Naughty 90 - Toppling Goliath Brewing Company

tewaris

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

This is the one... my favorite of the evening. Dark amber colored with some haze. Wood, tobacco, burnt sugar, caramel and molasses. Bitterness is from hops but tastes like char although there are no tannins upfront. This is an extremely complex beer and the beauty of it is that nothing obliterates it... very very good. Filled a growler at the taproom and enjoyed it again. Highly recommended.

Serving type: on-tap

04-02-2013 06:02:39 | More by tewaris

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

4.16/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Growler from the nova

Pours a finger of beige tan head. Color is a dark amber brown. Much darker than a regular ipa.

Flavor profile is very unique. A lot of vanilla and toffee flavors. Very sweet. Biscuity and bready. More malty than normal. A lot of oak. Reminds me a bit of cedar. The hop profile is much fainter, but I expected that due to the nature of how this beer was made. It has a somewhat juicy flavor. Floral and grapefruit do show.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, creamy, medium bodied, low bitterness. Ends sticky.

Overall, at first I didn't like this beer, but after a few ounces it grew on me a lot and I started to appreciate it for what it is. It is oak aged so it isn't going to be a massive hop bomb. This beer is very complex and really easy to drink. I dig this one. A lot!

Serving type: growler

02-26-2013 01:30:48 | More by mothman

drpimento

Wisconsin

4.15/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Interesting beer. Served at a good temperature with a nice sized foamy, creamy, thick, cream colored head with tan highlights that slowly settled and lots of lace. Color is a cloudy amber brown. Aroma is hop, malt, caramel, toffee, woodsy. Flavor's much like nose, but with lots more going on - plenty of sweetness to stand up to the hop bitter, slight carbonic tang, biscuits, bread, yeast, crackers. Body is good but carbonation is kind of soft. Finish is like flavor, with bitters lasting a while and offset by the oak malt. Drinkable beer.

Serving type: on-tap

05-07-2012 20:41:40 | More by drpimento

Pintofbrown

Iowa

4.48/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I got Naughty with a shaker pint.

Appearance- The body pours thick and syrupy, settling in the glass looking like a mulled cider, an opaque dark amber with lighter shades of orange in the light. There is almost no foam to speak of, only a slight dusting of white foam.

Smell- A woodiness makes up the bulk of the nose, but there are pleasant notes of fresh pretzels, vanilla, maple, and even some citrus in there. Few will find it to be like more traditional IPA's, but I don't care. This smells fantastic!

Taste- The wood flavor and syrupy vanilla are first on the tongue, followed by a little bit of bitterness that produces notes of sweet orange and resin. The maple is back a tad in the finish along with the bready malt, that is not as much like a pretzel on the palate.

The flavor profile that is syrupy sweet, slightly bitter, and woody works very well together.

Mouth feel- Naughty 90 is silky smooth and has some serious heft to it for an IPA. The bitterness just tickles the edge of the tongue, not overpowering at all.

Overall- Get ready for a sweet and oaky beer drinking experience with Naughty 90. It has very little in the way of faults. Just don't go into it expecting your average IPA. This beer is good, and I will die of happiness the day this TG offering is bottled.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2012 21:58:39 | More by Pintofbrown

beagle75

Iowa

3.23/5  rDev -20.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from a growler into a tasting glass.

A: Very hazy, light amber color with a fine peripheral ring of white bubbles. Light lacing remains on the glass.

S: Heavily toasted grain is enriched by the obvious presence of oak. Sunflower seeds and very fresh coffee a suggested in the balance of qualities.

T: Begins dry, with rustic toasted grain and a fine thread of early bitterness. Carbonic acidity is generally moderate but inconsistent, seeming pronounced at times. Drying oak is present in the clean middle as bitterness continues to build. Roasted malt is surprisingly strong late alongside bitterness that finally peaks.

M: Medium viscosity, oily and acidic on the palate, with moderate prickly carbonation.

D/O: While this beer may check all of the necessary boxes to be called an IPA, it does not deliver a predictable IPA experience. While wood is evident in the nose as well as on the palate, it is unclear how much it plays into the odd synergy of this beer. It drinks more like a stout plagued by acidity issues more than an actual IPA. The drinker may be given pause to reflect on most other wood-aged IPAs, which are obviously dry-hopped after aging--which does not seem to be the case for this beer.

Serving type: growler

02-28-2012 23:39:37 | More by beagle75

bashiba

Iowa

3.55/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured like it was a muddy unfiltered cider, very little in the way of head.

The smell was an odd mix of light citrusy hops and vanilla and oak.

