Saga - Summit Brewing Company

beagle75

Iowa

3/5  rDev -24.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a tulip pint glass.

A: Clear, light amber color with one finger of persistent apricot-tinted foam head. Heavy lacing remains on the glass, nearly continuous about one-third of the way down, and a few metered streams of bubbles rise in the column.

S: Clean overall, starring hops that are herbaceous and piney but with lesser floral qualities as well. A trace of austere pilsner grain is the only clearly non-hops quality detectable.

T: Begins dry, with moderate-intensity hop aromatics showing mostly floral and spicy herbaceous qualities. Pale malt is detectable but fairly neutral, like uncooked dough. Acidity is mild into the middle where herbaceous qualities become a bit medicinal but grain becomes more bready in a cooked way. The finish yields bold, heavy-handed bitterness whose astringency lingers on the palate.

M: Thin to medium viscosity, wet on the palate showing late astringency that matches the taste, with moderate carbonation.

D/O: This appears to be an attempt by Summit to put a modern IPA on shelves, and it doesn't fall far from the 25th anniversary beer tree. Dry-hopping is modest at best, appearing to be largely of Cascade hops but with an allowance for Amarillo to stop by and drop off a pellet or two. At it's price point it isn't bad, although the lingering bitterness holds it back.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2012 23:48:49 | More by beagle75

Pintofbrown

Iowa

3.08/5  rDev -22.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

I had Saga in a shaker pint.

Appearance- This beer has a light golden body with some amber highlights. Barely any white foam on the cap, but some rings the glass. Carbonation is present in the glass, some slow bubbles rising to the lid.

Smell- This beer is more herbal and pepper- like than anything else. There is a little bit of grapefruit, but the earthiness is takes over. It is okay, but I am not thrilled so far.

Taste- The front of the drink has a little bit of the citrus quality, and slowly evolves into the earthy and herbal character. The finish carries a small bit of tingle and biscuit malt.

There are plenty of flavors, but they do not mesh well and they are not really intriguing.

Mouth feel- It is a little on the thin side, and luckily, it pulls back on the carbonation. Any more bubbles and this one would be harder to drink.

There is some hop tingle on the roof of the mouth, but as with the rest of this beer, it does not add a whole lot.

Overall- Maybe I got a bottle that was a little past its prime. The flavors are not especially intriguing. If this had citrus qualities at some point, they are mostly gone now.

And the pepper and herbal qualities are really in need of something else to support it. I am not sure that I would ever recommend this beer to anyone.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2012 01:24:17 | More by Pintofbrown

caskstrength

Minnesota

3.18/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

2 days after being released, Summit stubby bottle into a HotD tulip.

Pours a nice looking golden yellow. More gold than I expected, but who cares. Carbonation is appropriate.

S: Lemony pine, a little citrus. Some bready-ness. Ugh, expectations being let down as I continue to smell. Nothing enticing, rich or unique.

T: Lemony pine, light citrus. Bitterness is moderate with some pith, but not resiny/chewy. (Expectations continuing to descend.) Nothing offensive, no off tastes, goes down clean and easy. Not buttery or overly floral. Minimal assault on the palate.

M: Clean, bitter, crisp. Easy drinking summer-IPA-at-the-lake feel. Don't like that lemon on the aftertaste.

O: Solid, if rather boring, local IPA. This is ultra fresh, and I'm not that impressed. What's it going to be like after a month or more on the shelf?

Definitely has the "don't make it too extreme, we have to please the normal beer drinker" vibe.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2012 19:19:24 | More by caskstrength

kjyost

Manitoba (Canada)

3.18/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

22 oz pour at Green Mill, Grand Forks.

Amber body with great fluffy white head and stellar lacing. Aromas are substantially more muted than I would have expected for a new IPA on the market. Some floral hop, nutty malt. Taste is very subtle for the style, with no strong hop presence. The bitterness isn't really there for me either. Not what I was expecting nor hoping for. I had drank a Torpedo about an hour before, but I don't think that it wrecked my palate that much, as I had a large pour and food to cleanse the palate... I could have easily mistaken this beer for the EPA... Maybe they forgot to change the tap handle.

Serving type: on-tap

06-24-2012 21:35:06 | More by kjyost

Treebs

Illinois

3.3/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25

12 oz. bottle served in a New Belgium globe . Enjoy by 2/05/2013. Thanks Jeff(supercolter) for the extra.

A: Pours a clear amber color with a frothy white head forming on the pour. It recedes to a thick ring and thin film. Sticky sheets of lace are left down the glass.

