Toppling Goliath Brewery appreciation thread...

This is exciting https://twitter.com/tgbrews/status/581546538637262849?refsrc=email&s=11

Hoping to make it Iowa soon!

 

It's a joke...you had to read the rest of the convo.

 

Pompeii I thought was phenomenal, i really enjoyed this beer

 

Not sure where people are arriving at the conclusion that the recent TG beers are "awesome." Just got done sampling the recent batch of Sue. It was not great - not even good in my opinion. It was maybe somewhere between drinkable and ok - and that is probably generous as I dumped half of the bottle down the drain. It was harsh, slightly grainy. Carbonation was off. There was a lingering bitterness to it...... not the normal smooth hoppiness.

I had a pint on tap a couple days ago that was really bland and not at all what Sue should be. I have had hundreds of pints of Sue since TG opened. This beer is not even in the ballpark of what Sue has normally tasted like. Had several others locally state the same thing. I completely understand the growing pains of new brewers getting used to the system, etc. However, the "hype" TG is putting out about how good these recent beers are is ridiculous. They are "decent" at best.
Regifter was a complete ripoff at $30+ a growler. Total joke.
Sue is currently not very good.
Pompeii was ok - I drank it all. Nothing super special though
Easy Rider - I kind of liked that one. It was a nice drinking pale ale. Best of all of them I have had.

I think the hype is getting the best of folks. If anyone was drinking these beers in a blind tasting next to beers like Zombie Dust, Sip of Sunshine, Stone, Pliny, Laguanitas, Pipeworks, etc. etc. etc. they would not even be remotely in the ballpark. I think the label is clouding people's judgement.

I am a TG fan. Been drinking it since it was brewed on the 15 gallon system. But, right now, they got some issues to work through (understandable). I just am starting to resent the hype they are putting out that somehow these are among the best batches they have ever brewed. I saw someone bought 24 bottles of Sue the other night. I feel bad for that person. From now on, I am buying 1 and trying it before buying more.

 

Blackhole, I am with you on Sue on being slightly off, but it definitely wasn't a drain pour. I thought Pompeii was pretty good though. Pipeworks is so under appreciated, their beers are excellent. Three Floyds is my favorite brewery, Zombie Dust is far more consistent the Sue (get at least two cases a every couple months) I have always preferred Zombie Dust to Sue (not to start any arguments). I still think Toppling Goliath will be just fine, although Mike was probably the genius behind the operation.

 

Haven't had the new Sue or Nugget yet, Pompeii I thought was awesome. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews on it, but phenomenal beer in my opinion. Regifter was complete garbage, can't believe they got me for $30 on that growler. Easy rider was just ok. I've heard good things about the latest Sue, but it will be hard to beat the last batch. We'll see this weekend.

 

Yeah, Pompeii was solid. I just don't think it was crazy good. I guess what I am saying is that I can go get a pint of it in 5-10 minutes and not interrupt my schedule to do it. So, it is fine. However, if I had to take a day off work and drive 2-3-4-5 hours to get it..... WOW. That would be really disappointing. There is a great chance that anyone doing that is driving right by a bunch of beers that are as good or way better right now.
Met a guy who drove up from Indiana the other day, and all I could think was - you could have just went to 3 floyds and gotten more beer, better beer, less time, less money, etc.

 

First off, congrats on drinking TG before most people and drinking 100s of pints of Sue. Second, taste is subjective and listing other breweries that have also been hyped doesn't say much. Third, my assessment with Sue differs from yours; Easy Rider was my least favorite. Yes, batches have been slightly different at times but this batch of Sue still tasted citrusy and was hopped very well. Fourth, good luck trying it before going back for more. Seems to still sell out quickly.

 

I believe people can have differing opinions from each other. It's quite possibly one of the foundations of sites like this. If everyone had the same opinion, what would be the point of Beer Advocacy?

 

Well, we knew these posts were coming regardless of what they put out after Mike left. I'm honestly surprised it took this long.

Everyone has different opinions on what they look for in an IPA. I loved Regifter. I also like fresh Zeelander more than Sue though. Zombie Dust is a great beer but not as good as Sue, to my palate. It's certainly possible that you're burnt out on TG after drinking 100's of pints since before it was cool

It's a great time to be an IPA fan, because of all the beers you mentioned you didn't list my favorite IPA/DIPA - Permanent Funeral!

Hope to hell they have some in stock around DLD.

I'll reserve judgement on the latest batch of Sue until Sunday when I drive the hours down to TG. If it wasn't worth the trip I'm certainly willing to admit that but my inclination is that you're overreacting.

 

Not my favorite Sue to date, but certainly a fine version.

 

Yep. As @mrpeterandthepuffers above your post mentioned, we knew these posts would come after Mike's departure regardless of the quality of the beer. I am no fan-boy, either. I found Imperial gNug to be overly sweet and was baffled by the rave reviews it got on Untappd. He's overreacting. It's lower carb, adversely impacts mouthfeel, making it a little more syrupy, but having had a couple bottles of this batch I think the flavors and aroma are still on point.

