USA, IA: Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. could be headed to Des Moines

Iowa's most-acclaimed brewery could be headed to Des Moines, desmoinesregister.com reported.

Decorah's Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. released a public proposal on September 27 asking developers to consider housing a permanent brewery and taproom in the capital of the state.

“We spend a lot of time looking at some of the different great cities and locations in Iowa. We really do think Des Moines is a great fit,” Clark Lewey, owner and founder of Toppling Goliath, told the Register. “We’ve been working with local developers, and we want to find the right spot.”

The proposal does not specify a timeline, but a spokesperson for Toppling Goliath said the maker of brews including Pseudo Sue pale ale, Pompeii IPA and Dorothy's New World Lager is ready to break into the Des Moines market when it finds the right location.

The site criteria in the proposal includes 15,000 to 20,000 square feet of indoor space to house both a taproom and brewery and at least 3,000 square feet of outdoor bar space in the Des Moines metro. Toppling Goliath intends to include a full-service restaurant, private event space and a gift shop in the future location.

This would be the first location outside Decorah for the craft brewery. Lewey and his wife, Barbara, founded the flagship in 2009.

Now, with more than 40 beers in rotation, Toppling Goliath has received wide recognition for its brews, most recently taking home four gold medals and two silver medals in the 2021 U.S. Open Beer Championship. Its Kentucky Brunch Brand stout is the top-rated beer in the world, according to the consumer rating site BeerAdvocate, and one of three for the brewery in the top 10.

Toppling Goliath would join about 20 other Des Moines metro breweries, three which have opened since 2019: West Hill Brewing Co. in Indianola, Lua Brewing in the Sherman Hill neighborhood and Kinship Brewing Co. in Waukee. Eastern Iowa's Big Grove Brewery anticipates opening a Des Moines taproom and brewery in Sherman Hill's former Crescent Chevrolet building in the spring.

Toppling Goliath has a far-reaching fanbase of beer aficionados who travel to northeast Iowa for beer release events at the taproom. It distributes in 20 states and is a major tourism draw for Decorah. In 2019, the Register estimated that Toppling Goliath’s taproom events and subsequent food, gas and hotel stays bring in $4 million annually for the local economy.

30 September, 2021