So Toppling Goliath's main brewer left and now they brew beer in a factory in Florida?
- Thread starter stevenpatrick
- Start date
I had a family pic as my avatar buddy. Let's see, I have met Creek 1, Greenway, eightno2002, zach kaufman and hope to have beers with Dereck in the next week. Your constant dogging of all things Iowa is so predictable and tired, but keep your fake tough guy persona going. When you put your picture as your avatar you will earn some measure of respect. Until then you are a phony to me. At least I have enough balls to put a pic of my wife up instead of running my mouth about how perfect she is. Any other questions?
EDIT-I need to be nicer on here
And I have nothing to prove to you. I know I'm real, and I've met posters who can verify it.
Also, what did I dog in the OP? The whole point here is lamenting Iowa probably losing a good thing. Please point out exactly where I said something bad about the brewery itself? Go pick a fight elsewhere.
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Backpocket? No.
1. TG
2. Kalona-fantastic new barrel aged coming out
3. Confluence
4. Great River
5. 515 in DSM. no distribution. but great brews in their tap room
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I will agree with SP here. I'd like to see the quality of the FL product before saying it's the same as the Decorah heyday. 4 packs of 12 oz bottles of Pseudo hit Iowa this week. I kind of wish they would have canned it.
In no particular order:
TG
Confluence
Lion Bridge
Big Grove
515
IMHO, Backpocket and Millstream are quite pedestrian. There are plenty of better, new upstarts I didn't even list.
Throw Raccoon River in there too, as well as that brewery in Knoxville and the one in Newton.
The only two breweries that I've enjoyed beer from in Iowa are Confluence and TG. Haven't had 515 but hopefully I'll get a chance this summer when I'm back.
Peacetree is the one in knoxville. But you're correct, Madhouse is also not that good. Racoon River is closing soon, but I never tried them.
isn't madhouse from iowa too? i hate the name, but i think i've had a few solid efforts from them. just judging on some of my favorite smaller runs, i'd say (in no particular order):
- madhouse
- peace tree (happy with their 41 ipa)
- TG (they're just good, consistent - still haven't had one that made me flyyyyy)
not much else comes to mind. lot of good, solid beers, but probably wouldn't crack a top 10-20-30 list (i don't know). TG really has done some good marketing though. i have a beer critic friend out of philly that is begging me to send some out to him. i keep dragging my feet so he doesn't think less of me.
- madhouse
- peace tree (happy with their 41 ipa)
- TG (they're just good, consistent - still haven't had one that made me flyyyyy)
not much else comes to mind. lot of good, solid beers, but probably wouldn't crack a top 10-20-30 list (i don't know). TG really has done some good marketing though. i have a beer critic friend out of philly that is begging me to send some out to him. i keep dragging my feet so he doesn't think less of me.
It pains me to say it, but Backpocket and Millstream are not good imho. I want Iowa beer to be good, but I haven't had anything from either one that I enjoyed.
I admit that I am biased, but I love Single Speed. They are in the works now to acquire property that would allow them to revamp a property including the ability to distribute. Hell Steve, I'd even buy you a beer there if you were ever so inclined.
And fyi, I have never had an avatar until the site change. So there really wasn't much to keep up with. And thank you for your concern regarding my marriage.
A friend that lives near Decorah sends me TG on occasion (even Assassin, which I haven't opened yet) and my friends here who've tried a good number of TG beers aren't exactly wowed either. Pseudo sue (which I consider their best beer) is a good one, but there are plenty of better ones out there.
TG's stouts are their best, but I wouldn't personally know. They seem to love to make about 20 bottles per year. I like their beer but their business model is pretty awful.
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I must be the only one in Iowa that likes back pocket! I just enjoy their dunkel as a throwback to New Glarus beers I enjoyed when I lived in Wisconsin.
Have yet to have a beer from there I'd get a second time unless the options were busch or miller lite. /sp'd
I haven't gone to the Coralville locale, but when I visited the original brewery in NE Iowa their best beer, by far, was the dunkel.
I don't have much to add to this as I don't live in Iowa anymore but I think Sue is a world class Pale Ale. Nugget was good also as is Dorthy. I haven't had KBBS and I doubt I will. If anyone has an extra Assassin I can trade some Cantillon for it.
I do agree with SP though that I would be cautious with the six packs that are being contract brewed in Florida. If the quality control is strong and they can get the beers back to Iowa quickly it should be fine. When the production is out of your hands quality can suffer. I enjoy Sixpoint beers. They are based in Brooklyn I believe but contract out all of their core beers for cans and kegs. They were using a brewery in PA and they had some quality issues. They have since moved to TN and are no longer having problems.
