Saga - Summit Brewing Company

Miketwolf21

Minnesota

4.4/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Summit has for decades had a vegetabley, grassy, metallic, and underwelming Indian pale ale. That has thankfully changed with their new "west coast" ipa, boasting 80 IBUs worth of dank, citrusy, floral, and low Cohumulone hops (Centennial, Amarillo, Citra, and Rakau).
This golden amber colored ale has plenty of pineapple, kiwi, and a kiss of grapefruit coming from the hops. The malt underlies the tropical fruit, where it displays toasty, biscuit-like aromas. Due to low Cohumulone levels in the hops, the flavor of the hops are more on the front of the palate. They hit you quickly with lemon, grapefruit, and a touch of gonja. The flavor of the caramel malts come in to play mid-palate (thankfully used sparingly), giving your tongue a quick break before the hops rule the day, satisfying that bitter addiction. Saga is extremely "balanced". By balanced, I mean the residual sweetness from the malt is matched well with the hop bitterness and the nonexistent alcohol burn. The hop flavors are quick to arrive, yet diminish quickly into a distant rumble of bitterness.
This beer has great carbonation, giving you just enough pop on your tongue to intrigue another drink. And that's is saga's best attribute, you can have quite a few of these.
Hooray Summit! A six pack is only 7.99 in Minneapolis too and you can get it at just about any bar or liquor store. A world class IPA brewed only a few miles from my house -> I likey!

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2012 02:37:33 | More by Miketwolf21

iL0VEbeer

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -5.8%

05-20-2013 13:30:22 | More by iL0VEbeer

facundoCNB

New Jersey

3.79/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

a clean golden/copper pour with tons of visible carbonatino shooting up the center, 2 fingers of white head leaving behind a nice amount of lacing. smells of grassy and pine hops with some grapefruit and caramel. a bready malt profile with a slight grapefruit citrus hint, los of nice grassy and bittering hop notes. nothing too out of the ordinary, but a very nicely done ipa. medium body with moderate carbonation.. goes down nice and easy.

i feel like this is a nice session ipa, but then again not many people consider 6.4% sessionable. i can see myself having a few too many of these in a night though.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2013 00:33:08 | More by facundoCNB

BeerOps

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -5.8%

05-19-2013 20:00:04 | More by BeerOps

DiggerDahl

North Dakota

3.25/5  rDev -18.3%

05-18-2013 20:12:05 | More by DiggerDahl

davemathews68

Ohio

4/5  rDev +0.5%

05-18-2013 02:58:06 | More by davemathews68

jklecko2

Missouri

3.75/5  rDev -5.8%

05-17-2013 17:27:57 | More by jklecko2

bpfrush

Wisconsin

4.25/5  rDev +6.8%

05-17-2013 01:30:32 | More by bpfrush

iHeartMNBeer

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev +6.8%

05-16-2013 20:28:59 | More by iHeartMNBeer

Casey3236

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +0.5%

05-16-2013 17:35:53 | More by Casey3236

ejimhof

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -24.6%

05-15-2013 23:52:35 | More by ejimhof

Bromine

Florida

4/5  rDev +0.5%

05-13-2013 03:17:11 | More by Bromine

leprechaunandfatman

Illinois

4/5  rDev +0.5%

05-12-2013 19:47:04 | More by leprechaunandfatman

kguard

Iowa

4/5  rDev +0.5%

05-11-2013 04:12:26 | More by kguard

rydev24

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +0.5%

05-10-2013 21:52:34 | More by rydev24

Humulus85

Minnesota

4.16/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Summit's year around west coast style IPA. Their EPA was the beer that got me into craft, so I have much love for this brewery. From the 12oz bottle into my tasting snifter. BB 09/27/13.

Pours a clear honey gold with a tight two finger off white head. Solid retention with some really nice lacing.

Tons of hops. Hitting all the notes from citrus to pine to resin. Leaning toward grapefruit. Uses centennial, Amarillo, citra, and rakau hops. Not really familiar with the Rakau, but this is a nice complex hop profile in the nose. Solid pale malt graininess in the background.

Bitterness, grapefruit juice, reisin, pine needles. A bit of tropical fruits. Bready malts in the middle with a touch of caramel. Pretty bitter throughout. Hop oils coat the tongue and leave a hoppy aftertaste.

Medium in body with ample carbonation. Dry in the finish. Again, sticky hop oils coat the mouth.

Overall, this is a solid IPA. Not mind blowing in any way, but it hits all the right notes. The best part about this beer is that it is year around, I can always find it super fresh, and it is sold in 12 packs at no more than $13. Plus I get to give my money to one of my favorite local breweries. Not worth trading for, but if you can get it drink it up. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2013 03:06:34 | More by Humulus85

vidguy17

Iowa

3.75/5  rDev -5.8%

05-10-2013 02:43:36 | More by vidguy17

awizzle

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev +6.8%

05-10-2013 02:01:59 | More by awizzle

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

First had: on tap at Capone's, Norristown, PA

Clear copper pour with a small white head that retained as a ringlet and left a bit of lacing on the glass. Light floral and citrusy hop aromas. Taste of floral and citrus hops once again, grassy, mild pale malts in the background for a good balance; subdued bitterness. Not really exploding with fresh hoppy goodness, but honestly, this did follow a Sculpin, so my palate might have been biased. Light-medium body and definitely easily drinkable, if a little on the thin side.

Serving type: on-tap

05-09-2013 03:43:27 | More by Rifugium

GratefulJack

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +6.8%

05-08-2013 22:02:02 | More by GratefulJack

arniepnminne

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +6.8%

05-06-2013 12:01:35 | More by arniepnminne

Jason1337

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -5.8%

05-05-2013 13:32:52 | More by Jason1337

GiantMidget

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -5.8%

05-04-2013 14:08:26 | More by GiantMidget

deebo

Minnesota

3.79/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

A bottle with a BB date of 8/17/13 poured into a pint glass appears pale golden with a finger of white fluffy head that doesn't have much staying power but sticks to the glass.

I love the aroma of this beer. Hop notes of grapefruit and mango are strongest. There is also a nice clean malt aroma here that has a touch of sweetness. If the taste as is good as the aroma I'm going to love this beer.

Unfortunately for me the taste of the hops is more pine tree like and resiny. The malt is still very clean and has a nice subtle sweetness but is overpowered by the bittering hops.

Mouthfeel of this beer is medium high carbonation with a fairly nice malt backbone. Finish is long and bitter with a resiny/sticky quality.

Overall this is a solid IPA but I prefer those that are more aromatic and don't tend to overpower you with a bitter taste and a pine resin taste. This one isn't like sucking on a pine cone but it is strong enough to hamper my enjoyment. Good one to pair with spicy foods.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2013 02:34:35 | More by deebo

spycow

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -12.1%

05-02-2013 04:44:40 | More by spycow