Latest reviews from Decorah
| 78 /100 Rubaiyat (Restaurant) 117 WEST WATER ST. “A nice restaurant that also features a healthy collection of taps, mostly from local breweries. Several from TG and one from Pulpit Rock, which is what I tried. Large spacious interior, separate bar. Food was very solid, probably the best in Decorah. Visited with Jess during our trip to Decorah in 2023.“ |
| 68 /100 1600 PROSPERITY RD “Visited the new digs with Jess on our trip to Decorah in 2023. Huge compared to the old place. The food is solid, okay selection of their own cans, plenty of crowler options and a huge merch setup.“ |
| 92 /100 1600 PROSPERITY RD “It's an adventure to get here - and worth all the trouble! Interior is wide open and clean, but far from sterile. Servers know their craft and make sure you are satisfied. Their cheese curds are fabulous. Worth finding in the wilds of rural Iowa.“ |
| 84 /100 207 COLLEGE DRIVE “As luck would have it, my Airbnb was across the street. Smallish place with a large central bar, open to the outside with a nice front yard. Beers were above average, staff were friendly and knowledgeable, great atmosphere. Fun place.“ |
| 88 /100 1600 PROSPERITY RD “Go to the middle of nowhere, then keep going further into nowhere. Huge place, brand new, modern industrial. Awesome beers. Awesome staff had great recommendations. Tasty food. Worth going way way way out of your way - and you will have to.“ |
| 94 /100 1600 PROSPERITY RD “How the blue hell is this only a 93 (at the time of this rating)?
As other reviewers note, place is huge. It's in the middle of nowhere of Decorah, which is in turn in the middle of nowhere in Iowa, which is in turn centrally located in nowhere. So you kind of have to decide "yes, I'm going to Toppling Goliath" to go there.
The beer - I mean, it's Toppling Goliath. A bunch of boozy stouts on draft and to go when I went there. I had / took them all to go. Need to be a little careful because you can't go anywhere without driving from here, but this is a must-trip for any beer geek and in the top 5 brewery experiences I've had. Don't 100% know if it's worth the trip to Decorah, but disregarding that, this place is spectacular.“ |
| 90 /100 1600 PROSPERITY RD “This place is out of the way and in the middle of nowhere but so worth it. Giant place, ample shaded outdoor seating, plenty of seating inside. Lots of variants on draft, tons of good merch for sale. The food was decent, the service was extremely friendly and knowledgeable. I highly recommend this place, you must go out of your way.“ |
| 100 /100 1600 PROSPERITY RD “Well, apparently I haven't rated the new location, although I have been here before. My bad. Huge huge location outside of the main part of town. Kind of reminds me of Surly when their location was open. Two floors, hella inside seating, sizable outside patio. Good food as well, pizza's burgers and the like. This has become a real operation. Last time I was there they had 7(!) different BA stouts on tap, two of them available to go in 16 oz cans. Not to mention the set of core IPA's and miscellaneous other stuff. Half/taster pours available for most things, although the BA stuff appears to just come in 10 oz pours. They are still pretty high on themselves (having the #1 rated beer will do that for you) as reflected in the prices of their BA offerings, but the quality is there, so do what you will. Update, just a note that on a visit on Friday, February 11th, 2022, they had the top two rated imperial pastry stouts in the world on tap, along with multiple top 50 IPAs, DIPAs and pale ales. It may well have been the single greatest tap list I have ever seen at a brewery. They now offer even their BA beers in four ounce pours. Just gets better.“ |
