Toppling Goliath Releases and Updates

I would argue that even most "craft consumers" don't check dates. I consider myself to be an inner circle craft beer enthusiast and I'm guilt of buying beer without checking dates more often than I'd like to admit.

Yes, shitty distribution is annoying but I doubt TG feels much pressure from the market to do much about it, even if they could.

 

I always look for dates on anything hoppy.

 

It's happened to me too before but now I pay much closer attention. I know a lot of people stopped buying NG Scream because they didn't date it and it would sit on shelves for a year plus. Clark makes it sound like this is an issue that is important to him on twitter. Let's see if they work to address it.

 

Excited for 4 packs of MD this year, now I just need to get lucky and win this lottery. I'm do for a win and with 1500-2000 winners I should have better odds this time around. Although it is sad that bottle shares will not be allowed at the TG taproom, the last few years the shares have been crazy good. I'm sure C&C will have another event as well as places around town that get kegs of #MD2017

 

Don't forget Pulpit Rock 2nd anniversary that day.

 

Ah yes, the evergreen business tactic of skating to where the puck is, not where it's going.

 

That's a statement with enough ambiguity to make it hard to argue with.

The increased focus on clear, legible dates on bottles and cans of craft beer, the emphasis on freshness, are at odds with distributors who sit on product.

Many customers don't care what their label looks like if the beer is good, and yet time and money are put into making labels look good.

Many customers don't care if their beer is local, yet increasingly "local" labels are prominent at stores that sell it.

Many customers don't care if their beer is stored warm, yet some stores make an effort to refrigerate as much as they can.

Having a shitty distributor won't stop people from buying (some of) the best beer in Iowa. That doesn't mean there isn't an opportunity for someone to do a better job. Maybe it's just TG's problem as there won't ever be enough far flung Iowa craft brewers of that level of quality triggering that level of demand with a high enough volume to ever provide enough pressure on a distributor. Maybe it'll be solved when TG is making enough beer to impact their existing distributor (or gather the attention of a competitor who can do better by them).

 

Sure it's here somewhere, but how do you find the date code on TG bombers?

 

On the neck in yellow ink. Sometimes faint and difficult to see, and sometimes rubbed off.

 

Ok thanks. I can never find. Have to bring glasses next time. I get concerned with the Pompeii I see on shelves. If I can know it's fresh, I'll drink all the time.

 

It's not always easy to find on there, and sometimes it's faded out. Also, Pompeii is one of those beers that can sit for months. But like you said, when fresh, I'll pick it up every time.

 

Yup on both counts. That's why I asked.

 

Had this on Friday at the brewery - was shocked at how good it was on tap. As good or maybe even a tad better than Sue on tap.

 

Current batch of Hopsmack

 

Whoa.

 

Is this version of Hopsmack always what it is like? We picked up bottles the weekend it was released and I have not really enjoyed it. Had not had it before. Just bitter, not much else, surprised.

 

To be honest, the few times I've had it in the past, it's been the same as you described. More bitterness than actual flavor. I'm sure that's what some people want, but I'll pass this go-around.

 

I thought Hopsmack was great. According to a TG employee, they've used different hops for each batch. Recalling from memory, I think this time was Nelson and Citra.. maybe another.

 

You guys found this Hopsmack bitter?

It was a straight up juice bomb to me. More so than I've ever thought King Sue to be. I was drinking mine next to someone who had spiked regular Sue with orange juice, and the appearance was almost identical.

 

I think there was two batches this time, there was at least two different bottling days, could be batch variances for sure.