S: Grassy with a light citrus backing. A sweet pale malt backing with a little lemon zest.

T: The hops are up front with a light bitterness and some dried grass, but it fades quickly to a mineral/hard water like quality in the middle. The malty sweetness creeps back up on the back end, but the mineral qualities kind of the malt body. It's saved every slow slightly by lingering bitterness.

M: Light bodied with a medium carbonation level. Bitterness with a slight mineral bite on the finish.

O: Decent enough. We're coming up on a month from the enjoy by date so not sure if that played any factors, but overall it was pretty average for me.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2013 02:25:37 | More by Treebs

doucmehu

Wisconsin

3.46/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had this one many times on tap and in bottle. This is a fresh bottle (delivered yesterday).

A: Pretty beer, very nice golden color with great clarity, big cushy head and lots of lacing.

S: Blast of citrus and grassy hops lets me know this is an IPA, but it seems to fade as we go.

T: Dry, grassy hops and earthy, crisp pale malt. Flavor profile is similar to EPA.

M: Moderate body, good carbonation, huge dry bitter finish.

O: Smells better than it tastes. A little too bitter to have more than a couple. Reminds me a lot of their silver anniversary IPA, which I have to believe this recipe is close to. Extremely dry and bitter. Better on tap than in the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

07-05-2012 21:44:57 | More by doucmehu

maximum12

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Anything that old reliable Summit puts out I at least have to try. An IPA? OK. Sign me up. 12 oz. single swallowed by my most majestic snifter.

The pour is filtered gold. Nose is sehr tropical, bit of citrus, & an almost rye-like spicy bent. Interesting.

Saga will list 'balance' as the first line of its resume'. Malts are full of bread & form an offensive line that's difficult for the hops to blitz. They show up as a dry bitterness in the aftertaste. The strength here is the drinkability; there's just not much to analyze, easy to sip while watching a baseball game or fire or nesting robin.

And that's the whole show. Simple as a two-celled organism, which isn't bad by definition. This is a pretty good beer that's a solid summer sipper.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2012 01:26:39 | More by maximum12

bashiba

Iowa

3.58/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured a slightly hazy dark orange with a thin but sticky off white head.

The smell is medium hoppy with a pungent, basement quality, very dank.

Has a nice green fresh hop flavor up front that quickly gets a nice bit of English Crystal Biscuit flavor evening it out nicely, a bit of citrus and pine comes through in the finish. Not at all bitter, doesn't taste close to the 80 ibu's it claims to be. Has more of a Pale Ale level of bitterness and is more balanced than I expect an IPA to be.

The mouthfeel is lightly syrupy with mild carbonation.

Good Dry Hopping and nice malt qualities, a very easy to drink IPA.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2012 23:31:44 | More by bashiba

hardy008

Minnesota

3.58/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear light amber color with a 3 finger foamy white head with good retention and lacing. Smells like grapefruit, pineapple, pine, floral hops, and biscuit malt.

The taste is mostly bitter, without much sweetness. Tastes like grapefruit, citrus zest, pine, floral hops, and biscuit malt. I did not taste the pineapple which I detected in the aroma.

Medium bodied with below average carbonation, and a bitter aftertaste. Very smooth, and finishes somewhat dry. A good IPA from Summit, but not in the upper echelon.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2012 23:23:56 | More by hardy008

Alieniloquium

Florida

3.58/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. bottle poured into a De Struise chalice. Enjoy by 10/22/2012, so I'm a couple days late on this.

Appearance - Pours a hazy pale orange. Small white head that settles to a collar and about 2/3 coverage of the surface. No real lacing, but I did just wash this glass.

Smell - Soapy. And not because I washed the glass. It's not a huge hop aroma, but it's there. Soapy citrusy hops. Malt comes through just a bit.

Taste - Much hoppier here. Definite citrus hop, very tropical fruit. Still not a beat-you-over-the-head hop flavor, which I crave. It immediately fades to a very light malt base. Just before it gets watery, there's a grainy malt flavor that helps retain some flavor. Quite bitter in the back, relative to the other flavors.

Mouthfeel - Quite drinkable, if a little uninteresting after a while. Medium carbonation and light bodied.

