Summit Maibock

Brewed by Summit Brewing Company
Style: Heller Bock
St. Paul, Minnesota USA

Pours a clear gold with a small but thick white head that leaves rings of lace. Light fruity aroma with some sweet grains and grassy hops. The flavor has a nice combination of fruit, some sweet pils malt, grains, and noble hops. Not bad.

On tap at the Gingerman Fort Worth. Guess I wasn’t impressed. "It is what it is. Meh."

sparkling gold color. Apple, honey, tropical fruits and some light hops. Flavor is fruity with citrus, apples, honey, caramel, and some grassy hops. Actually a nice little beer.

Pours a clear golden color with plenty of small bubbles and a tight small head. The aroma has a bit of honey but is more balanced than the typical maibock, featuring some nice hoppy notes, and a little bit of grainy malt. Flavor is nicely fruity with a decent noble hop kick, a touch of alcohol, and some grainy malt. Crisper and more refreshing than most maibocks, but not terribly complex, enjoyable!

12oz bottle into a pint glass. Wasn’t blown away by this, as I’m usually not by Summit stuff.

It is spring and that can mean only one thing for a beer geek: maibocks. We crave a beer that is both refreshing and yet still somewhat meaty and hearty since it isn’t always sunny spring sunshine for some like it is for me in Florida. Summit Brewing has to offer their Maibock which is dee-licious, in my not so humble opinion.

She rang my season in with shimmering rays of orange, copper, and polished amber while a puffy copper-hued head faded rather quickly into a paper-thin ringlet. A few swirls stir a promise of lace while releasing a bouquet of bright oranges, tangerines, tangelos, mango, nectarines, pineapple, and lemon drops which are polished off with sweet summer grass and sweet rolls with honey and grains. Tropical and fruity balanced by sweet summer grains and fields of grass. Moving in for the kill, my first quaff is creamy, smooth and soft with grass and grains first while her cornucopia of tropical fruits fresh from the islands dazzle. A hint of dry citric skins and puckering sour acidity adds to her refreshing repertoire while a platter of nectarines, pineapple, lemon drops, oranges, and apples dance atop my tastebuds. While the Maibock was certainly not inspired by tiki bars in Germany, I feel as if I am on a tropical shore in the middle of the Caribbean, the sun setting amidst a bleeding sky of oranges, reds, purples, and gold. An excellent harbinger of spring, my Summit Maibock is gone far sooner than I expected, and along with my expectations, I was delightfully surprised in every tasty way possible.

Summit may be the little brewery that brewed, sticking to easy drinking while proving that a beer can be sessionable and enjoyable with an equal amount of flavor and creativity too. A seasonal release, grab a couple six packs of their Maibock while you can. Trust, you will thank me.

Courtesy of markwise. Pours clear deep gold with micro thin white head. The aroma is sugar sweet sprinkled with dirt and then floral hops and a bit of sweet corn. The taste is grainy to sugary malt sweetness to go along with a layer of floral hops.

Bottle. Pours a golden body with a white head. Sweet caramel and bread y malt character, a lighter cherry and some sour wheat character. Eh.