I do agree with SP though that I would be cautious with the six packs that are being contract brewed in Florida. If the quality control is strong and they can get the beers back to Iowa quickly it should be fine. When the production is out of your hands quality can suffer. I enjoy Sixpoint beers. They are based in Brooklyn I believe but contract out all of their core beers for cans and kegs. They were using a brewery in PA and they had some quality issues. They have since moved to TN and are no longer having problems.
PBR is decent. I am looking forward to my Minnesota trip this summer so I can get Grain Belt. That's probably the best mass produced beer out there.
I drank plenty of ice cold bottles of Grain Belt in my youth. Now I kind of like Grain Belt Premium a little better. For what it's worth, I recently had a can Old Milwaukee and it wasn't bad considering they only charged a dollar for it. Or maybe that's why it tasted alright.
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My Father in Law worked at Grain Belt when he was in college in the Twin Cities in the 60s. They got two bottles at lunch time every day! That is a benefit I could get behind.
I've had a couple 12 oz bottles of the Sue that was brewed down in Florida, and the quality and taste of this batch was on point. While I generally like the increased availability of Sue this development brings, having it readily available will likely cause it to lose some of it's luster, and I do worry that the quality may erode over time as production and distribution continue to increase.
Backpocket is very pedestrian (the dunkel is their best offering). I've have really enjoyed what I've had from Big Grove in Solon, though. Confluence is solid as well. Iowa has some good offerings, but the vast majority of local brews have left me uninspired. It appears I need to check out Single Speed.
Backpocket is very pedestrian (the dunkel is their best offering). I've have really enjoyed what I've had from Big Grove in Solon, though. Confluence is solid as well. Iowa has some good offerings, but the vast majority of local brews have left me uninspired. It appears I need to check out Single Speed.
It is my understanding that by contracting with the brewery in Florida, it will free them up to do more experimenting in Decorah. Personally, I'm hoping this leads to an increase in the availability of Assassin. 8 ounces of Assassin may have changed my life! It was so good. TG has proven to be a world class brewery. They haven't gotten this far by being dummies. We'll all be paying attention to the quality, and probably a little nervous about it, but this could turn out to be a really great thing.
Damn, when my boy jelly needed me, I was off in other threads doing who knows what.
SP- jellyfish is real, and he's spectacular.
And I like TG's Dunkel as well. That is all,
SP- jellyfish is real, and he's spectacular.
And I like TG's Dunkel as well. That is all,
I Lik their Dunkel and I like all of their high alcohol content beers. Especially their first anniversary stout was mighty tasty.
I got nothing against TG I just think it's plain. They make beers that largely meh that are going for mass appeal. I need to get up there though because I'm guessing they get more out of the box in the brewery.
Late to this party, but I am drinking a sue as I type. We haven't had a lot of access to it in CR, but it tastes like what I remember from the Decorah tap room. I have never really like offerings from Millstream, and agree that Back Pocket is just ok. I want to try the Newbo pilsner however. I am surprised that I'm not seeing some love for Exile, as I really like the Ruthie, and love the Gigi. Hannah....not really my favorite style. I can't wait to see the reaction to Turner Alley Brewing, which just released here in CR a few weeks ago. I liked the Mays Island IPA, but it wasn't amazing. The Rising Rapids Rye-PA wasn't really my style. I Really like what Big Grove, Lion Bridge, and Confluence are doing, and let's not forget Third Base (always Cedar Brewing to me) as as love their Red Rocket Ale. It's great that we have so many local options these days.
Lion Bridge and Exile are both solid breweries. It is awesome having all of these local choices now. Iowa brewing is obviously not on par with Oregon or Michigan brewing but it is a thousand times better than it was just five years ago.
I don't think Psuedo, Nugget, or Posiden are meh or going for mass appeal. I think they are excellent beers.
I'm telling you guys, if you get the chance give Single Speed a try in CF. Equatorial and Victory Dance are both on tap right now and are fantastic. They are pursuing options which would allow them to expand and distribute in the near future.
TG is still the best brewery in Iowa. That being said, I understand what stevenpatrick is saying. The shipment of Psuedosue that came up from Florida was a swing and a miss.
The beer was still good, but it wasn't the Psuedosue most grew to love. I bought several 4 packs and each 4 pack tasted different. Now, I'll go ahead and chalk it up to their first attempt and the fact that the recipe is hard to get exactly right in larger batches.
But if batches continue to turn out like this latest batch of Psuedosue, then it's only going to hurt the TG name.
The beer was still good, but it wasn't the Psuedosue most grew to love. I bought several 4 packs and each 4 pack tasted different. Now, I'll go ahead and chalk it up to their first attempt and the fact that the recipe is hard to get exactly right in larger batches.
But if batches continue to turn out like this latest batch of Psuedosue, then it's only going to hurt the TG name.
My good friend that regularly sends me TG said the same thing. He said it wasn't worth sending me a 4 pack because it was a step down.
I still think that losing the main brewing mind at TG is causing as much downtick in quality as the new facility.
