Minnesota Might Lose One of Its Most Famous Breweries

The brewery industry across the country has been in a decline over the past few years. I saw a stat from the Brewers Association (which I found thanks to KSTP) that says more brewpubs and taprooms have closed than opened in each of the last two years.

We've already seen breweries across Minnesota feeling the effects and closing, but this one is especially shocking because of how popular and well-known they are.

Summit Brewing may have to close soon because they're over $8 million in debt and is now facing a foreclosure notice.

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Summit Brewing in St. Paul Facing Foreclosure

Summit is a big name in the brewery business. They've been around since 1986 and according to the Brewers Association there were only 124 breweries in the entire country at that time.

Summit has seen a lot over the years, but consumers changing tastes, less people consuming alcohol, and the rise in costs has spelled trouble.

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Documents were filed with Ramsey County on Thursday from BMO Bank because Summit owes them over $8.2 million for two loans (including interest and legal fees).

KSTP writes that the two loans were "a $1.25 million revolving line of credit and a $6.875 million term loan issued in December 2024." Summit ended up not being able to pay BMO and entered a forbearance period with "a July 31 deadline to pay off its debts while meeting a minimum profitability benchmark."

On June 15th Summit let BMO know they wouldn't be able to pay off their debt. They tried to find a resolution but BMO demanded a full repayment in August and now a foreclosure notice has been issued.

According to CBS News, "The complaint also asks the court to appoint a general receiver who can manage and operate Summit's property." This would mean someone would come in, take over management of Summit company assets (this would include things like machinery, vehicles, patents, trademarks and software), and possibly liquidate it in order to pay BMO the money they're owed.

The CEO and president of Summit, Brandon Bland, said in a written statement, "We're incredibly proud of this team and everything they've put into this business, and we intend to continue evaluating every option available to us as this process moves forward."