Smuttynose Gravitation

Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

Apperance: dark brown with a tiny off white head. Aroma: Sweet toffee, caramel, spice, lemons, raspberries. Flavour: spicy alcohol, malt, burnt rye bread, dark winter fruits. Quite complex. A winter sip for sure.

22oz bomber courtesy of MrRetardedMonkey poured into a chalice. Pours a dark reddish brown with a small thick off-white head that shows excellent retention and sticks to the sides of the glasses pretty well on the way down. The aroma is very sweet with the candi sugar dominating the nose with sweet dark fruits. There is also some caramel malt and vanilla with a hint of spiciness The taste is super sweet with the candi sugar coming out even more with raisins and plums coming through. There is a faint spiciness in the finish and a bit of an alcohol burn, despite the relatively low ABV. The mouthfeel is sticky sweet with good carbonation but it does start to get a little cloying after a while. I’ve always been a fan of the Smuttynose Big Beers and this is no exception. I certainly wouldn’t put this in the top tier of quads as it lacks the complexity of the big boys. If you want a solid and very sweet Belgian then this one is for you.

2009 Bottle - Thanks motortoddhead! - Aroma is dk fruit and molassas, toffee malt...flavour is similar, sweet for sure, sticky malt, slight ginger spice...lingering brown sugar and dough...the abv and carbonation keep this from being too heavy...nothing mind boggling, but still, for $5 Smutty does not disappoint, terrific value bottle every time...

Pours a dark amber color with just a little white head to it. Has a sweet smell to it. Taste is sweet as well with some sort of dark fruit in there. This is to sweet for me.

Bottle shared by a friend, Hammer, from Boston- thanks! Pours brown with a small tan head. Aroma of dark fruits, dried fruits, brown sugar, roasted malt. Flavor is more of the same, a bit too sweet but still good. Alcohol is well hidden. Could have used a little more body, and is lighter than its Belgian peers. Thanks to Hammer and Shawn for introducing me to Smuttynose; I like what I’ve had so far.

bomber - clear light brown with thin tan head; sweet figs and belgian candy sugar; soft, mildly syrupy, thin and almost juice like; typical american quad - overly sweet and thin texture; one dimensional and too much candy flavors

I continue to enjoy the american interpretations of this classic belgian imperial style (Harpoon Leviathan Quad is also great in the same respect). Like the aforementioned beer, this is noticably less spicy and yeasty than the belgian counterparts I can think of. There is more of a molasses and caramelized raisin syrupy goodness to it. Nice work.

Bottle shared by Hammer, thanks. Notes of raison, caramel, spices, dark fruits, rum cake. Good beer, but a little too sweet.