| 82 /100 Dixie's Biergarten (Bar) 310 COLLEGE PARK DR. “Dixie's has taken over the OG Toppling Goliath location. My understanding is that it is still in Clarke's family however. Layout is the same as when it was TG; relatively small inside with a decent side patio as well. Running about 20 taps, with 4-5 devoted to TG beers and the rest primarily other Iowa breweries (other than, of course, Pulpit Rock). Great service, really good beer selection, decent prices. Not much to complain about.“ |
| 74 /100 207 COLLEGE DRIVE “Visited on 10th November 2019. Small single roomed venue in town. Nice venue, decor was homely and cosy. Decent range of beers on tap plus a couple to takeaway. Service was friendly. Prices decent. A nice little brewery that definitely worth a look, especially if you have made the effort to go to TG“ |
| 90 /100 1600 PROSPERITY RD “Visited on 10th November 2019. Situated out of the town sits this enormous temple of Imperial Stout (plus other beer!). Just a huge venue, fridges for takeaway as you walk in, and then a huge seating area. Landed the day after a new Impy stout release but place was fairly quiet. Can't believe how many people make the sizeable trek out here as it is properly the middle of nowhere. Service was great, food good and good value. Beer range was superb. Picked up lots of new beers plus a couple of Morning Delights to take away. I'd definitely return as the beer was superb,“ |
| 70 /100 207 COLLEGE DRIVE “Fun small brewery and a nice addition to the beer scene in Decorah. Jess and I visited during a rainy day in 2019 on our way back from Wausau. Tried a few beers during our visit - nice taproom, plenty of their own beers on tap- Nordic theme in interior.“ |
| 66 /100 Oneota Community Food Cooperative (Grocery Store) 312 W WATER ST “Nearly all singles in the 20-foot-long beer section (half cooler, half warm), making the $10.99/6 the deal of the day. Will sell less than 6, too. Had beers from about 10 Iowa breweries, helping us try a few distant, obscure ones that we didn't have time to visit. Dining area in front of store seemed very popular. Not sure if they'd let you pop a beer purchase with lunch or dinner. Very nice, young staff.“ |
| 80 /100 Rubaiyat (Restaurant) 117 WEST WATER ST. “Went here on a recommendation of our Toppling Goliath waiter when we said we were staying at a downtown hotel and looking for a place within walking distance that has a good beer list and cocktail menu. Rubaiyat delivers on both. Not very big, but plenty of room on a Wednesday night.“ |
| 80 /100 207 COLLEGE DRIVE “Like others, when in Decorah, you visit the little guy in town (Pulpit Rock) and the Goliath on the outskirts. Pulpit Rock is a definitely worthwhile stop, though without the additional outdoor patio we enjoyed on a sunny July afternoon, the taproom would be your only elbow-to-elbow choice. Enthusiastic bartender loved talking up the beers and all we tried were at least average and most better than that.“ |
| 88 /100 1600 PROSPERITY RD “I've lived in the Midwest all my life and Decorah isn't on the way to anywhere, so a special roadtrip was needed. We were all glad we did it, even the non-beer drinker. What was most impressive about the large venue was, on the Wednesday night we visited, they expertly handled a motorcycle group gathering on the outdoor patio (a hundred bikes easily) and a thriving indoor business (most tables full). The staff was fun and knowledgeable, pizzas were yummy and the beer was, as expected, delicious.“ |
| 88 /100 207 COLLEGE DRIVE “This is the star brewery of Decorah. Amazing beers from 3 styles, sour, ipa and stout. All were amazing. The downside was they ares so good all cans were gone and things kicked quickly.
Must visit.“ |
| 74 /100 1600 PROSPERITY RD “Mammoth place that is extremely nice, huge amounts of money put into this place.
Tasting room is a bit sterile for my liking, wish there was more character, although I do love the huge ceilings.
About 15 drafts, some new ticks, but they had all the favorites on. Had 2 flights, enjoyable.
Nice selection of to go cans and bottles.
