Smuttynose Gravitation (Big Beer Series) - Smuttynose Brewing Company

Foxman

New Jersey

3.55/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

It pours a rather clear cola mahogany. A half finger of sparse orange-tan head dissolves in a flash to spectral wisps of pips. Lacing is a non-entity.

The aroma starts with roasted malt and caramel with a toffee kicker. Raisins and a distant spiciness merge smoothly with a steamy seam of alcohol.

Upon sipping, the tide is briefly dark malt sweet before candy sugar comes a-cloying. Dark cherry, dried dark fruit, and caramel stiffen in the face of a muted, reedy crisp bitterness. The alcohol is sneaky and airy. Residual biscuit grain is syrupy before a more capably dry bitterness crisps the finish a wee bit. Malty and sweet, it's a quad, if a bit jerky in spots.

Between medium and full bodied, it's sticky, lip-clinging, palate-enrobing, and quite cloying.

It's a toasty malt beast, a bomb of grain sugar, with a glycemic index that stares down and cows the most potent insulin. This is what happens when you deregulate maltose and dried fruit. And yet, the ABV manages to shine through as well. So it could be better, and it could be worse, and I'm hoping for more from Smutty next time, if only for more complexity and dimension in a big beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2009 18:10:07 | More by Foxman

marley2112

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%

05-13-2013 02:23:14 | More by marley2112

Wamba

Illinois

4/5  rDev +9.9%

05-11-2013 21:29:19 | More by Wamba

imperialking

Illinois

4/5  rDev +9.9%

05-10-2013 18:09:55 | More by imperialking

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.75/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured from bottle into a snifter

Appearance – Pours a brownish amber color with a small cream colored head. The head fades relatively quickly to leave a light level of lace on the sides of the glass

Smell – The aroma of the brew is heaviest of a toasted grain and malty smell with a good dose of darker fruits of raisin, fig and plum. Along with these aromas are notes of yeast and candied sugars and a moderate amount of orange and clove, which all all are mixed with a boozy smell produce a sweet and warming aroma overall.

Taste – The taste begins with a big lightly toasted malt flavor and a good showing of lighter sweet flavors of raisin, plum and cherry along with a rather strong flavor of a sweet tangerine. As the flavor advances notes of some buttery toffee, yeast, as well as some flavors of alcohol start creeping their way into the taste profile. The yeast bring with it some flavors of spice as well as a banana flavor bringing the more characteristic Belgian character to the brew. The maltiness fades slightly more toward the end (but still overall remains rather strong) with the boozy flavor becoming more intense and taking on an almost rum like flavor.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is thick and creamy with a carbonation level that is on the slightly lower to average side. The combination of thick and creamy body as well as lower carbonation suit this big, sweet, malty and boy brew quite well.

Overall – Quite a potently sweet and big beer. Rather tasty, but nothing too exceptional.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2013 02:05:52 | More by Darkmagus82

Grinky

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +23.6%

04-20-2013 03:07:43 | More by Grinky

TheLevi4000

New York

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%

04-15-2013 11:11:57 | More by TheLevi4000

chefduff2

New York

3.75/5  rDev +3%

04-15-2013 03:00:02 | More by chefduff2

Flounder57

Massachusetts

3.84/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

22 oz bottle was poured into a large Duvel snifter.

Appearance: This beer poured a one finger head that reduced to a thin layer. It is a reddish brown haze with slow moving bubbles coming up through the glass. Spotty lacing on the glass as the beer was drank.

Smell: spicy yeast, malty, bready, raisins, plums, dates, and figs. Can't wait to try it out.

Taste: Really sweet and malty. All the dark fruits above with some bready notes and spiciness.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, tingly hop bitterness, full bodied, low to medium carbonation, warm boozy alcohol, and a little chewy.

