The Wake

The Blager has been on an extended vacation from blogging, but hopes to bring you more great tidbits on beer and other happenings around the cities in the coming months. For my birthday I headed over to the Summit Brewery. I was expecting to pay a few bucks to get a shoddy and short tour and then drink some delectable local brews. Well the later two were true, but the tour was free. Not only that but you get not one, not two, but three free beers. Because lil’ gal couldn’t drink more than one I ended up downing four beers before noon.

Why free, you ask? Well, the state of Minnesota, unlike its drunken neighbor Wisconsin, does not allow breweries to sell directly to their customers. So a small brewery, like Summit, turns it into a marketing cout. You don’t have to pay anything, though it is suggested that you bring a non-perishable food item. The Blager brought some pork and beans and oatmeal; the only two products a true beer enthusiast can stomach.

Summit is turning 23 years old this year, just likes yours truly. St. Paul’s premiere brewery outgrew its makeshift brewing space along St. Paul’s University Avenue in the late 90s and moved into its new location in 1998. The building was the first new brewery built in Minnesota in more than 100 years.

After the brief and informative tour, sis blager, her boyfriend, lady blager and I sat down for a few rounds of beer. After a delectably smooth Oatmeal Stout, a strong and sturdy Winter Ale, a hopped-up IPA and the original Summit brew, the Extra Pale Ale, I had a nice buzz just as the little hand turned past the twelve. Not a bad way to spend the day that I was born. To all the beer lovers out there I suggest you give the Summit Brewery tour a shot. Heck, it won’t cost you a dime.

The Summit Brewery Tour is offered Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1 p.m. and on select Saturdays at 10:30 a.m and 1 p.m. Plan ahead.