Long before craft breweries became commonplace in cities across America, Summit Brewing was making serious beer in Minnesota.

Founded in St. Paul in 1986, Summit Brewing Co. was one of the early pioneers of the modern American craft beer movement and helped establish Minnesota as a vital brewing region. Its flagship Summit Extra Pale Ale became a regional classic, and over the decades the independently owned brewery grew into one of the most recognizable beer brands in the Upper Midwest.

Now, as Summit approaches its 40th anniversary, its future is suddenly uncertain.

Chicago-based BMO Bank has filed a lawsuit in Ramsey County District Court seeking to foreclose on Summit’s St. Paul brewery property after the company defaulted on more than $8.2 million in debt.

The bank is also seeking the appointment of a receiver who would take control of the brewery’s assets as the case moves forward.

According to court documents, the financial trouble centers on two loans Summit secured in late 2024, a $6.88 million term loan and a $1.25 million revolving line of credit. The brewery’s property at 900 and 910 Montreal Circle, including its buildings, machinery and brewing equipment, was used as collateral.

Summit defaulted after the revolving loan matured at the end of 2025 and subsequently entered into a forbearance agreement with BMO that gave the brewery until July 31, 2026, to reduce its debt while meeting certain financial benchmarks.

But by June, Summit reportedly informed the bank that its liquidity had deteriorated and that it would not have enough money to meet the July deadline. BMO terminated the forbearance agreement and ultimately moved to foreclose.

And this didn’t happen overnight.

Like many established regional craft breweries, Summit was hit hard by the pandemic and never really recovered. COVID-19 shutdowns reportedly wiped out roughly 40% of the brewery’s sales, and annual revenue has fallen from approximately $23 million in 2014 to around $15 million today.

Summit CEO Brandon Bland has framed the brewery’s financial problems as part of a much larger economic challenge facing the craft beer industry.

According to the Brewers Association, American craft beer production fell another 4% during the first half of 2026, continuing a contraction that has hit regional breweries particularly hard.

A growing  number of notable Minnesota breweries have closed in recent years as rising costs, intense competition and changing drinking habits continue to reshape the state’s once rapidly expanding craft beer scene.

But Summit Brewing isn’t closing, at least not now.

Beer production continues at the St. Paul brewery, its Ratskeller taproom remains open and the company says it remains current on its monthly loan payments.

Summit’s board is now exploring refinancing options and talking with prospective investors in hopes of securing enough replacement capital to pay off BMO and keep the brewery operating independently.

Whether those efforts succeed remains to be seen.

And there’s something particularly sobering about seeing Summit in this position.

This isn’t some overextended brewery that arrived during craft beer’s boom years. Summit was brewing independent beer when American craft beer was still young.

But now, nearly four decades later, one of the breweries that helped build that movement is fighting to stay alive.