By Washed Up Goalie on January 6, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Beer League Beer Reviews | Summit Extra Pale Ale

To call it beer league, somebody, anybody, needs to bring the beer. While most beers after a game hit the spot no matter the style or brewery, some hit the spot better than others. I plan to offer post (or pre) game beer recommendations.

So what makes me qualified to offer reviews and recommendations of beer? Well, first off I’m a beer leaguer. Second, I’m a homebrewer. I’ve taken classes to learn how to brew my own beer, read books about the process, different styles, and history of brewing. Lastly, I’ve tried a lot of beer. Since I started using the Untapped app on my phone to keep track of the different beers I’ve tried and rate them I’ve had close to 700 different beers.

Oh yea – and my homebrewing brand. I named it 5 Hole Brewing and use a silhouette of Eddie Belfour in my logo

Ok, credentials check out, so now let’s talk about what makes for a bad pre or post-game beer. I’ve asked this question of every guest on my Tendy Talk podcast, and the consensus all agrees that there is only really one bad beer. Warm beer. Don’t be the teammate who forgets the beer in their car so it gets warm. If you’re picking it up last minute, put forth the extra effort to walk to the store’s coolers and grab something cold. If that means you have to grab two 12-packs instead of one case be the hero and grab the cold brews.

What is a can’t miss beer then? Any cold lager right after a game seems to hit the spot just right. I’m a craft beer snob, but right after a game a Michelob Golden Light, Molson Candian, Coor’s Lite, Miller Lite, Bud Lite all taste good. They might not taste good elsewhere, but in the locker room, they hit the spot. Stay away from ultra cheap lagers like Bush Lite or Schlitz. Pilsners like Labatt Blue and Goose Island Four Star are light, crisp beers that go down easy as well.

The Beer | Summit Brewing EPA

So my first review is of Summit Brewing’s EPA. Summit is a brewery in St. Paul, Minnesota, and is considered the grandfather of craft brewing in Minnesota as it helped change state laws to allow craft breweries to operate. The EPA is their OG beer for Summit and is the beer brewery founder Mark Stutrud brewed as a homebrewer before opening Summit while working as an addiction counselor of all things. EPA stands for Extra Pale Ale, and falls into the pale ale category, and has a 5.1% ABV, so it’s a little more potent than other lighter beers.

Drinking a cold Summit after a game is refreshing, and has a little more flavor than your average lite beer. If you ask me it has a slightly roasted malt taste that is nicely balanced by a kick of hops that makes themselves known but don’t overpower the flavor of the beer. It’s also a beer that drinks great in the cold of winter, and in the height of summer when you’re sitting on the deck.

You can find Summit’s beers in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

So what can you look for from future reviews? I’ll be digging into my ratings of different beers, reviewing my notes on the beers, and offering up recommendations. Admittedly many of the local beers are from Minnesota, Chicago, and North Carolina based on where I live, and where my family lives. If you have a local beer I should try – and have a way of getting it to me – send me a DM on social media and we’ll coordinate.