Overall - It's a pretty good IPA. Nothing I'd really need to trade for. Two Hearted is probably the closest approximation, but it's got nothing on Two Hearted.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2012 23:56:57 | More by Alieniloquium

stakem

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

12oz bottle into a standard pint. Thanks go to Kegatron for hooking me up with a bottle of this brew. It appears a clear copper orange color with a big frothy topping slightly more than 2 fingers. It is yellowish tan composed of rather large bubbles. It maintains solid retention with a cratered surface and as it fades it leaves a webby pattern of lace sticking all over the glass.

The aroma is somewhat muted but what emits is hoppy with an herbal to rindy scent. There is a fresh leafy quality about this with mild suggestions of fruit and citrus. There is a very minor aspect of sulfur and cheese towards the back as the brew warms up. Despite the aroma being soft and subtle, it is all about the hops and little to no grain or alcohol to be noticed.

The flavor is bitter with a rindy aspect almost oily like the pulp/juice of oranges and grapefruit. A bit of herbal to grassy bitterness is noted with a bit of biscuit-like grain inclusion that provides enough backing to be noticed and balance out the brew but not let it distract from the hops being the main focus. A mild note of fruity alcohol is noted towards the backend.

This is a medium bodied brew with a modest amount of carbonation. It is an overall decent brew that is very easy drinking. At times, it comes off just a touch watery but that increases it's drink-ability for the most part. I think it could have used just a bit more brightness to the hop character in both the flavor and aroma and that would have set it off. As is though it is down the middle of the road, easy drinking ipa. Thanks for gifting me with this Heath, I appreciate the chance to try it!

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2013 20:32:16 | More by stakem

stewart124

Ohio

3.58/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle at the Knights of Columbus off of Blue Rock Rd....$1. I could not believe it when the girl actually charged me only $1 and I was hoping that this wasn't past it's prime.

Light copper with some orange hues. Decent head retention.

Light floral notes and some citrus to light pine in the nose.

Taste was fairly bitter with pine and white grapefruit pushing the limits. More balanced than some IPAs but still a hop forward beer. Light bready notes with just a hint of caramel sweetness. Not a cloying sweetness and very drinkable.

This was quite a treat to say the least. Very easy drinking. Finishes dry with a pine character on the tongue. Sessionable for an IPA.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2013 01:49:58 | More by stewart124

tone77

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A big thanks goes out to cpolking for sending this beer. Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a dark golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is hoppy, some citrus. Taste is also big on hops, some pine, a bit of citrus, good bitterness. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a solid beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2012 21:23:03 | More by tone77

Justin_Neff

Ohio

3.63/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

12 oz. bottle poured into a southern tier pumking tulip glass.

A: Aggressively pours a moderately translucent golden-orange color. 1 finger head that didn't fade too quickly. Good amount of lacing on the glass.

S: Some malts and good amount of hops. Bitter grapefruit. Good, but nothing too special from the nose.

T: Light. A good amount of hops without a ton of bitterness. Not much malt character in the taste. Definitely some grapefruit and orange citrus notes.

M: Light-Moderate body. Crisp. Good level of carbonation. Session-able.

O: Not bad. A good IPA that you could throw back 3 or 4 without batting an eye. Could have bit more hop character, but not too bitter, not too malty, not too sweet. Good balance.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2013 01:05:29 | More by Justin_Neff

biggred1

Indiana

3.65/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pale, clear golden with a creamy tan head that shrinks to a tight collar within a minute of pouring. Dank, resinous hop notes of pine and tropical fruit. The nose is really nice on this one. Hoppy for sure, but maybe a little under-malted for my tastes. Big piney flavors with a touch of citrus fruit and slight toasty malt flavors. Finishes dry. Thin bodied and highly carbonated. A tasty, bitter IPA for sure, a tad more malt would really balance the flavors for me but I will drink this beer again for sure what I crave a crisp hop-bomb type IPA.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2012 00:41:35 | More by biggred1

matjack85

Illinois

3.65/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

I picked this up as part of a build-your-own six pack for $9.99 at the Binnhy's store in Bloomingdale, IL. 12oz squatty brown bottles with no freshness date, but since this beer only came out in 2012, it can't be that old.

The beer poured a hazy gold color with a 1-finger white head that lasted a few minutes and left lots of lacing.

The beer had a mild tropical fruit smell to it due to the use of citra and amarillo hops, but it also had a rather unpleasant barnyard smell to it as well that doesn't suit this style.

The taste is very hop forward with lots of citrus flavor. Grapefruit, pineapple, and pine taste with fairly high bitterness at 80 IBU's. There's a slight caramel malt sweetness to it, but this is basically a hop lover's delight.

Light bodied with fairly high carbonation.

