Sosus | Toppling Goliath Brewing Company

4.66/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Great overall beer. A ton of peach on the nose and a melon flavor. If I had this and King Sue side by side, it would be hard to tell the difference. TG never fails to disappoint

★ 177 characters

4.21/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a Beautiful hazy golden color with tons of lacing on the side of glass as you drink this, smell was tropical with white fruit, tropical and citrus. Taste is delicious a great blend of fruity hops with papaya , peach, pear,mango, and citrus, medium carbonation with little bitterness , its highly drinkable and tasty

★ 322 characters

4.66/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Nose - tropical fruit aplenty....mango, guava and some stone fruit like peach and apricot

Taste - very similar to the nose - no surprises, everything in balance

Wonderfully creamy....not bitter, not boozy, just an excellent example of a mosaic tropical bomb.

★ 260 characters

4.49/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Serving: Bomber into pint
Served: 11 June 2016

Appearance: Pours a hazy bright yellow with a pearly white head. The head leaves some lacing in the glass, but the beer was a bit old when I cracked it open- no doubt the lacing would be better if this was super fresh. The haze is on the level of a hefeweizen.

Smell: Lots of nice hop notes going on here, very similar to NE IPAs- tropical fruit such as passionfruit, guava, and mango, combined with notes of pine, lemongrass, and pomelo. Really quite a good nose.

Taste: Very similar to the nose. I can't believe this is a double IPA- the maltiness is silky smooth and provides a nice sweet base for the huge hop flavors (which are just about identical to the nose). Little to no astringent bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with medium carbonation.

Overall: This is one of the best DIPAs I have ever drunk. Expertly masked alcohol. Substantial body without feeling too heavy. Marvelous flavors. Really, really well done. Highly recommended.

★ 995 characters

4.13/5  rDev -8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Had this side by side with Pompeii. The Sosus was 2 MONTHS fresher than the Pompeii, but Pompeii was much much better in my opinion. It was more fruit forward where Sosus was 3x as bitter.

★ 188 characters

4.66/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

Bottles just sitting on the shelf at Hy-Vee.

Pours a truly beautiful honey color, almost glowing, medium translucent with a fabulous white head.

Smells of strong mosaic against some light, chewy yeast. Good, but hop-heavy.

Tastes very good. Need to take a few sips to process this fully. Starts off bitter and fruity, gets very fruity and sweet near the middle, finishes on very chewy, bready yeast with some bittersweet hop nodes lingering after the beer's been swallowed. The balance is exquisite, considering its strength in IBUs, and the fruit-hop profile is the best I've ever come across in a midwestern beer. And the thick, yeasty finish is strongly reminiscent of something from Hill Farmstead.

★ 710 characters

4.81/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

A: Hazy orange-gold color, though almost translucent. Two-inch white foam head with tons of beautiful lacing.

S: Citrusy, fruity, and piney. Pineapple and mango. Great hoppiness coming through with a slightly floral note at the end.

T: Taste mimicks the aromas well. Awesome bitter hoppiness accompanied by citrusy and slightly fruity flavors. Mild sweetness initially followed by the great bitterness.

M: Smooth, light-medium bodied. Great carbonation and slightly dry.

O: Great DIPA. Honestly, one of the best DIPAs I've had and one of my favorite TG brews. Tried it fairly fresh but would like to try it even sooner after bottling. Love this stuff.

★ 655 characters

4.51/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

One of the better mosaic DIPAs I've had. Pours a clear burnt orange with decent head and moderate lacing. Tons of danky pine, ripe pineapple, and blueberry in both taste and smell. Toppling Goliath continues to impress....

★ 224 characters

4.41/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

pours a clear orange with one finger head. Aroma is onion, basil, pineapple, mango, orange. Taste is orange sherbet, pineapple, and bitter mosaic hops. Mouth feel is full and creamy. Carbonation is crisp. One of the better IPAs I've had this year.

