Naughty Temple
Toppling Goliath Brewing Company

Super dark brown with a small tan head that rings around the glass. Nose is very much port wine like. Soft and smooth mouthfeel. Sweet, Milky caramel flavors but nothing overpowering. Fruit flavors on backend with a raisin like hint.

 

 

 

Billed as a strong ale, Toppling Goliath blows the proportions of that style out of the water for this sweet, sweet, sweet barleywine ale that shows unrelenting malty power on the tastebuds.

Pouring a deep garnet hue and cast in a slight haze, Naughty Temple teases the nose with a sultry blend of caramel, toffee and sweetened whisky spice with a swift tingle of the nose. As its froth dissolves, its first sip is decadent with molasses, toffee, caramel, vanilla and honey with a heavy coat of the tongue. With no real bitterness for balance, the fruitiness of date, fig, cherry and orange give a distinct marmalade taste while the bourbon warmth works to give balance and a complex layer of sugar oak, coconut, vanilla and char.

Heavy, full and cloying on the palate, the delicious ale shows a chewy, thick and weighted mouthfeel that makes drinkability difficult despite its dessert-like character.

(2021edition) Poured from a bomber into a Dogfish Head nonic pint glass an amber brown color with a loose tan colored head that fizzes and recedes quickly. Aromas of whiskey are forward with hints of roasted malts, chicory, bark, fig & molasses. Flavor follows nose with a strong bourbon flavor prevalent throughput. Medium light in body and a little thin for this style with a bit of a boozy burn in the finish. Knocked me on my a** with aa almost 14% ABV, but still enjoyable none the less. Well done guys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A gusher as soon as the cap was pried off (vintage 2021), but little liquid overall escaped, and it appears perfectly fine in the glass - albeit mostly still after a small and short-lived head.

Aroma is whiskey-forward, along with caramel, bark, and light leather. There are touches of caramel, pecan, and brown sugar lurking in the background, but they mostly blend in with the barrel influence.

Very lively, nearly fizzy, on the palate - showing perhaps a bit of whatever turned it into a gusher. Long wet finish, so even if it's not the most approachable big beer to savor and chew, there's plenty of time to enjoy the flavor profile.

Delicious beer. A fairly simple malt base focused on caramel, chocolate, dark fruit, and bread provides an excellent base to showcase the barrel influence. Nutty, rich, semi-sweet. A decadent strong ale swimming in bourbon.

 

2021 vintage
Pours a light fizzy head, low retention and low lacing, very dark molasses brown almost blackish color

Nose is awesome, big fruits, brandy soaked raisin, candied apple, a bit fig plum, big whiskey barrel with bright whiskey, vanilla and toasted oak, mild spices, sweet candi malt, caramel, nougat,

Taste brings rich malt, caramel, toffee, plenty of fruit, fig date, whiskey soaked raisin, into whiskey barrel, vanilla, toasted slight buttery oak, a touch nutty, light bitterness, light smooth alcohol, semi sweet mild dry finish

Mouth is med to fuller bod, med to a bit lower carb, light warming smooth alcohol

Overall awesome, as usual from toppling Goliath

 

poured from a 22oz bomber into a TG assassin teku. pours a dark mahogany with ruby red edges and a thin layer of sandy light brown foam. molasses, tobacco, leather, bourbon and a hint of caramel. taste hits with initial flavors of dark fruits and maple with a background of tobacco and bourbon, followed by a vanilla sweet, oaky dry finish. thick, semi-syrupy mouthfeel with a perfect, lower level of carbonation. overall, incredibly complex barrel-aged strong ale. never gets too sweet or too hot. so well balanced and while it seems rather simple, as it warms up and opens up it reveals layers of intricate flavors that play well off one another.

Shiny dark brown with off-white head that quickly dies down into a ring around the glass. Taste is whiskey barrel oak and vanilla, sweet caramel, toffee, fig. Thickness is medium. There is a bit of alcohol warming, but it is slight for the abv. The remarkable characteristic is the high quality barrel that imparts tremendous flavor without being too boozy.

On tap at Whiskey Road, Cedar Falls, IA, served in a small snifter. Clear, rather cola-colored body, with no head to speak of. Big aromas and flavors of whiskey and whiskey barrel up front, with notes of caramel, molasses, and licorice. Medium bodied, with great carbonation and a little understated sweetness. A little boozy, but not as much as I expected. It goes down easily and finishes cleanly. Although not the quintessential "food beer," this made a great pairing with spicy southwestern egg rolls (quite by accident, I might add). But feel free to enjoy this fine sipper on its own, in front of a roaring fire if you can.

2021 version. Considered aging but just had to open. Well worth it not as boozy as I was expecting. Pricey bottle but worth it once. Found at Cool vines Jersey City