Good if you like fruity, bitter, hoppy IPA's.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2013 09:39:19 | More by matjack85

BarrytheBear

Wisconsin

3.7/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle into a tulip. A quick perusal yields no bottle dating. Shocking.

Mildly dehydrated urine yellow beneath some clumpy white flotillas. Some long boogery lace gropes the edges.

Some creaminess, pineapple, and Bisquik pancake on the nose. Rather tame and not particularly bright.

Light pine, moderate juicy bitterness, and a grassy finish. Hints of tropics on the nose are a bit vague though on the periphery. Lemony iced tea? Healthy malt profile may be to blame for swallowing some of the hops.

Mouthfeel is light and creamy with a tingling and juicy finish that leaves a tingling and lasting bitterness.

Overall I really enjoy seven dollar six packs. As such, this is an enjoyable beer. As an IPA to reach for on a regular basis, it lacks some of the juicy vibrancy that I look for.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2012 02:13:27 | More by BarrytheBear

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

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3.71/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet. I drink the crap out of this beer.

First off, $12 for a 12 pack of delicious ipa? Yes, please!

Off white head. Golden orange in color.

Flavors of pine and earthy/floral hops. Bready/biscuity malts. A bit of fruit citrus flavors. The malts show a bit more in this one and balance it out nicely.

Mouthfeel: Bitter and a bit sticky. Medium bodied with a good amount of carbonation.

Overall, an enjoyable ipa that is greatly priced and easy to find around the TC. Glad to see this showing up at the 'divey' bars.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2013 01:35:55 | More by mothman

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.76/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

12oz bottle. Crystal clear gold with a nice covering of slightly off-white head. Robust retention with a good bit of sticky lace left back. The aroma smells herbal, citric (grapefruit), zesty (lemon) and piney in the nose. Very light tropical notes mix some soft maltiness across the back. This had about a little of everything. Taste is fresh grapefruit and zesty bitterness (although a little raw on the finish) that is tempered by tropical (lots of orange) and herbal character and a sweet graininess from the malts. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a soft crisp creaminess in the mouth with some underlying slickness. No alcohol and very easy drinking. This was decent, with a moderately bright feel to the hop flavors and an overall good balance. You could do worse out there than a sixer of this for a hop fix.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 19:52:50 | More by Kegatron

argock

Virginia

3.76/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a 12 oz brown bottle into a clear mug. No obvious freshness date. Purchased as a single by my brother Greg at a Minneapolis area bottle shop for $1.99.
Reviewed from notes.

A: LIght copper, clear, with 2-finger off-white nicely rocky head with good retention and solid sticky lacing.

S: Hoppy with grapefruit pith, pine resin, and some earthy notes in the background. Maltiness is nondescript but slightly bready with little to no caramel.

T: More bitter than the aroma shows with solid underlying bready, lightly crackery maltiness and ranging hoppiness including grapefruit, honeysuckle, orange, pine, and resiny finish. Very solid flavor but doesn't distinguish itself from other good IPAs.

M: A little heavier in body than I would have liked -- not bad, I want this to be lighter and a bit drier. Carbonation could be ratcheted up a notch to help with this.

O: A very good beer from Summit and their best IPA to date that I have had the chance to try. A little lighter body and drier finish would really make this more enjoyable, but all in all it is a nice beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2013 02:54:51 | More by argock

dakotaben

North Dakota

3.76/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

I thought it had a very nice aroma, but the taste didn't pack quite the kick that I was expecting from the smell. The color, taste, and overall... this beer delivers what I would expect from Summit!

This is a good beer from Summit with all the characteristics of a good IPA and I would drink this again.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2013 21:09:23 | More by dakotaben

morimech

Minnesota

3.78/5  rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Upgraded packaging for this new beer compared to previous beers. Pours a clear golden color with two fingers of head that had good retention before settling to a thick cap. Moderate amount of sticky lacing is left down the glass.

Aroma is a combination of pine, citrus, and tropical fruit notes. A little bit of toffee lingers in the background.

The flavor is growing on me the farther down the glass I get. Very bitter with a slightly toasted bread malt flavor. The hop flavor does not deliver as good as I would of liked considering the bitterness level. Mostly earthy pine hop flavor with the slightest tropical fruit note. Lingering bitterness in the aftertaste. Overall is dry.

Medium body and appropriately carbonated. Good overall texture.

A solid, even good IPA, but nothing greatly impressed me. Can't beat the price though so it will be a regular in my rotation.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2012 21:38:20 | More by morimech

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

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