Digital Dawn DIPA by Toppling Goliath Brewing Company is a juicy hazy DIPA that highlights Amarillo, Sabro, Mosaic, Simcoe and Nelson Sauvin hops. Lemon, berries and grapefruit dominate the beginning and middle of this DIPA, ending with a spicy and piney bitterness that lingers well into the aftertaste. This article covers a review and relation to Jeff Bridges and Olivia Wilde as a movie reference.
Technical Details for Digital Dawn DIPA
- Beer Name: Digital Dawn
- Beer Style: DIPA
- Brewery: Toppling Goliath Brewing Company (Decorah, IA)
- Brewery website: https://www.tgbrews.com
- Purchased: Spirit Shop in Norman, OK
- Tasted: 2/28/22
- Glass Used: NewFireGlass Gate Keeper glass
Digital Dawn DIPA Scoring Categories
Beer Review Toppling Goliath’s Digital Dawn DIPA Scoring Categories:
- Can Design: Tron has moved into the craft beer industry, when is the third movie being released
- Appearance: medium thickness yellow to gold haze 4/6
- Aroma: starts with citrus and tropical fruit salad up front, lemon and berries middle, lite grapefruit note on the back end 21/24
- Flavor: big juicy oranges and sweet tangerines, white grapes middle with some cedar and mint notes, creamy mango finish that lingers well into aftertaste 37/40
- Mouthfeel: smooth, chewy, creamy with a mild dry finish 8/10
- Overall Impression: very busy hop profile that actually works. Simcoe, Mosaic, Amarillo and Sabro hops manhandle Nelson Sauvin hops until the finish. 18/20
- Total Score: 88/100
- Amarillo hops really highlight the orange and tangerine tasting notes in this DIPA. The secondary hops play together like a soulful piano bar duet. Toppling Goliath has figured out how to consistently brew top notch seasonal hazy DIPAs.
Brewery Background
Toppling Goliath Brewing Company (TG) is located in Decorah, Iowa and opened in 2009. Founded by Clark and Barbara Lewey after a very successful run in the home brewing market. TG focuses on hazy IPAs and barrel aged stouts. Current beer portfolio includes forty beers that rotate throughout the calendar year. Have strategically expanded distribution to thirty states in the USA as of 2021.
Beer Advocate named TG the #2 brewery in the world. TG’s Kentucky Brunch Brand Stout has held the title of #1 rated beer in the world since 2015 (current Untappd rating of 4.83 out of 5.00). Hazy IPAs and barrel aged stouts are TG’s forte, and their sours are improving on a daily basis due to unique brewing techniques and using top notch ingredients. TG gets a ton of beer geek hype across the internet, in magazines and in beer stores. Agree the hype is warranted, due to the TG beers I’ve tasted have been extremely good and complex. TG is very active in the social media market with timely posts on Twitter and Instagram.
Due to the annual rotation of forty beers, TG has focused on improving their “flagship” beer recipes, by tweaking with new hop profiles and adding fruit. Structures Brewing has a similar approach in Bellingham, WA. I’m now wondering why more breweries don’t follow this business model. Best guess is that most breweries don’t have solid flagship recipes that enable tweaking and testing during a calendar year. Nothing wrong with trying subtle changes to a baseline product, enabling the beer geek community to have debates about special releases and best batches.
Digitial Dawn DIPA Background
Toppling Goliath brews the following rotational DIPAs:
- Hopsmacked – 7.8% ABV, Untappd Rating 4.18
- Fire, Skulls & Money – 7.8% ABV, Untappd Rating 4.22
- Sun Reaper – 7.8% ABV, Untappd Rating 4.11
- Scorpius Morchellla – 7.8% ABV, Untappd Rating 4.15
- Sosus – 7.8% ABV, Untappd Rating 4.26
- Supa’ Sumo – 7.8% ABV, Untappd Rating 4.26
- Trusted Galaxy – 7.8% ABV, Untappd Rating 4.11
- Dolphin Sparkles – 7.3% ABV, Untappd Rating 4.05
- Imperial Golden Nugget – 7.8% ABV, Untappd Rating 4.18
- Witch’s Broom – 7.8% ABV, Untappd Rating 4.02
- Digital Dawn – 7.8% ABV, Untappd Rating 4.14
- Double Dry Hopped King Sue – 7.8% ABV, Untappd Rating 4.43
- Soul Hunter – 7.8% ABV, Untappd Rating 4.18
TG definitely has the 7.8% ABV level figured out for their annual DIPA rotationals. Scorpius Morchella, Dolphin Sparkles and Soul Hunter are all worth seeking out. Current goal is to find Fire, Skulls & Money and Supa’ Sumo in 2022 to keep the TG beer tasting train rolling and on the track.
Movie Comparison for this Libation
Jeff Bridges who played Kevin Flynn/Clu in Tron, released in 1982, and Olivia Wilde who played Quorra in Tron: Legacy, released in 2010. Bridges played a computer programmer in Tron, who gets digitized and placed in a competitive arena against the Master Control Program (MCP). Due to his magical healing powers, Bridges defeats the MCP in a series of challenges and is elevated to the president of ENCOM Corporation. The original Tron movie is an acquired taste for movie fans, but the 1982-1983 arcade game was addictive.
Tron: Legacy was released in December 2010 with minimal hype and advertising. Broke even in the USA at $170M, but made $400M gross overseas. Much better movie due to major improvements of CGI and getting Kevin Flynn to meet his son Sam. Wilde steals the show by rescuing Sam from a cut-throat light lightcycle battle and reuniting him with his father.
Bridges channeled “The Dude” from the Big Lebowski by telling his son, “you’re messing with this Zen thing man.” Also said “bio-digital jazz, man.” Sacrificed himself to allow Sam and Quorra to return to present day earth and they enjoyed a morning sunrise on a motorcycle. Was it a mere coincidence that the next movie Wilde stared in was “Drinking Buddies?” Seems that Toppling Goliath was paying attention to that movie link and Digital Dawn will be brewed seasonally until Tron 3 gets tentatively released in 2025. Until then, time for another pint and this game of Disc Wars is top notch.
Are you interested in finding this beer? Check out this article that tells you how to locate great beer near you.
Cheers and keep it classy everyday!