Sue has always had consistency issues. I will take ones like these over the sometimes vegetal/herbaceous flavors they'd get from last year's Citra crop, and hope for a more consistent product coming out of BrewPub shortly, depending on how fresh they can get it to us.

 

I didn't get any of the beers from the recent drops, so I can't speak to their quality. However, I do agree with his sentiment about being uncomfortable with how hard TG is pushing the "haven't missed a beat" line. In the fallout from Mike leaving, it seems like they've acted more like a jilted lover screaming "I'm better off without you anyway!" than a business that just lost a substantial creative and technical force.

I mean, I get it. They're a business and it's to their benefit to push their brand/products and its great that they have confidence in themselves, but I would have loved to see some acknowledgment that losing Mike was a big loss and that there will be some sort of transition period (whether the products themselves are affected or not). Pretending that things are the same as they ever were is disingenuous and encourages people to seek out proof that they're not, resulting in a "hunt" for a quality dropoff in TG products.

 

Yes sue has always had batch variations. I'm not even remotely complaining. This one is well within the sue parameters that I'm used to

 

I guess you could say things are getting pretty serious. Any word on if Clark and Mike are still facebook friends?

 

Who cares about mike? Give me more details on lefty1985

 

Oh, and Mindy too

 

Agreed, for the most part. And one of TG's (Clark's?) latest tweets referencing a check of the carb level of their forthcoming batch of Sue illustrates that TG's tweets are a response to the posts here. But I don't know what transpired during Mike's exit to critique their public comment or lack thereof re: Mike's departure (beside their tweet regarding Mike's guest brew at Treehouse, which was petty and pretty unnecessary IMO).

Will TG beers maintain their quality without Mike as brewmaster? Time willl tell. I sure hope so. Any immediate opinion from either #newmoney or someone who relies on TG as tradebait can't be trusted. I hope to form a better idea myself by snagging a bottle of the new batch of Sue if and when it sees distro. And if it still doesn't taste like the Sue I know and love, I will certainly give TG the benefit of the doubt and allow them to work through their changes to dial back-in their recipe.

I don't know Clark or Mike. But every interaction I have had with each guy has been positive. All exchanges I have had with Clark have been friendly at fests and bottle releases. I have also witnessed Clark hand out bottles of Assassin and Sue gratis to random appreciative folks during this past Great Taste weekend. As for Mike, he has also been friendly and carried himself with the utmost humility for a man who has been churning out world class IPAs and stouts. I happened to be in line with him at a release a few months ago and in speaking with him, he just seemed kind of burned out. This was of course re-affirmed by his post-TG east coast jaunt and tweet where he indicated that it was his first vacation in 5 years.

The bottom line is the outsiders liike me and many on this site will never know what exactly transpired between Clark/TG and Mike, and it probably isn't any of our business anyway. I'm sure they both have their reasons. But I hope TG can find ways to maintain their well-deserved quality and I hope Mike gets back to brewing soon, whether its taking the reins at an existing brewery or starting something on his own. As a beer consumer, more world class breweries in my backyard the better. As a Wisconsinite, I think he should take over Dave's Brewfarm! I'm sure he could get the $500K no problem, either from the bank or a kickstarter.

In unrelated, pure baseless speculation--I think the stout Clark has recently referenced on twitter is Mornin' Delight. Clark's tweet referenced a long brewing day and I remember Mike mentioning on BA once upon a time how much of a pain in the ass Mornin' Delight was to brew in part due to how long the brew day was. And it's sugaring season. If what others say is true that TG doesn't have anything in barrels at the moment other than Naughty Temple, it makes more sense. Especially when you have to think that TG wants to continue making a splash to show that it hasn't lost a step with its brewmaster's exit. What better way to show that you are still world class than to release the very beer that put you on the map in the first place?

Sorry for the long post.

 

A new batch of Morning Delight would be awesome.. Clark has said no MD or KBBS this year but maybe he'll change his mind with the brewer leaving and they'll have a bit of a point to prove that they can still put out great stouts. I could see that happening.

Did an SR71 and Assassin side by side yesterday and I've got to say that SR71 was a clear winner. A step above in the aroma and flavor department although they both had the same thick, syrupy mouthfeel.

I'm no longer putting any faith into the notion that SR71 is "off-flavored Assassin". Certainly it could have been Assassin that they decided not to use in the previous blend but it definitely isn't off tasting. It's every bit as good as Assassin and then some.

Also had new Sue and Pompeii and they were on point as well. Nothing negative to report from Decorah whatsoever.

Now I'm just waiting for them to allocate Morning Delight bottles to Mug Club Members to make my $50 worthwhile.

 

I'm heading to Madison this Friday. Anyone know where my best chance of finding Psuedo Sue would be?