Summit Brewing Co. founder and godfather of the Minnesota craft brewing scene Mark Stutrud will be retiring as company CEO. He will continue to stay involved with the 37 year-old brewery as brand ambassador as Chief Strategy Officer, Brandon Bland takes over as CEO.
Summit began brewing in 1986 after Stutrud spent years studying the industry, including doing an apprenticeship at the now defunct William S. Newman Brewing Co. in Albany, New York. The original brewery, housed in an used car sales showroom on University Ave., in St. Paul included a used brewhouse from Heimertingen, Germany. In 1991 the company expanded capacity from 5,000 to 12,000 barrels and in 1996 the company broke ground on a 4.2-acre location. The 240,000 bbl capacity brewery, the first new brewery built from the ground up in St. Paul since before Prohibition included a copper brewhouse from Hürnerbräu, Ansbach, Bavaria.
Summit is currently producing about 95,000 bbls per year and is sold in five states. 90% of all Summit beer sold is in the home state of Minnesota.
See an interview with Mark from the MinnPost here.