Summit 21 IPA - "new" spring seasonal

Thanks for the clarification. That's incredibly frustrating.

 

You're correct. Oftentimes distributors and retailers won't put out the new package until they've sold through enough of the preceding one.

 

Yes, the Cranky Woodsman one is from 2019. And last time I checked (a couple weeks ago), the beer finder said that Total Wine in Woodbury has the Go Box. Which they did. All of them I saw were the Cranky Woodsman one.

 

I was at Total Wine in Woodbury last Sunday (2/16/20). They had a bunch of Summit 24 packs, but not the one with Maibock

PS: odd marketing/packaging by Summit to put the Maibock only in 24 packs that go to so few retailer locations. I'm not going to run around looking for it anymore..............

 

What lesson have we learned from this?

Summit could give two fucks about the people who love that brand.

I have friends (aged fifty plus) who are chasing the taphandles all over town, but that’s a rare thing.

They say there’s a first time for everything, but this is the second instance that has me wondering what the hell’s goin’ on at Summit.

 

My apologies in advance for snipping your wall of text.

I very sincerely (and truly... and you don’t know me from Adam) appreciate the fact that you put the effort into your post that you did; While it wasn’t @islay level spewage, it’ll do pig.

In all sincerity... how in hell are a buncha boomers like Stutrud gonna shake things up in a market that left them in the dust fifteen years ago?

I sincerely await your scholarly reply.

P.S. YES, this was a snarky post on my part.

No apologies. I will pass on Summit for a while. Plenty of better, more traditional AND more innovative breweries out there in this big world.

 

What is with the attitude? There was nothing in MNAle's post that was "spewage"

That said, I am disappointed with Summit's 2020 calendar. No Barleywine or Imperial Stout, and no Union beer to take their place. No High Sticke. Maibock and Dark Infusion are relegated to variety packs. And in their place are more easy drinking IPAs and Kolsch variations.

 

It's funny I looked at the 2020 Summit brand calendar and was disappointed because what I saw was new IPA, juicy, another IPA, etc. To me this looks like Summit moving more towards market trends (everything IPA) but to some here it sounds like they still feel Summit has a foot stuck in their old ways. I miss the Unchained Series days but it looks like Summit prefers variety packs.

 

This is it. The only think I loved more than Maibock was being able to purchase 12 packs of it at steep discounts late in the distro season, which happens to be prime Maibock season since it releases so early. Shelf space is too expensive to have underselling beers sit on them.

Seeing many stores selling Dark Infusion for $5.99 now suggests that this is the reason it will be moving to a mixed pack for the next release as well.

 

If anyone is curious, the Go Box package at Costco in Woodbury is the Cranky Woodsman one

 

I thought everyone here loved Dark Infusion? I bought a six pack.

 

I'm very disappointed about High Sticke. It doesn't appear anywhere on Summit's website.

 

I like Summit and have for many years. Saga fills an IPA niche for me in that it tastes different than other available IPAs. Keller Pils is awesome, and Dakota Soul is pretty good too. Their EPA is, of course, a classic. But when I'm looking for something "juicy," I probably won't be selecting Summit (to be fair, I haven't tried Slugfest). Replacing the old Summer with something with lime in it is not a move in the right direction IMO. And, as noted above, phasing out High Sticke (another beer with a unique flavor -- and a 4.0 ranking on this site) does not sit well with me either.

 

I don’t hunt and hoard like most of you oiks, so while I would’ve been happy to pay full retail, I couldn’t find it at that price point this year. I bought two cases at closeout prices.

Stutrud’s loss is my gain.

 

Why the fuck can’t he post shade at Boomers, if that is indeed what he did, which he didn’t. They aren’t sacred cows. Mark, and by extension, Summit has historically been slow to innovate, outside of making incredibly well made beer, if not all that marketable it would seem. Where does Summit go from here? I have no fucking idea. I’d like to say the market will shift back in their favor, but who knows?

 

I think it was more of a friendly jab at Islay, than a dig on MnAle. That’s the way I read it. Either way I laughed.