Toppling Goliath pseudoSue Pale Ale

This 5.8% ABV pale ale features Citra hops. It is from the Toppling Goliath Brewing Company of Decorah, Iowa. As you may know from a previous post, I am a big fan of theirs. They have begun bottling recently, and I was lucky enough to snag a bottle. The tyrannosaurus in the background on the bottle can only be the famous Sue.

The beer pours a hazy apricot, dark golden with orange tints. There is a short head of white to off-white foam. The aroma is hop forward, citrus, mango, some piney funk, and, oh yeah, mango. The taste mirrors the aromas with citrus, piney funk and mango. There is some grapefruit as well. There is enough malt to hold up all those hops, but the hops are the star. The hop flavors are massive, intense, but not out of control. It has a nice tingling carbonation. The aftertaste is like having a slice of mango in your mouth. Keep knocking them over TG!

2015: So, to try and meet their massive demand, Toppling Goliath is now contract brewing with Brew Hub, in Florida now, but eventually in St. Louis, Missouri. Not surprisingly, if you follow craft beer, this caused great consternation and debate among the Toppling Goliath devotees. There was even wailing and gnashing of teeth.  I got a bottle, let's see how it is doing. The beer pours a hazy orange golden. There is an inch of white, foamy head. The aroma is dankness, citrus, tropical fruits and melon. The taste follows the aromas note for note. The finish is dry with a moderate grapefruit bite bitterness. The beer drinks easy, with  a fresh-squeezed juice, pithy, nectar body, and light fizzing carbonation. There has been a lot of talk that the contract brewed beer was not as good as the “original.”  It might not be exactly the same, but it is damn close and a damn fine beer that is better than most beers out there. As Johnny Cash called out in "A Boy Named Sue", "My name is Sue! How do you do!"

2015:

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