Toppling Goliath - Chicagoland (2020)

Discussion in 'Midwest' started by eppie82, Jan 15, 2020.

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  1. HouseofWortship

    HouseofWortship Pooh-Bah (2,735) May 3, 2016 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I think TG went south when they literally went South...to Florida...to contract brew inferior beer.
     
    #161 HouseofWortship, Dec 4, 2020
    FleskBrewFan, PhilBallins, Number1Framer and 2 others like this.
  2. PhilBallins

    PhilBallins Savant (1,173) Nov 29, 2016 Illinois

    Yeah, I never got to try legit Pseudo Sue. And the new haze is miles better than Pseudo Pseudo Sue.
     
    #162 PhilBallins, Dec 4, 2020
  3. Nbrock24

    Nbrock24 Pooh-Bah (1,770) Mar 11, 2016 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    It was really special along with the hop variants. And King Sue? Probably the best beer experience I have ever had. Or certainly up there
     
    #163 Nbrock24, Dec 5, 2020
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  4. Zoomslowik

    Zoomslowik Savant (1,148) Mar 17, 2016 Illinois
    Trader

    One of my favorite beer trips was when I went to Decorah on a random weekend in like 2016. Drank at the brewery all afternoon and had a nice dinner at Rubaiyat. Had all the hops, Iowa Sue, Sosus and King Sue. They were great. The kicker was they also had a one-off keg of Term Oil Vanilla and Cinnamon. Super thick and a nice balance of the adjuncts.
     
    #164 Zoomslowik, Dec 5, 2020
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  5. Number1Framer

    Number1Framer Savant (1,040) Mar 13, 2016 Wisconsin
    Trader

    If the devil suddenly materialized in my home from a cloud of smoke and said I could drink old King Sue again but it would have to be the only IPA I can drink the rest of my life I'd take it. The old Zeelander, XHops Gold, and Sol Hunter were up there too. I've never again found such a complex expression of the Nelson hop's simultaneously humous-like earth and pithy bitter citrus character as OG Zeelander. And I'm open to haze-free suggestions. Lol
     
    #165 Number1Framer, Dec 5, 2020
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  6. Nbrock24

    Nbrock24 Pooh-Bah (1,770) Mar 11, 2016 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    oh man you took me back with XHops Gold. I’d regularly buy hoppy bombers at that price point if it meant I could have IPA’s that amazing again
     
    #166 Nbrock24, Dec 5, 2020
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  7. Number1Framer

    Number1Framer Savant (1,040) Mar 13, 2016 Wisconsin
    Trader

    Damn I've been doing this beer stuff so long now I can officially wax nostalgic about "good old days" and yes I do miss them so very much thank you.
     
    #167 Number1Framer, Dec 5, 2020
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  8. eppie82

    eppie82 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,377) Apr 19, 2015 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Went to Toppling Goliath yesterday, and I have to say, it was a bit sad to be in Decorah during the pandemic. During these big releases, it really use to be a weekend long event of sorts across town. Different bars were tapping different limited beers and hosting events. Pulpit Rock, hotels/rooms, restaurants, ... all busy. Those events must must have been bringing massive amounts of revenue to Decorah. Say what you will about Clark and some of their practices, which definitely deserve criticism and scrutiny, but the benefit that brewery is brining to the community has to be outweighing the disliking of their pricing strategies on their super limited stouts from whatever neckbeards from whatever neck of the woods.

    But now, none of that is occurring. Yesterday wasn't an event, and that town has to be hurting as many other towns are. I enjoyed my two pours, but I definitely want to come back when things are back to 'normal'. Decorah area is actually nice, despite reputation.

    Take all this from a guy with a TG beer avatar. :beers:
     
    #168 eppie82, Dec 5, 2020
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  9. Chuckdiesel24

    Chuckdiesel24 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,208) Jul 6, 2016 Illinois
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I think most of the distilleries sell their used barrels to a barrel distributor. Far from an expert here, but have just heard enough on podcasts and the like that it seems most smaller breweries get their barrels through a middle man.

    I'm sure a larger place like GI gets volume discounts, and they probably work directly with some of these distilleries because of, but that just means they're cutting out the middle man. That saves money, but I bet it still costs them a lot of money to get those barrels.
     
    #169 Chuckdiesel24, Dec 6, 2020
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  10. FleskBrewFan

    FleskBrewFan Zealot (636) Aug 4, 2016 Illinois
    Trader

    I know the guys at Hailstorm use to go down and buy truckloads of barrels, then other breweries in the area used to buy the barrels off them.
     
    #170 FleskBrewFan, Dec 6, 2020
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  11. ShawnoftheD3ad

    ShawnoftheD3ad Savant (1,078) Mar 20, 2016 Illinois
    Trader

    Now I see why Maman trades higher than Assassin. Happy Birthday to me!!!
     
    #171 ShawnoftheD3ad, Dec 21, 2020
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