Current trends in the beer industry has breweries trying to cram more and more flavor into beers. Every style now has an imperial version. There seems to me no bounds or limits to IBU’s. Breweries are barrel aging every type of beer. Peppers in beer have become commonplace. Every beer I drink seems to be a 1 to 2 hour voyage to try and experience every nuance of a beer as it warms. Nothing is subtle anymore.
Toppling Goliath has become a two headed monster that is exploding out of the fields of Iowa. They are most well known for their amazing single hop IPA’s. PsuedoSue, a citra hopped APA is probably their most notorious beer. But when it comes to their single hop beers, nothing is better than Sosus, which highlights the many layers of Mosaic hops. However, their imperial stout trio is probably the best in the world. Assassin is the straight forward barrel aged version. Morning Delight has maple syrup added and Kentucky Brunch Brand Stout is the barrel aged version of Morning Delight.
Even with all this greatness on both ends of the beer spectrum, their flagship beer is actually Dorothy’s New World Lager, which was named after the founder’s grandmother. This beer is technically classified as a California Common and is insanely refreshing. Every 12oz beer I open takes me a minimum 45 minutes to drink (yes I am the slowest beer drinker ever). I had all 22oz of Dorothy polished off in about 20 minutes. A touch of lemon in the nose, which really takes over the front of the mouth. The lemon blends into the bright and crisp lager notes as it slowly pushes the citrus away making you immediately ready for the next gulp. Sometimes an ice cold beer that goes down easy is such a refreshing thing. Don’t get too caught up in all the trends and don’t ever take the simple things for granted.