★ 247 characters

4.6/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Tropical juice bomb with piney bittterness lingering. Pineapple shines through the palate. Second favorite TG hoppy offering (King Sue is my #1). Definitely worth seeking out.

★ 175 characters

4.42/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Served in a La Chouffe tulip

L: Pours a nearly translucent orange. 1.5-2 fingers of bright white foam, excellent lacing that clings to the glass well after I finished the beer.

S: Huge nose, especially as it warms. Scents of mango, pineapple, orange zest, toffee malt, and a faint finish of resinous hops and dakness

T: Exceptionally layered. Starts as the nose does-pineapple, mango, hint of orange (particularly the slightly astringent bitter finish to a fresh orange). Malt and subtle bitterness on the finish. Magnifically balanced.

F: Not a huge malt backbone for a double IPA, but medium bodied, creamy, smooth mouthfeel.

O: excellent beer. One of the best double IPAs that I have had. Explodes with citrus, but well balanced with malt and just the right amount of bitterness on the finish. Complex, layered, and delicious

★ 846 characters

4.5/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Lots of tropical fruit, great nose, one of my favorite mosaic beers ever. TG can really do hoppy beers; now if only they'd get a little wider distribution footprint, they'd be perfect!

★ 184 characters

4.28/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Smell is passionfruit, sweet malt, pine, pineapple, and dankness. Taste is dank, pine resin, mango, and citrus. Nice mixture of a west coast IPA with a more tropical-forward IPA. Zeelander is still my favorite TG IPA, but this might be a close second.

★ 254 characters

4.47/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Bottle dated 5/02/2016 poured into a Toppling Goliath "chalice" (their words, though it's a tulip) on 5/15/2016

L: Pours a beautiful golden orange. Mostly clear. Decent 1-1.5 finger head of foam. Leaves great lacing around the glass.

S: Very subtle dankness. Ripe mango and some faint berries. Some floral notes. Very pleasant.

T: Very hoppy beer. Much more so than Pompeii, which I find to be balanced much better. Though this is still excellent. Still get nice notes of mango and berries. Definite dankness and floral qualities. Definitely a more amplified take on the nose. For the most part, the alcohol is decently masked. Definitely taste it more than I'd like to, but such is life with DIPAs!

F: Honestly, this is perfect. But I almost never give 5s. Nice slightly above medium mouthfeel. Makes you smack your a little. Makes you want more. And more. And more. Excellent.

Overall, this is a great beer. I've yet to be disappointed by Toppling Goliath. Though I find their Pompeii a bit more balanced and more flavorful, this is still a winner. Don't hesitate to pick it up!

★ 1,087 characters

4.22/5  rDev -6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Very good beer from TG. Typical cloud appearance like you'd see with PseudoSue or Pompeii. Aftertaste is weed. Surprisingly smooth for an 8.00%-er. Would definitely seek this one out if it comes our way again.

★ 209 characters

4.27/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

L - turbid orange, medium white head
S - tropical fruit
T - grass / floral on the front, medium bitterness on the back
F - light / medium bodied
O - really enjoyable TG beer

★ 173 characters

4.93/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Newer labeled 22oz bottle poured into a snifter. The beer pours a golden straw color with a little bit of haziness. There is a decent amount of carbonation in the beer resulting in a decent amount of dense white foam. The aromas have peach, citrus, and grapefruit. The taste is slightly bitter, hop forward, crisp, intense pine notes, and follows the citrusy aromas. Medium body with the aforementioned carbonation. Definitely a hop showcase here. Overall this is a very delicious DIPA and worth seeking out. You will not be let down, cheers!

★ 542 characters

3.23/5  rDev -28.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pours an orange-amber color with a smaller, bubbly head on top.

Smells or blood orange, peach, zingy lemon rind and a pleasant dankness, coated up by toffee malts. Herbal qualities turn more present among flowery biscuits, well balanced by juicy, ripe exotic fruits.

