Toppling Goliath Brewery appreciation thread...

Frankly, I'm amazed when people with kids successfully do anything (as a non-kids-haver [that's the phrase I'm sticking with] I am actually being genuine)

 

Define successful.

I think one data point for success is not leaving kids places on accident... or on purpose.

 

The struggle is real

 

Parents need (and deserve) fun too. Probably more than you.

 

I'm obviously biased, but the Driftless area is a great place to visit and Decorah is a great place to base a long summer weekend.

There are 3 paved bike trails within 30 minutes. The Trout Run is a 13 mile loop that encircles Decorah and is very hilly (probably 800+ feet of elevation gain in one lap). The Prairie Farmer runs from Cresco to Calmar and can also be accessed in any of those towns. It's a rail trail, so there's little grade, but it gets fairly secluded in spots and has some nice ridgetop views. The Root River trail is accessible in Harmony, MN and is another flatter trail, but has lots of great views following the Root River Valley, where it stops in a lot of interesting little towns. 20+ miles of mountain biking and hiking trails in city limits. Dunning's Springs is one of the biggest waterfalls in Iowa, and it's 1/3rd of a mile from the taproom. There plenty of other hiking opportunities between Yellow River State Forest (Iowa), Volga State Park, (Iowa), Pike's Peak State Park (Iowa) and Beaver Creek Valley State Park in Minnesota. All of these spots are within an hour of Decorah. Canoeing/kayaking on the Upper Iowa River is a spectacular experience as well and I would recommend Hruska's in Bluffton for rentals.

Decorah itself has several very good restaurants, with my favorite higher end places being La Rana and Rubiayat. Downtown is nice, and has lots of interesting shops that women tend to like. Hopefully that's a draw for the wife. Since you're into beer definitely don't miss the Courtyard & Cellar. Nathan, the owner, is a regular poster in these forums and keeps the community updated on their selections frequently. They have about 8-10 taps, which always feature some excellent and hard to come by beers. They have a great bottle selection and cool atmosphere as well.

Lastly, don't forget there's now 2 excellent breweries in Decorah. Pulpit Rock is worthy of a stop in and of itself.

Hope this helps, and have fun!

 

Thanks bobandy!

 

A couple solid coffee shops too in downtown decorah.

 

Indeed. Impact is my personal favorite. Their cold press is on nitro and it's a game changer.

 

I'd disagree, puplit rock is not worthy of a stop in and of itself. their beers are bland and mediocre at best

Old Armory BBQ was good, great to grab some grub.

 

Which Pulpit Rock beers have you tried? It surprises me anyone would say that.

 

The person in question has posted a lot of doozies so don't be surprised

 

Pulpit Rock is def worth a stop and it's literally a 1-2 min walk from TG.

 

You must have only had Pulpit Rock Ale.

 

Hell, you could crawl there in 2 minutes.

 

had their gateway ipa, and several others can't remember anymore but 3 of my buddies and I went up to decorah for kingsue release and stopped by p rock. none of us would go back again.

bretthead to each their own, but i've had my fair share of the top ipas and pulpit rock to me is mediocre like i said.

 

I've never had a beer there called Gateway IPA.

 

As far as I know there is no beer by PR called gateway IPA.

 

I've had their Saftig IPA 3 times now at Need in CR and I can't say enough about how good it is and how much I hope they continue to get more of their beer. I will say that the two porters I have had from them seemed to be about average.

 

I think he was saying gateway as in: an approachable IPA. Either way, he's a poop who doesn't know what good beer tastes like.