So, I took one for the team on Thursday morning. After my weekly radio gig on Cities97, I battled traffic, pedestrians, and wild animals to go drink beer with Summit Brewing brewmaster and founder Mark Stutrud. I was joined by Alvey from the Four Firkins and the folks from one of my favorite local food sites, HeavyTable.com . . . phew, workin’ in the coalmine.

Summit is launching a new beer, Horizon Red Ale. The beer is new in two ways: It is a new year-round beer for Summit, and it is a new style of beer, a hybrid American ale, that crosses beer boundaries, according to the brewery. They hop the beer six different times during fermentation, each hop proffering different notes and characteristics. The Horizon hop (its namesake) gives pungent, spicy notes; the Cascade and Amarillo hops lend bright citrus qualities. The brew does transcend beer styles, it is concurrently hoppy but rich and not especially bitter, finishing with floral and apricot notes. It is hoppy but not overly so like many an IPA. After a number of test batches, Horizon Red Ale took approximately twenty weeks to develop the final product. Stutrud told me the new ale will be available in limited release at local establishments April 16 and then officially available on April 20. They will be bottling 3,000 cases on the initial run and then bottling bi-weekly to maintain a fresh supply.

Horizon is sure to become my favorite everyday beer (sorry Summit EPA). Luckily for me, Mark was generous enough to send me home with a few samples. Those beers will be much deserved this weekend after hours of spreading manure in the field at my farm.

Provincial Summit Facts

• It produced 83,000 barrels of beer last year, of which 87 percent was sold in Minnesota.
• Forty-seven percent of the production was in the form of draft beer, showing the brewery's commitment to local bars and restaurants. 
• All of the enormous fermentation tanks were made by DCI Fabrication in St. Cloud.