I'd come back if in the area.“ |
| 88.5714285714 /100 1600 PROSPERITY RD “Was here for Assassin release. Amazing place. It was totally packed..like insane..but it was controlled chaos. The place is awesome. A tonne of their beers on tap including Assassin. Didn't try the food but heard it was really good. The staff is maybe the best in the business... At least compared to other places I've been“ |
| 95.7142857143 /100 1600 PROSPERITY RD “Visited the day before the 2019 Assasin release and was treated to a tour by the founder and owner, Clark Lewey. The brewery is impressive, as are the beers. The tasting room is spacious and features a large bar with many taps. Some large tables provide lots of additional seating. The food was well prepared and tasty. Service was friendly and efficient. A well stocked fridge provides a nice selection of bombers and cans to go. Definitely a top tier operation.“ |
| 90 /100 207 COLLEGE DRIVE “Visited late January, 2019. Okay let’s be honest, most likely if you’re headed here it’s because you were just at or are headed toward Toppling Goliath. Since TG moved to their new giant place, this is no longer nearby, but definitely worth a stop. What the hell else are you going to do in a Decorah, IA? Small place, complete antithesis to the new giant super clean cut almost corporate Toppling Goliath, this joint is small, almost dive bar-like, kinda cruddy bathrooms, the whole deal. My bartender was super friendly, knowledgeable, and obviously loved the beers. Beers ranged from really good to awesome; nothing I had of theirs was terrible. I’ll definitely be back any time I’m in town. In fact, I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for releases of theirs as a reason to hit Decorah.“ |
| 74 /100 207 COLLEGE DRIVE “Right in the town centre, this is a small, intimate place, totally anathema to Toppling Goliath. I sampled all 8 of their beers, and was very impressed with 2 of them, while the rest were decent. Friendly service and reasonably priced. Worth a hit if you’re in town.“ |
| 92 /100 1600 PROSPERITY RD “This place really exceeded my expectations. I’ve been enjoying their beers for years and was happy to finally be able to visit. Located nowhere close to any major city, and about 10 minutes outside the town centre of Decorah, this is a large industrial-like place. Large tap selection, boasting about 20 of their own beers, with about half being IPAs. I was lucky enough to be able to try Mornin Delight and a bunch of Term Oils. Extremely friendly and generous service, and very reasonably priced. Best to get a DD if you come here. Awesome place in all respects.“ |
| 90 /100 1600 PROSPERITY RD “Visited 12/15/18 for KBBS day. For one, the event was SUPER organized and went insanely smooth - better than many releases and events I’ve been to. Big place, big wooden tables, cement, metal - clean and clean cut industrial feel. Loads of good beers on tap. A worthwhile stop for world class beer! I’ll be back!“ |
| 88 /100 1600 PROSPERITY RD “Huge place, easy to get a seat on a Tuesday afternoon. 16 beers on tap, some bottles to go, great service.“ |
| 72 /100 1600 PROSPERITY RD “The new venue is HUGE. Nice tap room with decent tap list and good to go menu. I understand there’s a super high demand for their rare stuff but can’t help feel that this would be so much better if they had one tap dedicated to more unusual things. As it is, it feels a bit industrial.“ |
| 74 /100 207 COLLEGE DRIVE “Decent enough tap room, pretty crowded when I visited and as a result they didn’t do flights. Friendly staff and fast service though.“ |
| 82 /100 Rubaiyat (Restaurant) 117 WEST WATER ST. “Visited for their Assassin event but clear they have a good standard tap list, as well as some bottles. Nice and friendly staff, and nice atmosphere.“ |
| 70 /100 207 COLLEGE DRIVE “Visited on a Thursday afternoon. Nice patio, limited inside seating. Six of their beers on tap. Friendly service and fair prices. Enjoyed the coffee porter. The other Decorah brewery is just a short walk away.“ |
| 68 /100 207 COLLEGE DRIVE “A never heard brewpub close to Toppling Goliath. 5 beers on tap. Flights available. The quality of beers varies. Saftig was really tasty. Norway themed decoration. If you visit TG please visit this place too.“ |
| 84 /100 207 COLLEGE DRIVE “Located just down the hill from Toppling Goliath in a converted light industrial garage. Norwegian themed and outdoor seating make this a pretty nice venue. Super friendly and not pretensious. Some of their beers rival those of TG. Definitely worth checking out.“ |
