Iowa Brewery Spotlight: Toppling Goliath Brewing Co.

Ambitious home brewer, Clark Lewey, started the brewery six years ago with a kit his wife had given him for Christmas. Today, the humble hobby has turned into a craft-beer goliath! The smooth stouts and incredible India pale ales have attracted tons of tourists to the tiny cornfield town.

The old brown building just outside of downtown Decorah that was once a record store, among many other things, is now home to the brewery. After taking off in 2009, now most Toppling Goliath brews are produced at a facility a couple of miles from the taproom. Although Lewey states that hard work has fueled most of the brewery’s success, he recognized that the Internet has helped greatly. Beer-scoring websites such as BeerAdvocate and RateBeer played a huge part in turning Toppling Goliath into a destination. This is especially true since many Decorah residents learned of the brewery after RateBeer named Kentucky Brunch "the best beer in the world" in 2015. As of now Toppling Goliath is only distributed in Iowa and Wisconsin, but plans to expand to Minnesota and other states are in the works.

If you want to try some great Iowa craft brews for yourself, then  don't miss the America On Tap Craft Beer Festival, coming to Cedar Rapids on November 21. Corridor on Tap features over 100 beers from America’s finest craft breweries. This event offers a great chance to taste the best craft beers from around the country, all in one place!

Join us on November 21 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Convention Complex as we taste some of our favorite local brews and discover new ones too. There will be three hours of beer sampling on November 21 – from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Plus, there’s the VIP Hoppy Hour starting at 5:00 p.m. – a full extra hour of sampling time!

General Admission tickets are only $30 and include three hours of sampling and a souvenir tasting glass. If you’re looking for VIP treatment, tickets are $55 and include an extra hour of sampling, a souvenir tasting glass and access to limited rare brews. See you there!