Topping Goliath (2023)

I hope this is a troll. Quoting "Harry S." from Untappd for advertising is some real sick behavior.

 

It was real, they are trying to do damage control a deleted a bunch of post.

 

Ooooohhhh what did they say? I love Toppling drama!

Between this and Dark Lord Day tickets I think we're getting a look at the real state of post-Covid craft beer.

 

“Meteora's growing acclaim may forever
change the barleywine game. BiL”

I have nothing against TG, but what a joke.

 

When the new beer is a smoked porter, and you just want some f'ing pale's.

 

Latest haul of TG is defiantly underwhelming.

Dino Boggie is an under carbonated weird mess.

FSM is a shell of its former self. It's overly harsh now, where as the old one had a nice WC meets NEIPA bitterness, this is like sucking on a hop and the extra alcohol piles on top of this.

The only Sue available was 4 months old...

Of course I picked this up a few days before DDH Sue hit...

On that note, anyone try the latest batch yet? Unfortunately I think I'll have to drive back to to WI for a case or two this weekend.

 

This was at the brewery?

 

Nah, La Crosse area.

 

Assassin 2023 release details are up. Release is June 9th and 10th, and winners of the lottery get to purchase two 22 ounce bottles and "potentially one 12 oz. bottle of a new Assassin variant," although they don't yet know if the variant will be included. Cost will be determined when they know if this mystery variant will be part of the package.

https://www.tgbrews.com/events/2023-assassin

 

Is it just me or has this shit become a bit confusing? How do they announce a beer lottery and not yet know whether a third bottle will be included or not?

 

My bigger question is, does anyone even care about the release if there isn't a variant? My wife said she could care less about entering if there isn't one.

Assassin was on tap for half the year it seemed like last year as well, so take that for what its worth.

 

Would be nice if they'd just start sending Assassin and Mornin' Delight into disto. As long as they keep selling out at the brewery, there really is 0 incentive. I'd think that MD is not getting the traction it used to... Near me Toppling Timbers has sat on the shelf. The crowd willing to pay $60 for a 22 oz bottle is limited. I wanted to try it and bought a bottle - but a lot of my local friends passed. Seems like breweries being able to continue to price hike beers to bring it closer to secondary is coming to an end.

 

Any insight as to why TG has terrible distribution in Illinois? I feel like it has gotten worse in the last few years. I used to be able to find a decent variety of their IPAs and now all I see is King Sue and Pseudo Sue.

 

This isn't just IL. Specialty shops and large grocery chains in cities, like Woodmans, seem to be the only place to find anything besides their core lineup and that's if your lucky. TG doesn't really put out beer's that sell anymore and they are becoming more and more of a shelf turd brand scaring away distributor from carrying their more specialty product. Also couple that with every new beer they put out being a 18.99 Double IPA and you have a perfect plan for distro failure.

 

No Scorpius this year?

I've heard conflicting things about it, anyone else?

Also heard this year's Assassin signups have been quite low...

 

The TG situation looks pretty dire at our local store.

DDH Psuedo Sue would've normally sold out within a few days, there are still several 4-packs sitting on the shelves with a March 2023 can date.

Radiant Haze, canned Apr 2023, lots of it still out there.

King Sue - shelf turds from Dec 2022 on the shelves.

Haze Bus (canned within the last month) - a ton of product still sitting out there.'



I think TG is a lost cause here in MN, aside from Pseudo Sue (which sells really well).

 

Gotta say it. TG has never been the same since they moved to the new brewery. They tried to play catch up in mimicking other successful hazies profiles instead of continuing with their own original route. The overpriced bottle releases have always been obnoxious. They used to be great, but that was a long time ago. Lots of great memories of the old place. Their hoppy stuff changed the way I look at beer. I treasured their day of or next day drops in Madison. I woke up with deer around my car a couple times in the parking lot. Cops harassing people on Saturday nights a few blocks down when bars let out. MMMM Zeelander.

 

Old school Galaxy DDH Sue is a dragon I've been chasing ever since those days.

 

I remember the original batch at the pub, damn was that fantastic. Cant remember the last time Galaxy Sue was even brewed now, 2021 maybe? Also OG Intergalactic Warrior was on another level.

 

And Sol Hunter. Still remember my first sip of those earthy/humous notes mixed with the bright citrus rind aroma. I feel for everyone who never had the chance to taste these beers until they were already bastardized or discontinued.