Expansion of Toppling Goliath brewery in Decorah is getting underway

Toppling Goliath Marketing Director Jason Duranceau pours a beer at the company's outlet on College Drive

Decorah's Toppling Goliath brewery on Thursday will bring new equipment on line that will dramatically increase the brewery's production levels.

The first batch of beer from a new 310 gallon vat in Freeport will be ready on Thursday.  The new facility replaces a 13.5 gallon vat at the brewery's store on College Drive in Decorah.

Toppling Goliath owner Clark Lewey says the expansion was needed to meet the demand for the beers brewed by the company.  When Toppling Goliath was using the 13.5 gallon vat, it often sold out its beer in two days or less, says Marketing Director Jason Duranceau.  "We were out of beer almost all the time," he says.

Now the new production facilities in Freeport will allow the company to continue to expand, although Lewey jokes that his goal is "to never be able to keep up with demand."  Duranceau says the first batch of beer is "Dorothy's New World Lager," named after Lewey's grandmother—a smooth steamed lager.  Toppling Goliath also plans batches of "Tsunami Pale," lighter pale ale and "Dorothy's Old World Lager," a darker, more flavorful beer.

These beers were developed by creating sample beers and test marketing them at Toppling Goliath's outlet on College Drive.  That location opened last December.  Duranceau says "it's been fun to watch people change their tastes."  The demand for craft beers in Northeast Iowa matches the nationwide trend—sales of beer from the big bottlers were down two percent last year, while sales of craft beers were up seven percent.

Duranceau says the company's beers are now available at Oaks Steakhouse, Rubaiyat, T-Bock's and Your Place, will soon be available at La Rana, and are available in Waukon at Mulligans and the Waukon Country Club.  The goal is to expand further in Northeast Iowa, then statewide in Iowa and then to neighboring Midwest states.  The company plans to add bottling equipment within a year or so to allow sales of their beer in grocery stores and liquor stores.
 

New, larger equipment at the Freeport facility

The brewing vat