nice to Debra or threaten to give her a bad review. I recommend using the first tactic.

For people who like a meal-in-a-glass, the Oatmeal Stout, new as of this fall, is a wise choice. For those who don’t like to chew their beer, lighter options include the Hefe Weizen and the Grand. Neither of them are light on taste. Old reliable, or the hoppy Extra Pale Ale, which accounts for 75 percent of the brewery’s sales is also available on draft.

It’s possible that workers at the breweries will sit down and share a glass of suds with you. The company has a liberal policy about employees consuming the beer and emphasizes personal responsibility. Unfortunately, there are currently no job openings at the brewery.

Assuming that guests are in driving condition, this is where the tour ends. Just don’t make a habit of skipping out on class in favor of the brewery.

Tours are given Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1:00 p.m. The brewery also offers tours on Saturdays at 1:00 p.m., but reservations are required. Visit www.summitbrewing.com for more information.