Toppling Goliath Releases and Updates

On one hand, you're going to see Decorah at probably the apex of a town-wide party that won't be seen again for years to come. On the other hand, study the RAGBRAI route well and don't plan on crossing it anywhere, let alone driving it. Technically the route is open to vehicles (except in town I'm guessing) but unless you want to add hours to your travel plans and face the wrath of hundreds of frustrated bikes along side of you, find a detour in to town that avoids the bike route.

If memory serves, it's coming in from the north/northwest part of town and leaving via southeast. If that's true, you're best bet is probably you come in from the southwest. Plan on walking a bit too. With the route riding right by the brewery you won't get to park on site. Hope you enjoy thousands of people in Spandex!

DISCLAIMER: I've yet to go to Toppling Goliath, let alone Decorah, but I have ridden on RAGBRAI off and on for several years. Do with my advice what you will.

 

FML

 

Definitely hit up Pulpit Rock while you're there. They'll likely have better beers on tap.

 

RAGBRAI motor vehicle maps

@wasatchback -- Decorah is the so-called "meeting town" for Friday, so refer to the vehicle map. It will show you the way into Decorah that will avoid the bicycle riders' route.

 

Don't despair. Despite my gloom and doom posting, RAGBRAI in itself is a spectacle to behold whether you're riding or just watching the bikers pass through. I can't imagine how exciting it'll be when you combine it with the town's yearly summer festival, Nordic Fest. If it wasn't for the schedule conflicts and hills scaring me off, I'd be down there in a heartbeat this year.

I'll second the recommendation @HawkeyeBeerLover by swinging by Pulpit Rock. If you're in town you'll want to pop in if for nothing else being able to tell people you were there before they went big just like TG. Grab a pork tenderloin sandwich, a slice of pie in from some nice church ladies selling them, and enjoy the triple spectacle that is Decorah's Nordic Fest, RAGBRAI, and Toppling Goliath.

 

FYI they are opening at 7 am per twitter

 

Said F-it and made the drive. Got there closer to 2 and it was winding down. Not an ideal experience but whatever. Can't wait to see the new space as the present spot was rather uninspiring. Had a Pompeii and grabbed some Sosus, KS, Zee, and FSM to go. Must say FSM is interesting, almost slices finish to it.

Walked to Pulpit Rock and they only had three beers on at the time. Had Saftig and was kind of unimpressed. Very under carbed and I don't think it was by accident. Had that really sweaty Mosaic flavor/aroma that I'm not a fan of. Would have loved to go when their whole lineup was on display. I'm sure most of their stuff is solid.

 

In Pulpit's defense, they are fairly small and got slammed by 20,000 people so I'm not surprised they didn't have too much stuff on tap. Going on a random weekend, I was super impressed with their lineup.

 

Oh definitely. I believe I overheard that they planned on only having those 3 beers on tap just to make it easier for the amount of randoms that were swing through... how many times do you think they heard

"What's Your Lightest Beer?"

 

Haha ya. For the cyclers' sake, it's probably best they didn't have stuff like $ticker $hock on tap.

 

figured we should get some MD17 shares going ...

here's a new list to fill gents !
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bKnW353ltINl7M_8fBlzJjl7r9su71HvAMR21dADSaw/edit?usp=sharing

cheers gents

 

hence there are separate sheets for friday and saturday

 

Yves, thanks for doing this. I was planning on doing this at work Monday and now I don't need to.

 

Anyone know bottle count of MD this year versus past year?

 

8000?bottles for the lottery this year and I assume at least a few hundred, maybe another 1000, more were bottled. 12 ounce bottles this year instead of 22 ounce like the previous 2 releases. Batch 2 was 1000 bottles at the release and Batch 3 was 2000 ( I think?)

 

iso a place to crash for 2 nights (friday and saturday).
LMK what it takes :-)

 

I assume you mean in Decorah, but if you decide you want to stay in the Twin Cities and go down for the day only on Saturday, let me know!

 

Yeah Decorah. For a friend and me, forgot to mention that.

 

For those that have been to previous stout releases, what's the street parking like?

Is there on-site parking or do they rope their parking lot off during the release? I know they don't have a ton of parking on-site, but if their lot is open, I could at least drive through and drop someone off and pick them up later.

 

There was no on-site parking for MD b3. Street parking about 2-3 blocks away wasn't so bad.