Overall: A nice American take on a quad. Very comparable to those Belgian versions and look forward to more of this in the future. Might have to get another to store for a few years.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2013 00:14:09 | More by Flounder57

CaptDavyJones

New York

4/5  rDev +9.9%

04-12-2013 01:11:27 | More by CaptDavyJones

HattedClassic

Virginia

4/5  rDev +9.9%

04-08-2013 03:00:15 | More by HattedClassic

Dactrius

Wisconsin

2.75/5  rDev -24.5%

04-07-2013 23:55:38 | More by Dactrius

MarkyMOD

Colorado

4.25/5  rDev +16.8%

04-07-2013 06:09:20 | More by MarkyMOD

JeffreyJDavis

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%

04-05-2013 19:26:54 | More by JeffreyJDavis

Hairrrrrrrr

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%

04-04-2013 01:20:37 | More by Hairrrrrrrr

outoffocus

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +3%

04-03-2013 01:38:36 | More by outoffocus

jsteele

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +23.6%

03-31-2013 19:47:55 | More by jsteele

C20Percent

Virginia

3.78/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75

Bottle conditioned in 2011

A: Pours a caramel color amber with a little slightly bubbly tan colored head. Beer poured creamy. Not see thru at all. Can't really tell if it's bubbly or not. Not much complexity other than the nice color. Decent appearance overall.

S: Toffee malts. Dark fruits. Slightly yeasty. Maple syrup. Really nice. Smells nice an Old Ale. Digging it.

T: Toffee, buttery. Very warm. Some breadiness. Some dark fruits -- raisins or cherries. Pretty good flavor. Again, alcohol is very warm, and that is the finish. Flavors are all up front. But, overall pretty good.

M: Heavy body. Creamy. Little bit of a bite -- cutting the mouth a bit. Medium carbonation. Just okay.

O: The alcohol is not very well managed. This is a big, warming beer. The aromas are great. The flavors are good up front, but the finish is biting. But, overall, a pretty good beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2013 19:33:25 | More by C20Percent

erlenmeyer

Maine

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%

03-31-2013 00:20:12 | More by erlenmeyer

Sparky44

Illinois

4/5  rDev +9.9%

03-24-2013 21:12:47 | More by Sparky44

aszatk01

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -10.7%

03-24-2013 19:31:10 | More by aszatk01

Beermaine

Maine

3.25/5  rDev -10.7%

03-23-2013 23:26:01 | More by Beermaine

wingnutz27

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +30.5%

03-23-2013 16:27:07 | More by wingnutz27

deeznuts420

Pennsylvania

1.84/5  rDev -49.5%
look: 2 | smell: 1.75 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

another american quad that falls short on all levels. the appearance was very light colored for a quad. looked like a watered down barleywine brownish red with no head at all. smell was very sweet cherry like that i knew right away was gonna be cloyingly sweet with some booze. taste and mouthfeel was cloyingly sweet, cherry like alittle raisiny and thin mouthfeel. the only thing i find good about this beer was the high alcohol. sort of a weak ass troegs mad elf

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2013 11:15:11 | More by deeznuts420

thecheapies

Pennsylvania

3.86/5  rDev +6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Pulled out my Westy glass for this.

One of the lighter quads that I've seen. Light chestnut amber with good clarity. A few small particles sit at the bottom of the glass. I almost mistook them for bubbles. Thin ring of foam is all that's visible. No boasting carbonation or lacy after-effect.

Tinny Maraschino cherry, clover honey, treacle, mushroom-like umami, tea, some caramel sugar candy sweetness. Hints of plum and clove. Maybe just the slightest brush-up of cinnamon, or cinnamon apple? Not bad.

More of that thin cherry flavor paired with honey. Very reminiscent of Troegs Mad Elf and Weyerbacher Quad. Not quite as brandied as the latter. More complex than the former. Candi sugar, clove, raisin, cinnamon apple, red tea, caramel, white chocolate, and a nice dose of alcohol. Missing, for me, are the unctuous dark fruits and bready malts. Only mildly phenolic. I would describe the yeast performance as 'unplugged'; quieter, but tasteful. Provides more and more complexity as it warms. Still an oddball.

I would have expected a lot more stickiness. Not to say the beer was particularly sweet, but only a light smack of tack. Upfront, there's a prickle from the carbonation, but it smooths out in the body. Feels almost oily. Carbonation keeps working hard, a bit amplified for the style. An exciting beer, in feel. Dance-y.

This quad is very approachable. Not your standard bouquet or flavor profile, but still unmistakably Belgian in influence and complex and portly. I'd like to try this side-by-side with Weyerbacher's to see which one I like better. This one's a lot easier-going, in a good way.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2013 04:06:53 | More by thecheapies