Summit Brewing Company Saga IPA

The Summit Brewing Company is in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Last year was their 25th anniversary, they are a grand daddy of the craft beer movement, and a Midwestern craft stalwart.  I think of them as the Sierra Nevada Brewing of the Midwest.

This 6.4% ABV India Pale Ale is named after the Norse goddess Saga, a drinking companion of the god Odin. The beer pours a sparkling orange golden and copper in color.  There is a tall half-inch of creamy, foamy white head that leaves sticky lacing of moderate density down the glass.  The aroma is hop forward, loads of tropical fruits, melons, a touch of pineapple, bits of pine, and some sun tea with lemon.  The aroma is divine.  The taste follows the aromas, hitting all of the notes of the smell, feeling creamy, adding more tea and some orange.  The mouthfeel is carbonated, yet creamy, smooth, and light in the mouth despite the massive flavors.   The finish is grapefruit rind bitterness. This is a tasty, easy drinking hop nectar worthy of the gods.

2017 bottle: