Toppling Goliath King Sue

Jersey is getting all sorts of distribution lately and I was very excited to see this brewery being one of the ones hitting the shelves.

ABV: 7.8%

Style: American Double/Imperial IPA

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Decorah was the site of a Ho-Chunk village beginning around 1840. Several Ho-Chunks had settled along the Upper Iowa River that year when the United States Army forced them to remove from Wisconsin. In 1848, the United States removed the Ho-Chunks again to a new reservation in Minnesota, opening their Iowa villages to white settlers. The first whites to settle were the Day family from Tazewell County, Virginia. According to local Congregationalist minister Rev. Ephraim Adams, the Days arrived in June 1849 with the Ho-Chunks’ ‘tents still standing—with the graves of the dead scattered about where now run our streets and stand our dwellings.’ Judge Eliphalet Price suggested that the Days name their new settlement Decorah after Ho-Chunk leader Waukon Decorah, who was a U.S. ally during the Black Hawk War of 1832.”

Random: I have never been to Iowa. I would like to visit this brewery, though.

The beer poured with a two finger, pure white head. It dissipated at a moderate pace and left a lot of spiderweb lacing on the glass. The body was hazy and yellow in color, with no carbonation visible. The nose was filled with fruit. I picked up pineapple, mango, guava and orange. There was some orange peel as well. The taste was filled with fresh fruity hops. It started with a lot of pineapple and mango and went into grapefruit and orange with lemon zest as well. The body was the perfect thickness with a lot of carbonation. It had a lengthy finish with mango. I loved this beer. It’s a beer that is definitely worthy of the hype.

Untappd Rating: 4.5/5.0

Toppling Goliath Sosus

This was another beer that I had in P-Town. The beer selection at most places was alright. When I was last there 6 years ago, it was pretty bad. Only macros were available at most places. These same places now have macros and Lagunitas IPA. We decided to go to play Bingo one of the days and that’s what I chose. At other places, I would just get a cocktail.

ABV: 8%

Style: American Double/Imperial IPA

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Sosus is crafted in humble tribute to the elegant works of mosaic art created by Sosus of Pergamon. We’ve showcased the Mosaic hop by draping it across a simplistic malt canvas, allowing you to experience the irresistible flavors of pineapple and tropical fruit for which the Mosaic hop is most well known.”

Random: This beer comes in at over 100 IBUs.

This beer poured with a quarter of a finger of white head. It dissipated quickly and left very little lacing on the glass, but left a small crown on top of the beer. The body was a bright orange color and hazy with no visible carbonation. The nose was strong on the beer and had a lot of pine and some tropical fruit as well. I picked up pineapple and mango, specifically. The taste was way more towards tropical fruit than the nose. There was a lot of fresh pineapple along with mango and passion fruit. There was some pine to it as well, but it wasn’t nearly as strong as the tropical fruit. The body was on the heavier side and had moderate carbonation. The alcohol on this was noticeable, but not overwhelming. It had a lengthy and sticky finish with pineapple. I liked this beer a lot, but due to the ABV, could only have one.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Toppling Goliath Pseudo Sue

This was a beer that my parents brought back for me that I was really excited to try. I used to love dinosaurs as a kid. I used to read books to identified the different species all the time. Although this beer gets a lot of hype, I was even more excited for the dinosaur branding.

ABV: 6.2%

Style: American Pale Ale

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “This single hop pale ale showcases the Citra hop for a well-balanced beer that is delicate in body with a mild bitterness in the finish. She roars with ferocious aromas of grapefruit, citrus, mango and evergreen. Pseudo Sue’s unique taste is clean and bright with just enough bite!”

Random: This beer comes in at 45 IBUs.

This beer poured with a one finger, thick, white head that dissipated slowly and left some lacing on the glass. The body was a yellow-orange color with some detritus visible along with carbonation. The nose was filled with fresh grapefruit and pine. There was no malt that I could pick up. The taste was equally bright. I got a lot of grapefruit flesh and pith. There was a slight sweetness from the mango as well that was followed up by a slight amount of malt. The body was on the lighter side with a lot of carbonation. It had a lengthy finish with grapefruit and mango. I enjoyed this beer a lot. It had a lot of flavor for a pale ale and was just outstanding. I would definitely have this again.

Untappd Rating: 5.0/5.0

Toppling Goliath Scorpius Morchella

This is my first Toppling Goliath beer and I was excited to get this one cracked open.

ABV: 7.8%

Style: American Double/Imperial IPA

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Brewed each spring to celebrate our brewery’s annual day off to go morel mushroom hunting, this excitingly hazy double IPA is a tribute to our love of great hops and morels. Created with a combination of Pacific Northwest and Southern Hemisphere hops, Scorpius Morchella is meant to be shared with friends on a warm spring afternoon.”

Random: This label is really cool.

The beer poured with a huge, four finger white head. It was loose and dissipated at a moderate pace, leaving some spiderweb lacing on the glass. The body was murky and bright orange with no visible carbonation. The nose was incredibly bright and fragrant with a lot of citrus and dank hops. Some grass came through next with mango nectar and creamsicle. The taste was equally bright. There was a green herbal flavor with grass upfront and then some orange blossom comes through next and transitions into dank hops with grapefruit. Malt was at the end of the sip and gave a little bit of sweetness. The alcohol was not detectable. The body was robust with a lot of carbonation. It had a sticky and lengthy finish with grass and dank hops. This was another beer gift, but despite it being free, this beer was absolutely outstanding. I had a few Toppling Goliath beers at GABF last year and this was hype worthy for sure.

Untappd Rating: 5.0/5.0