Mark Stutrud, president and founder of Summit Brewing Co., will be the program speaker at this week's, Thursday, April 6, Rotary Club of Edina meeting. Stutrud will speak about "Experiences Being a Brewing Sod-Buster." There will be samples of some of Summit's brews at the meeting.
 
Stutrud has been a member of the St. Paul Rotary Club #10 since 2000.
 
Click on the link below for more information on the speaker...
 
 
 
A Wahpeton, N.D., native, Mark Stutrud graduated in 1975 from the University of North Dakota with a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work.
 
In 1984, Stutrud founded Summit Brewing Company. He  completed  the  market research, business plan, development and financing to establish a 4,000-barrel-per-year brewery in St. Paul. Commercial  production commenced  in September 1986. The original brewery experienced five expansions reaching a maximum capacity of 34,000 barrels per year. By December 1998 Summit Brewing Company completed construction of its current facility. This modern plant, with an annual capacity of 240,000 barrels, was the first brewery built in Minnesota since repeal of Prohibition. 
 
Stutrud received professional training from Charles A. McElevey  (a 1968 graduate of The Technical University of Munich—Weihenstephan,   Freising, Germany) and Frederick H. Thomasser (a 1945 graduate of the United States Brewing Academy). He completed the courses of Brewing Theory and Practice and Brewing Microbiology and Microscopy at the Siebel Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois. In July 1991, Stutrud was awarded the J.E. Siebel Memorial Scholarship and received his Diploma in Brewing Technology from the Siebel Institute. 

He is an active member of the Master Brewers Association of the Americas, the American Society of Brewing Chemists and a life member of the Campaign for Real Ale. Stutrud has served on many boards of local and national business and brewing associations, including the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Restaurant Association from 1998 through 2010 and the Board of Directors of the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce from 2005 through 2010. He and Summit Brewing Company have also received and been nominated for many awards both locally and nationally for innovation, excellence and quality.
 
The Rotary Club of Edina meets at 12:15 p.m. Thursdays at the Edina Country Club. All are welcome. Cost for lunch and the program is $20 for adults, $12 for children. Payment can be made with cash, check or credit card at the door. There is a service fee on credit card payments.