Summit Pilsener (fka Summit Grand)

Brewed by Summit Brewing Company
Style: Bohemian Pilsener
St. Paul, Minnesota USA

Happily bubbling, the clearish straw liquid raises a pure white soapsud head. Stark bubblegum wrapper and metallic aroma. Mild flavors of honey, grass, and hop spice. Totally unexciting. There’s a pervading retronasal muddy twang that I can only describe as “methane.” Medium bodied, fuller than expected, and buzzing with soft bubbles. Dry finish; fruity/spicy, sawdust, and metallic aftertaste. Minor flaws become glaringly obvious in this delicate style of beer.

12 oz. bottle. Clear golden yellow. Very light aroma of hops and malt. Taste is the same, a little too light. With a name like Grand I was expecting a little more.

Bottle: Yellow clear, light head and lacing. Nose of light thin malts, some faint papery hops. The flavor is underhopped, very tame and light. Musty style, thin malt. Meh.

12 oz. bottle, called "Summit Grand." Fresh, appetizing, floral, yeasty, sharp aroma features bread, watermelon, and apple scents. Dry, Bohemian hops evident in the aroma. Slightly metallic smell but not in a bad way. Pours a sparkling gold with a moderate amount of frothy, near-white head. Surprisingly thick and extensive lacing. Lemony initial taste but turns a little dull in the finish. Remarkably fruit-juice-sweet: apple juice, white grape juice, and even red grape juice flavors. Fruit and cookie tastes, like liquid hamentashen. No "beery" (i.e., American macro pale lager-like) grossness, as even the better American craft-brewed golden lagers all too often suffer from, but perhaps a little too sweet. Long, dry, hoppy aftertaste. Light bodied and easy to drink. Smooth and crisp in the palate, although not particularly crisp by lager standards. Summit Grand is a pleasant, refreshing beer, but I’d rather have the real thing, that is, a true Czech pilsner like Urquell. This is a bit of a compromise Bohemian pilsner, as it is sweeter and less dry than the best examples of the style. Still, this is a solid and accessible beer, and I’m surprised that I don’t see more of it in Minnesota bars.

Golden colour with a nice white head. The aroma is of nobel-ish hops and a bit of grain. The flavor is crisp and clean with a bohemia pils sewwtness and grainyness in a nice balance with the hops.

Bottle thanks to Skyview! Poured bright golden with a short dusting of white. Aroma picked up lemon and bready notes.. crisp and simple with dusty floral accents. The flavor had sweet bready malts at the core with drier (at times grainy) floral bitterness surrounding.. a pinch of lemon zest right at the finish.. little bit sharper than the nose, but OK. Lighter-bodied and crisp with those sharper bitter notes detracting a bit. Overall tasty and I will drink it again.

Bottle. Pours a pale golden body with nice head. Aroma has a slight grainy feel, light crisp hops. The taste has a small amount of spice in the aftertaste. It’s bitter and enjoyable. Decent session beer.

I can’t believe I haven’t rated this yet. I had some friends coming over to try and help me put together a gazebo for a hot tub we recently acquired. I wanted to make sure I got a beer that the majority would deem non-offensive. This seem to fit the bill. Plus, now other than Finnegan’s Irish Ale (not rushing to rate that one), I have rated all Summit beers other than the Altbier, which ironically only has one rating (must have been a hard to acquire beer). This one pours gold with a quickly diminishing white head. Aromas of honey, some other fruits which I can’t put my finger on, and a little medicinal. Taste has a definite honey kick as well. Not bad, but the honey might be a little too pronounced here. I seem to recall recently tasting Full Sail Session and it tasting somewhat familiar, but the medicinal part of this beer makes it slightly worse. Still better than many pale lagers, but in the Bohemian Pisener category, it is more of an average beer.