Toppling Goliath Supa Sumo Review

Name: Toppling Goliath Supa Sumo
Style: Imperial IPA (Hazy/NE style)
ABV: 7.8%
IBUs: 100

Time to look at a beer from Toppling Goliath, a brewery that I haven’t looked at in ages. The beer is question is Supa Sumo, an Imperial Hazy IPA. Why is it called Supa Sumo? I have no idea but what I do know is that it’s made with Citra & Mosaic hops. Let’s have a look!

Appearance – Murky orange-yellow color with a mold amount of visible carbonation. The head itself is quite thin and there's a light amount of lacing left behind.

Aroma – Citrus and orange peel notes are immediately apparent upfront along with a malty backbone. However hidden behind all that is a subtle yet noticable bitterness.

Taste – Starting out, I'm getting those nice citrus and orange peel notes that I got in the nose, both of which linger throughout the palate. Then on the back end of the palate, that bitterness that wasn't really apparent before seemingly drops out of nowhere and dominates the remainder of the palate. This is in conjunction with that citrus and orange peel notes along with that pale maltiness.

At first the flavor seems pretty upfront but once that bitterness kicks in, it becomes a pretty different beer. For me, it's a change of pace and it's what sets it apart from a lot of the hazy beers I've had recently. As far as I’m concerned, it’s another great offering from Toppling Goliath and one that you should absolutely check out.

Toppling Goliath Supa Sumo – 9/10

Toppling Goliath Pompeii Review

Name: Toppling Goliath Pompeii
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 5.5%

I am on a roll recently with all of these Toppling Goliath beers since the brewery first became available in my area. Today I have their Pompeii IPA, which was until recently a draft only release. I believe they only started bottling this only a couple of months ago.

Come to think of it, with the exception of one beer, every beer I've reviewed from Toppling Goliath has been a Pale Ale in some form or another.

Appearance - Hazy orange color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head is rather thin but foamy at the same time. As for the lacing, it's very sparse.

Aroma - Rich citrus hop & grapefruit notes with just a touch of piney hops. I'm also getting some mango sweetness and some caramel & toffee maltiness in here as well. Needless to say, it smells very good!

Taste - It starts out with robust and vibrant citrus hop & tropical fruitiness that lingers throughout the flavor. In the second half of the flavor is where the caramel maltiness really starts to shine through along with just a touch of mangoes. The aftertaste is made of of tropical fruitiness and a light bitter hoppiness

Of all the beers I've had from Toppling Goliath, this is my favorite I've had from them hands down. On top of that, this is a beer that showcases the Mosaic hop really well and does it in an extraordinary way! It goes without saying that this should be on your radar if you happen to be in the upper Midwest.

Toppling Goliath Pompeii - 9.5/10

Toppling Goliath PseudoSue Review

Name: Toppling Goliath PseudoSue
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 5.8%
IBUs: 50

Well it's finally time to review a beer that has been a long time coming. That's right, after about a month of waiting, it's finally time to review PseudoSue from Toppling Goliath Brewing. Considered by many to be the best American Pale Ale currently available on the market, this beer takes its name from the largest T-Rex ever discovered.

I did a little research about this beer before trying it out and I was shocked to discover it only uses one type of hop variety; They don't say which. Well there must be a reason why everyone considers this the absolute best of the best in terms of APA style beers....right?

Appearance - A very hazy, almost murky yellow/orange color with no visible carbonation to speak of. The head takes on a foamy yet soapy appearance but the lacing is quite abundant

Aroma - Very rich grapefruit and mango notes, mixed in with some vibrant citrus hop sweetness; All of which just has a hint of hop bitterness. I wonder if the hops used in this are Mosaic?

Taste - Mango and grapefruit sweetness with some juicy citrus hop notes and ending with a resiny bitterness. The toffee malt backbone is pretty substantial here and it lasts throughout the entire flavor. I'm going to guess that it's Mosaic Hops in the brewing process but that's only my educated guess.

What it lacks in complexity, it more than makes up for it in the sheer vibrancy & robustness of the flavor. A couple of months ago, I had a Mosaic Fresh Hop IPA from Castle Danger Brewing and I fell in love with it; This beer reminds me of it an awful lot and that's a good thing.

Do I think it's the best APA on the market? No, I still think that distinction belongs to Three Floyds' Zombie Dust but it does come pretty close. With that said, it's very easy to see why people come back to this beer time and time again and I know I will be amongst those people!

Toppling Goliath PseudoSue - 9.5/10

Toppling Goliath Tsunami Pale Ale Review

Name: Toppling Goliath Tsunami Pale Ale
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 5%

Another beer from Toppling Goliath? Don't mind if I do! After having their Golden Nugget, I've been very eager to try out their other offerings. I recently came into possession of their Tsunami Pale Ale or as I heard someone else call it, Toppling Goliath's OTHER Pale Ale.

I found out too that this was a draft only beer until very recently when they decided to bottle this up. It's not PseudoSue, but it'll have to do for now. Though I've heard whisperings and rumors that PseudoSue may be arriving in the very near future; Only time will tell.

Appearance - Hazy orange with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head is thin but foamy and has distinct orange complexion on an otherwise white head. Maybe it's just the lighting but it's worth mentioning. The lacing is also very abundant and quite sticky

Aroma - Floral hops and yeasts permeate the nose up front. I'm also picking up on some toffee malts and a bit of resin bitterness as well. Nothing I haven't already seen this far, so let's see how it is.

Taste - Floral & Bitter hops dominate the front of the palate before being taken over by some mild yeastiness and toffee malts. In the aftertaste, the bitter hops make a reappearance along with some yeast notes. The bitter hops in particular linger on the palate long after everything is done.

Tsunami Pale Ale is a solid American Pale Ale that manages to please. At the same time, it doesn't do anything that I haven't already seen before in an APA and plays it safe flavor-wise. Still, it is worth checking out if you so happen to see it.

Toppling Goliath Tsunami Pale Ale - 8/10