Where Did Toppling Goliath Come From?!

It isn't magic. If one brewery can make exceptional beer, anybody can.

 

Maybe they're somehow related.

 

They come from a state that needed a great brewery in a bad way! Very few breweries make all styles great- they do. First class employees and first class beers = success.

 

I can tell you, as someone who has been lucky enough to travel the US and the much of the beer world all while having the opportunity to drink fresh locals, that TG is the real deal. Nuff' said.

 

They've been around for awhile now, but are just starting to expand and bottle. There are tons of upcoming brewpubs that are not yet bottling but make amazing beer but TG seems to be doing it right...

 

I read they are upgrading from a 1/2 barrel system to a 30 barrel system. My homebrew rig is almost a 1/2 barrel.

Their beer tastes great right now because people can taste the rare. It won't be as good when it's a shelf beer simply because it's a shelf beer.

 

I have no doubt TG beers are very good and worthy of the hype, that being said in no way am I willing to trade what people are asking for them

 

It's not rare, it's just brewed in small batches right now and limited to mostly Iowan's. I guess you could think of it as rare, but it will be brewed again and again. When I think rare, I think "we brewed it once, and we may brew it again in the future or we may not."

And yes, it will taste like crap once production is scaled up, because taste is 95% hype and the brewers will forget how to make great tasting beer.

 

Upgrading from a 10 bbl to a 30 bbl... only brewed on the 1/2 bbl for less than a year back in 2009.

 

I heard that the brewmaster heard a voice that said, "If you build it, they will come..."

 

If my experience is typical, I understand why the cost is so high: I drove 3 hours to make it to the Kentucky Brunch release party by 8 AM, scored a relatively decent number (bottle AND tap sales were offered sequentially by sticker number), and still went home with exactly one 12-oz bottle. The keg kicked before I could get it on tap, too (consolation prize: Naughty Temple).

In short, if you want someone to give up a bottle, you are likely asking him to give up his first taste of it.

 

Now that's RARE! No wonder it's currently #1 with a rating of 4.8 and 65 reviews.

 

In a few years, I really see Toppling Goliath on about the same level (size and distribution-wise) as Surly and FFF for high-quality, Midwestern micro brewery. They will hopefully be able to keep up with demand for their core accounts, but probably won't be able to distribute too far from there. I'm Completly fine with that level of growth and I think it makes the best business sense. They seem to have a good grasp on the direction and speed at which they want to grow their brewery....a good "game plan" that will hopefully start turning a profit for them very, very soon! I hope for nothing but the best for TG.

 

From the future, with a message saying "This is what beer can be".

 

Di

Disagree- great beer is great beer no matter production amounts

 

That's a weighted average. If you look at the profile page, it has an rAvg of 4.91. No beer of any style with r>20 is even close.

 

The 1/2 bbl system was run for about a year. Been running the 10bbl brewhouse since 2010. As far as scaling up to 30 bbls, most of our beers are brewed 30 bbls at a time and have been for a while. I just have to brew 3 batches in a day to fill one of the 30 bbl fermenters. The 30 bbl brewhouse will allow me to fill 3x 30 bbl fermenters in a day, which is what will help get more beer out.

 

I want to say a big thanks to all you fans and critics alike. I can promise you one thing, we have just begun. Every day we strive for process improvement and will not release a beer that does not make any of the Hop Patrol smile. Currently brewing on a 10 barrel system, and a 30 barrel system 6 months overdue, you can rest assure our beer will not sit on a shelf. We have not even added our neighbors in MN yet, and have a nice waiting list (thanks for your patience, you are next!) Then comes IL and there you have it.

We love to hear what you like about our beers, and also need to hear about your dislikes. After all, we are only human, (although we feel like robots during Imperial Stout brew weeks) and have a lot to learn.

Our friends at New Glarus have taught us some great things concerning bottling, and we have the same monobloc that Vinnie uses at RR.

We are not going to mass produce one beer folks. We are going to change it up by sharing some of the 40 plus styles we currently brew and rotate beers being brewed based on the freshest hops we receive from around the globe.

The days have been long and hard, and sometimes very frustrating, but the time spent hearing about your delight with our creations sends us forward with a momentum that can not be stopped.

Cheers!

Clark

 

Always one step ahead of me ......I am lucky we met!