Summit Brewing Co. Layoffs

Summit brews were a frequent restaurant dinner companion, up north, for me. I love their Saga IPA, and their Extra Pale Ale, which was always fresh, had a really nice floral vibe. Their 12 packs were on sale every third week in the stores at a nice price of $12.99; rotating with SN, and SA brews. All of these good brews got me to think about what I was consuming, instead of just chug-a-lugging or drinking beer to catch a buzz. I hope Summit can keep brewing good beer and profit. Not much else to say, just want to be supportive. Good luck, Summit!!

 

Don't hate them, just not excited about their offerings.

 

I think he meant sales not ales. Sierra Nevada has stated that it's overall sales are down including SNPA. I haven't heard about any layoffs

 

I know you're not new to this interweb thingy... so I shouldn't have to remind you... all criticism, however mild, is "hating" and you are a "hater."

 

Greg announced that he was stepping down as CEO of Stone in September of 2015, the Richmond brewery started brewing beer in July of 2016, new CEO Dominic Engels took the helm in August of 2016, and the layoffs happened in October of 2016.

I don't know, I think that it seems obvious why the layoff occurred, but maybe I'm imagining things. You now have two breweries doing the work that one did. They are on opposite ends of the country. Some workers in the Escondido facility became redundant even though Stone had experienced a 13.4% growth the year before (production statistics). Even though I can't find the numbers, I'll bet that the Stone Richmond facility employs more people than the 60 or so that they laid off, though.

 

The Summit ‘game plan’ for 2018:

· January 2018 - Set to debut at the start of the year is Summit Dakota Soul, a classical Czech-style Pils

· Also dropping in January is a new edition of the Summit IPA Collection, featuring twelve 12-oz. cans.

· Last but not least for January, Summit Keller Pils arrives in January as a full-fledged, card-carrying member of our year-round rotation on draft and in 6 and 12-packs of 12-oz. cans.

· February - After a busy January, we’ll recover in February with our beloved Spring seasonal Summit Maibock,

· April 2018 will see a new edition of the Summit Boundary Waters Box, a 12-pack of 12-oz. cans built specifically for your cooler. Summit Hefeweizen returns, new beers Summit Golden Fruited Ale and Summit Shore Sitter debut, and Summit Lazy Sipper plans for world domination.

· August - The Summit Harvest Collection returns in August 2018 as a 12-pack of 12-oz. cans featuring Summit Extra Pale Ale — a silver-medal winner among Classic English-Style Pale Ales at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival® — our best-selling seasonal Summit Oktoberfest, our brand-new year-round beer Summit Dakota Soul, and a new limited-release Summit Minnesota Harvest Ale.

· November - GOOD NEWS: The super-sexy Summit Penalty Box will return in 2018 with a new lineup of twelve 12-oz. cans for all you hockey nuts. Featuring year-round beers Summit Extra Pale Ale and Summit Dakota Soul, it will also introduce you to Summit Snow Emergency and reconnect you with your old flame Summit Dark Infusion.

· November 2018 will also see the release of Summit Union Series 7: 120 Shilling Export Scotch Ale,

The above list seems to be mostly ‘traditional’ European beers styles: Pilsners, Maibock, Hefeweizen, English-Style Pale Ale, Oktoberfest, Scotch Ale,…

I am personally a fan of these sorts of beers and after reading this list I am even more disappointed that Summit has withdrawn from Pennsylvania. I am uncertain whether the above list of beers will result in sales growth for 2018 but I sincerely hope that this is a business success for Summit.

Needless to say but the Summit 2018 release calendar is quite different from Stone, Sierra Nevada, Victory,… which emphasizes hoppy beers (e.g., fruit infused IPAs).

Maybe differing business strategies since Summit is a regional brewery while Stone & Sierra Nevada are national breweries?

Cheers!

 

I was answering @steveh about the Dunkel, not making a comparison.

 

I do believe there is a sub-set of us uber-geeks that doesn't understand that most people aren't like "us". Most people are just looking for something good to drink, not just the newest, hottest, barreliest, haziest, thing they can find.

I've never been a huge Summit fan, but I appreciate that they were around when the Twin Cities was a beer wasteland, & that I can find them at just about any po-dunk bar when I visit relatives up north. There's something to be said for being the only non-Miller Lite tap handle for miles!

 

Those of millennial age or so would do well to read a bit about the history of craft beer in MN and Summit's role in establishing the market. Those tap handles were hard-won at a time when the common reaction from the bar owners (and nearly everyone else) was that Mark Stutrud was crazy.

IOW, all those bars have Summit tap handles not because Summit is kind of a compromise offering for craft beer drinkers, but because of the hard work and evangelism carried out by Stutrud in the late 80's.

 

I heard the head brewer on a podcast and she wasn't too inclined to jump on the haze train.

 

Just so you guys know I have drank more beer from Summit than beer from any other brewery. But I hardly drink any of there beer anymore. I don't hate them like it might appear.

 

Is there a reason for your changed drinking habits here? Has the beer quality changed?

Cheers!

 

I have gone thru IPA burnout. Summit makes plenty of IPA's that are solid but outdated. Summit doesn't brew the styles of beer I am looking for. I will give Summit a positive note for consistency in there beers. They seem to have good quality control.

 

Not to quibble (OK, I'm going to quibble...)...

Looking at the beers currently listed on Summit's web site (I know that some are not quite available yet, and one or two are being retired, according to their 2018 schedule... but taking the web site at face value...), and using this site (BA) as the arbiter of the styles of these beers...

There are 20 beers listed.

4 are American IPAs
1 is an American Double / Imperial IPA
1 is an English IPA

So, less that 1/3 are IPAs, and half of those have yet to hit the shelves (or just barely have). In fact, just as many of their current beers (6) are in the European lager family as in the IPA family.

IOW, more than 2/3 of their current beers are not IPAs, and certainly the jury is still out on whether half of their IPAs are "outdated."

Of course, they still may not brew the styles you are looking for, but they are hardly a brewer whose lineup is dominated by the IPA style.

 

OK, Summit is boring. They aren't very innovative recently. There IPA's aren't outdated? why are they dropping some of them and replacing them with new IPA's (we have something new marketing maneuver). Bottom Line Summit doesn't brew beer I want.

 

Darn that Summit, anyway... where do they get off introducing new beers?

Your taste is your taste. I was just quibbling over a couple of facts.

 

At the risk of bringing up the SN to Summit comparison again, I had an out-dated IPA last night and that Celebration was delicious. Bottom line for me, innovation doesn't always equal good or exciting. Summit's guts at trying traditional beers is just what I'm looking for in a brewery -- never mind that they do them well.

 

It all sound good while Summit sales are slipping from the sounds of it. Just keep talking it helps Summit's ego and mind set that they don't have to change

 

There is no doubt they are a bit out of the current ticker-driven trends. It also seems from some of the public comments from Stutrud and one or two of the brewers that they don't particularly like some of these trendier beers. The business decisions they will make in this climate will be interesting to watch.

Meanwhile, their classic-style driven lineup coupled with a few creative variations on the classic styles should be appreciated for what it is.

If you don't like it, fine. But is there something behind your derision other than your personal taste in beer?

 

I guess change is in the eye of the beholder.

And their main customer base seems to be a big consumer of these classic styles -- at least based on what I hear of German import sales in the Twin Cities.