| 82 /100 207 COLLEGE DRIVE “Surprised this has not been reviewed yet given that its about 700ft from Mecca. Interesting space behind a laundrymat (that also provides the free public WiFi for the brewery). Parking lot out front. U-shaped bar with a couple of other tables around the outside. They had 10 total taps, but only 7 were running when we were there, including a guest cider. Friendly service all around. Flights were about $1.50 per sample, certainly reasonable. They also had PBR and Bud Light tallboys if somebody in your party is just anti-craft. No Heineken though :). Place was pretty dead when we arrived at 1:30PM on a Saturday, but filled up fast and was rocking by 3PM. Beers ranged a bit. Pretty standard styles; nothing really unusual, wild, or sour on tap. The flagship Pale Ale was branded an APA, but was really more like a bready/grassy Kolsch than anything else. They had an IPA called Saftig that was truly stellar; guessing the head brewer picked up some tips at his previous gig. The coffee porter was excellent as well. In short, they are demonstrably capable of hitting home runs right out of the block; look for good things to come from these guys.“ |
| 88 /100 Courtyard and Cellar (Bar) 421 W WATER STREET “Voici la boutique/salon de dégustation qui fait que le détours vers Decorah a valu la peine. Une ambiance rustique avec feux de foyer et boiseries dans un genre de donjon. Ce sera probablement Benji qui vous recevra et il est à l’image de son lieu de travail. Pour la sélection, chaque fois qu’elle peut compter sur Toppling Goliath, ça la met dans une classe à part. À faire absolument si vous passez par TG.“ |
| 46 /100 Oneota Community Food Cooperative (Grocery Store) 312 W WATER ST “Beer selection was small and unexciting. No tg bottles, although they usually have something. Maybe the best bottle shop in Decorah, but that ain’t saying much... Maybe I just came on a bad day“ |
| 84 /100 Courtyard and Cellar (Bar) 421 W WATER STREET “Really cool place a mile or so from mecca. We stopped in on a Friday afternoon and it was empty but we still had a great time. The decor is in fact really cool, lots of authentic masonry, huge wooden support beams, several tables and a tiny little bar. Kind of like a cross between a German beer hall and a wine cellar. More later...“ |
| 74 /100 Rubaiyat (Restaurant) 117 WEST WATER ST. “Rubaiyat offers a large, quality tap list and a high quality, straightforward menu. Atmospherically it’s somewhat unusual, like a family restaurant crossed with an upscale bar; bright lighting, carpeted floors and wide, diner style booths. The crowd in here is on the older side, but everyone is having a good time. The beers are served in sometimes appropriate glassware, with pint glasses being replaced by the twelve ounce imposter ones. Four Toppling Goliath taps on this visit; the remainder of the list is made up of regional mid level micros. The food level is high especially for this tiny little town, and affordable. The cocktail list in a big city would seem almost cutely outdated, which is true of several small elements of this place. While from my perspective there’s room for this place to grow into something really excellent, it also seems to be very successful as it is, and certainly the local favorite for food and drink.“ |
| 62 /100 Oneota Community Food Cooperative (Grocery Store) 312 W WATER ST “Classic co-op that offers everything food wise a person could want with this kind of store. Beers are divided into singles for sale and not as much available for bulk purchase, and on this visit there was nothing very special to be bought.“ |
| 80 /100 Courtyard and Cellar (Bar) 421 W WATER STREET “Odd little place that feels like the basement of a church. Unfinished floors, random furniture. Strong, quality tap list with bottle list to match; the level of beer quality here is certainly unmatched in this little town. Several beers from prairie on tap, and a couple upright bottles for takeaway, in addition to Iowa locals. There doesn’t seem to have been much effort given to create ambience here, and it wouldn’t take much to create a top-class beer drinking destination in this space given the quality of what they offer.“ |
| 62 /100 Oneota Community Food Cooperative (Grocery Store) 312 W WATER ST “Smallish beer selection but not bad. Crazy cheap prices. A couple gems in here as well. Worth a quick stop.“ |
| 70 /100 Courtyard and Cellar (Bar) 421 W WATER STREET “Pretty cool joint. Stopped in to pick up a bottle of TG Sosus. A few taps and several bottles available to go. Cool spot to drink a beer, but I was the only customer in the joint when I was there.“ |
| 70 /100 Oneota Community Food Cooperative (Grocery Store) 312 W WATER ST “Stopped in on a Wednesday afternoon. Street parking and metered, but that didn’t pose an issue. The place is sort of an organic, locavore type grocery store that has a small restaurant attached. The food was mostly buffet style, but there is a menu for paninis and the like. The buffet was all paid for by the pound. I made a salad and had a bowl of soup. Both were pretty good. The beer selection is not huge, but what is there is either local, craft, or import. I ended up getting a Toppling Goliath bomber and a bottle of Crooked Stave.“ |