Has a medium carbonation with a medium body to it, revealing an intense clash between hops an malts on the tongue. Its mouthfeel remains pleasantly creamy though, leaving all nuances of the beer detectable, due to soothing yeast.

Tastes of an initial aqueous softness, establishing the beers great mouthfeel from the kickoff, together with comforting toffee malts. In a split second malts turn absurdly sweet, while the hops try to establish a working balance by introducing garden herbs and dry lime. Finds its peak right after the swallow by producing a dough coated, piercing toffee sweetness, while overloading the palate with bitter hops at the same time. Finishes surprisingly clean, leaving behind its staggering sweetness, now focussing on lemon, prickly kiwi and juicy blood orange.

Almost overpowers my tastebuds, once the beers piercing sweetness gets established from out of nowhere, while hops accept the challenge by creating an equally powerful bitterness. This misses certainly some balance to me, to form a pleasant drinking experience. Usually I would assume a dipa being ruled by its hops, in this particular bottle its been vice versa.

★ 1,428 characters

4.66/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Exceptional DIPA. Nice orange appearance. Juicy, tropical fruit smell. Not much bitterness or overly sweet tasting. More tropical fruit tasting and goes down very smoothly.... Almost too smoothly. Would love to be able to find this easier.

★ 244 characters

4.96/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

This is one of the best IPAs on the market. Brilliant mosaic hop smell right away, followed by one of the best tastes that you will ever take from an IPA. Toppling Goliath knows how to make them, and this is as good as it gets.

★ 227 characters

4.71/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

L: pours a dark orange with a white head that lasts a while
S: Citrus and Mosaic hops. The nose is great. smells a bit lighter than a lot of other DIPAs.
T: Big citrus Flavor. The Mosaic hops shine. Not as much bitterness on the back end as you would expect.
F: quite carbonated but smooth.

O: absolutely wonderful beer. Seriously if you happen to get your hands on it do not think twice about picking one up. I wish I bought more than one bomber.

★ 458 characters

4.46/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Drinking from a TH Teku glass. Got in trade about 2 weeks ago. Holding up nicely. Burnt orange look, great lacing, head sticks around. This is a mosaic single hop and it has a nice unique smell and taste as a result. Excellent stuff.

★ 238 characters

4.45/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Bottle poured into a snifter.

4.0 A: Clear medium orange color. Two fingers of creamy beige head. Retention is good and a couple different looking waves of lacing are left.

4.5 S: Booming floral and citrus hops. Mango and papaya dominate. Next the aroma becomes resiny and floral. Then a big hit of orange, then pineapple. It finishes with a touch of earth.

4.5 T: Heavier moderate bitterness. Heavy citrus dominate again. Mango, orange, and papaya are the most potent. Flowery and dankly resiny. On the sweeter side, but the malts are mainly neutral.

4.25 M: Heavier medium to heavy body. Good moderate carbonation. Viscous without being sticky and good creaminess present.

4.5 D: It's really freaking good, but it's still not as good as fresh draft pseudoSue.

★ 783 characters

4.86/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

L: Glowing orange, the hue of Ryan Seacrest's fake tan. Unique, beautiful.

S: There's some nose here, but relaitvely subdued compared to the cray cray flavor. Orange peel, guava, pineapple. Tropical goodness.

T: The base layers here are tropical, guava + pineapple, with some subtle citrus in between. but then -- gadzoiks! -- spice box: cardamom, cloves, some sweet pepper.

F: Soft and juicy.

O: This is a quaffer: super smooth, with palatable and unique flavors that I just wanted to gulp down fast. Refreshing and flavorful; utterly balanced. Toppling Goliath does it again!

★ 583 characters

4.86/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

Wow. Tons of fruit on the nose and taste. mango, passion fruit, melon, candied citrus peel. Explosive fruitiness of a West coast ipa yet has the balanced, nuanced quality of a new England ipa. Seriously delicious beer.

★ 219 characters