Summit makes the best seasonal variety packs for any kind of outdoor adventure.
And with Fall coming — bringing along all that color-changing, chilly, nostalgia-filled goodness — the Bonfire box is a perfect fall camper variety pack.
Inside, you’ll find perfect fall flavors with Summit’s collection of their Summit Extra Pale Ale, Keller Pils, Oktoberfest, and the all-new Cranky Woodsman.
Here’s what Summit has to say about the Bonfire Box:
“There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who can’t wait for pumpkin-spiced latte season to arrive, and those who are negative about everything. Fortunately, we have something here that should please everyone. For the people who love thick fall sweaters and fragrant slow-cooked meals: The Summit Bonfire Box variety pack, featuring four delicious beers perfectly suited for the fast-approaching mild evenings which you will wisely spend drinking beers in the out of doors.”
Damn near poetry itself and it sums up this box perfectly. Now let’s crack open the case and see what slurred words come to mind.
Cranky Woodsman — 5.2% — Brown Ale
“A Nut Brown Ale featuring rich, roasted flavors and aromas, Cranky Woodsman is suitable for long evenings by the campfire…”
There’s a lot going on with this Nut Brown. It starts off with rich, sweet caramel malt flavor and some sweet, brown sugar/syrupy notes. But then it quickly transitions to that charred, smoky, wood flavor as it finishes. Just like a campfire.
‘As smoke billows
slow
syrup floating
up near the stars
follow
like signals, guiding
your heart.’
Extra Pale Ale — 5.3% — English Pale Ale
“Featuring caramel, biscuity malts balanced by an earthy hop bite and juicy citrus.”
Ah, the Summit flagship. The EPA has notes of crackery, biscuit malts that lend to a hearty sweetness and then balanced by a floral, grassy citrus hop finish. It’s a nice, fuller but not to filling pale ale for fall.
‘Among the fields of golden prairie wheat
I often dream to be
zombie like
hikes across the barren dreamscape Midwest sea
a home I’ll never see.’
Keller Pils — 5.1% — German-style Kellerbier
“Brewed with traditional Tettnang hops and the modern German variety Huell Melon, Keller Pils offers spicy floral notes, balanced citrus bitterness, and malty-sweet and honey undertones from Weyermann Barke Pilsner Malt.”
It has some nice, white bread-like malt flavor, that’s smooth and sweet. The backend flows into a zesty lemon/citrus hope flavor, with just the smallest, smallest hint of peppery spice.
‘I fell in love in a cabin in a cornfield of nowhere at summer in the dusk with fireflies shooting like firecrackers on the fourth of july.
Cicadas sang and we had toes in the sand by the shore of a pond holding hands as beer lit us up inside and out and it was love, oh it was
and the setting sun as it poured its blood across the twilight sky listening to radio waves hearing them say behold, the coming hurricane.’
Oktoberfest — 7.10% — Marzen
“Rich, toffee malt flavors up front with a clean hop finish as crisp as the autumn air. Unfortunately, like the fall colors, this seasonal beer is gone before you know it.”
Lots of rich, filling caramel and toasted sweet candy-like toffee flavor. Personally, I’m not keen on Oktoberfest beers, but in a cold camping environment, I could get behind this. It warms you up with its heartiness and above average ABV. It finishes with some floral, spicey hops, but it’s predominantly all malt sweetness here.
‘What’s that feeling when you come inside from the night
alive but cold, but warmed by the glow
of the party starting to go
that wild comfort shake shedding the chill
feeling the wild thrill of the magic still
to be
as the night grows late and becomes a dream
of Halloween masks and ghosts
through the cigarette smoke?’