Hey all. My girlfriend and I are traveling to Mason City, Iowa next month for a wedding. I am hoping to find a liquor store to pick up some Toppling Goliath. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance!
TG's new site has a beer finder - looks like if you want bottles you're out of luck unless you continue on to Des Moines, or go east. http://www.tgbrews.com/index.html#locate Looks like it could be on tap in some Mason City establishments. I'm not in the Mason City area, so I cannot confirm if those beer finders are accurate though. To be completely honest, it can be pretty tough to find TG products (except Dorothy). I would recommend hitting up the tap room in Decorah (granted, that's very much out of your way but your best bet). Good luck and enjoy your trip!
Thanks. I had no idea it was so hard to find TGB even in Iowa. I had grand visions of bringing my big cooler to fill with goodies. Looks like I may have to adjust my expectations!
It can be tough! Not impossible, but can be tough. If you're not there within a couple days of a delivery (something other than Dorothy), it's likely gone. Sue can be gone in a matter of hours after it's dropped in a HyVee or other store. Depending on timing, you could be in luck though!
If I decide to make the trip to Decorah (which looks like it's about a 90 minute drive) would I be more likely to score some stuff? I'd hate to make the trip only to come up empty.
Taproom is the only sure thing, and the only place to get the bottles you probably want . Almost every bottle shop that gets TG sells out within a day, if not within an hour. TG is still a very little operation.
Taproom hasn't been completely out of beer for months. Though with the recent SR-71 release, many made the pilgrimage to TG. But in all likelihood, yes, if you make the trek to Decorah, you will be able to get any number of Sue, Nugget, Zeelander, and Dorothys.
I'd highly recommend it. You'll definitely find bottles of a few things there. Can also taste the items on tap!
You can always call and ask what they have for sale as well. I have family down the block, and I do that even from there.
Well that's good news. I really don't have delusions of getting anything huge but I would love to try basically everything you mentioned.
They've been hinting at King Sue for a while. Maybe you'll get lucky and be there on the exact right day. That beer sells out very, very fast, even at the brewery (last time I think it was 3-4 days).
They update facebook/twitter every couple of days with whats on tap and in bottles at the taproom. I'd definitely check there first before driving 90 minutes. They've also started carrying "guest" beers - yesterday they had Surly, Schell's, and Mikeller in the cooler alongside their own beer. Worth the trip if they have any bottles in stock or possibly even if they don't. When you're 15 minutes out order a Mabe's pizza and they'll deliver it to the taproom so you can have pizza and ipa together. Scientifically proven, I think, to be the best combination of things on the planet.
If you make it to Decorah, the Courtyard and Cellar would also be a recommended stop as well. They usually have Tg bottles to go and some other good stuff as well as some taps!
As a regular visitor to Mason City I can tell you there are very few choices for packaged beer. I still manage to find something I haven't had, but don't expect a mind blowing selection by any means. The HyVee liquors are your best bet. Mason City Brewing is the brewery in town and I've never had a bad beer there. I think they're only open Fri/Sat 5-11, but do growler fills (any breweries growlers) and usually have some live accoustic musicians so that may or may not fit in your time frame. Clear Lake (the freeway exit for Mason City) also has a brewery called Lake Time. They also make very good beer and do growlers (they also do 32ozers), and I believe they open at 2pm on Saturday, not sure of Friday. If you've never been to a smaller town tap room I highly recommend checking these out. I'm heading down tomorrow so if I see anything new, I'll add a new reply!
The only thing new to report is that you can now get Surly in Mason City! If you're near the 1910 Grille, they have the best beer selection in town also..