Wow the flavor is strange, very sweet and desert like, I get a huge blast of vanilla and caramel, mild oak flavors underlying with a touch of grainy malts, the hops are almost non existent in the flavor other than a mild bitterness. I am really enjoying the flavor, yet I would never describe it as IPA.

The mouthfeel is smooth with a nice bit of dry oakyness.

A very strange beer, it seems mislabeled as Oak aged IPA, taste like something completely different, but kind of interesting at leas.

Serving type: growler

02-26-2012 15:20:35 | More by bashiba

redblacks75

Iowa

4.75/5  rDev +16.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

From a one day old sealed growler to a La Chouffe Tulip.

A: An amber, deep blood-orange hue permeates throughout this hazy pour. There is a chalky white head to it. Not a huge head, but, it does leave decent lacing marks.

S: Despite the bold flavors of this, I'm surprised that the smell does not match strength wise. It's three things predominantly, Oak, Vanilla, and spicy toasted nut armoa. I expected hops to be in there somewhere, and their is a little bit of pine detectable, but the aroma from this is very pleasing regardless.

T: While I have not had other oaked IPA's before, so, it may be a little difficult for me to compare, I thoroughly enjoy the taste of this. Again, Oak, Vanilla, and a bread like malt is present. It's a medium bitter profile in general.

M: This is once again another highlight. It's a medium body, with a lively texture, and a long finish. This one sticks with you in a good way.

O: It's an exceptional beer in my book. Was I expecting more hops for an IPA, yes. Was I let done by how it comes off in general, by no means. Toppling Goliath has created a beer that I will recommend for anyone seeking a well crafted unique IPA. I will be seeking this out again myself. Job well done.

Serving type: growler

12-05-2011 23:28:58 | More by redblacks75

mynie

Indiana

4.5/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Been wanting to try Toppling Goliath ever since I heard about em opening, but since I never get to Marshalltown (and no longer live in Iowa), I was thinking I'd have to wait until they started bottling or canning. Thankfully, I stopped by Iowa City's Sanctuary on the way to my old hometown in Waterloo, and they had 4 separate TG beers on tap. That's a wonderful endorsement.

Sounded too good to pass up: medium strength, hop-forward IPA aged with oak chips. We need more oaked beers that have ABVs under 7. Because, seriously, oak aged beers are usually wonderful but sometimes you got to drive after drinking.

Smells predominantly of west coast hops--the profile is boilerplate but well balanced, with nodes of oranges, grapefruit, and green herbs. Things go from good to exceptional, however, after the beer warms a little bit and the herbal hop nodes are accentuated perfectly by just the lightest nodes of woody vanilla, which combine with the rounded, biscuity malt to give the beer an exceptional balance.

Tastes like it smells. The oakiness doesn't take center stage; this is, first and foremost, an well balanced, hoppy IPA--the oak just adds bang to the balance.

This is the sort of imaginative, innovative flavor combination that can only be pulled off by brewers who know what they're doing. It's wonderful, and I can't wait to try more from TG.

Serving type: on-tap

11-25-2011 23:36:56 | More by mynie

FreshHawk

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - Very cloudy/murky brown color. Average sized, smooth, creamy, ecru colored head with tight bubbles. Pretty good retention leaving a thin lace.

S - A lot of toasted oak and vanilla. Fairly malty with a slightly spiced aroma. Hints of herbal and citrus hop aroma. Not overly strong with a good amount of the oak aroma coming out.

T - Like the nose suggested, there is a lot of toasted oak and vanilla. This and tobacco/herbal hops hit the tongue in the beginning. Leads to a spiced, earthy hop flavor with plenty of malty flavors (toffee, caramel and a slight breadiness). Finishes with a nice vanilla and oaky note. Only vague citrus notes mid sip.

M - Medium body with about average carbonation. Pretty smooth and slightly creamy.

D - Great balance with everything (oak, malt, hops) with a great body. Spiced but not overly strong. Easy to drink, despite it being quite complex. I could easily drink a number of these in a night.

Notes: On-tap at Sanctuary. Oak aged IPA This is a very interesting beer with a very intriguing malt body for an IPA. It's not overly hoppy, but it is very complex and deep. Great showing of oak but also the malt and hops. It all just works together and combines into a tasty, interesting beer. Near perfect implementation of barrel flavors. The intention of this was to provide an experience of drinking an ocean bound IPA in oak barrels with a bit more of a malt backbone. I enjoyed this change of pace from a strong, hop forward IPA.

Serving type: on-tap

11-15-2011 01:27:30 | More by FreshHawk