Festivale - Terminal Gravity Brewing Company

Murrhey

Montana

3.7/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a pint glass. Reviewed live in high altitude Libby, Mont.

A- One-finger light-tan colored head. Long linger for the high ABV. Dark, mahogany look. Looks vinous and cloudy as well. Not sure what to make of it.

S- Strong hops in the aroma which is a bit of a surprise. Red grapes, pineapple and a little bit of mustiness that must come from the live yeast. Not really sure. Attractive if subdued.

T- Very hoppy, grapefruit and pine hops. Strong and bitter. Overpowers the maltiness, but the malts are still there providing a stiff backbone. Some floral notes as well, but the hops are clearly the centerpiece of this beer. Not complex enough for me to warrant a truly great score. Above average.

M- Medium bodied, semi-vinous and small bubbles for carbonation. Finishes dry.

O- Tasty, but too harsh to make a sessionable beer and not complex enough for a game-changer. Slightly above average for the style. If you are a fan of hops, but not of Old Ales, this would be a good middle ground perhaps.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2012 00:04:14 | More by Murrhey

flexabull

California

4/5  rDev +2.8%

03-01-2013 16:35:18 | More by flexabull

Jhastings79

4.5/5  rDev +15.7%

02-06-2013 10:29:05 | More by Jhastings79

danwho

California

3.75/5  rDev -3.6%

01-06-2013 00:20:27 | More by danwho

Fatehunter

Oregon

3.75/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Half finger of head on a dark and cloudy brown colored body.
Smell is all rich dark fruit with a little barnyard yeast.
Strong flavor of plum. Alcohol and bitterness bring up the end.
Crisp texture with a lower carbonation and medium body.
A nice dig on the Old Ale style. A winner in the Winter Ale category.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2012 04:36:49 | More by Fatehunter

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.9/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a slightly hazy rich reddish brown amber with a healthy two finger light tan head with good retention and lacing. Light but pleasant aroma of bready malt and a hint of toasted malt and nuts. Flavor of well integrated caramel, bready and light toasted malt, a little caramel and nuts. Very light holiday spicing and light hops. Finishes with dark malt and mild spices. Fairly understated, reminiscent of a British ale, but well balanced and interesting. Medium bodied with a hint of creaminess. I liked this as an alternate to some of the more boldly hopped and spiced winter ales. Well done.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2012 04:22:58 | More by LiquidAmber

dmorgan310

Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +15.7%

12-02-2012 21:31:50 | More by dmorgan310

Kopfschuss

Oregon

4/5  rDev +2.8%

11-08-2012 18:11:50 | More by Kopfschuss

jalepeno4

Oregon

4.5/5  rDev +15.7%

10-19-2012 04:20:44 | More by jalepeno4

brentk56

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a hazy auburn hue with a finger's worth of foam on top; quite a few strips of streaky lace

Smell: The powerful caramel and fruit cake backbone buttresses the resinous hops; spruce tips redolent of the Pacific northwest waft above

Taste: The resin and the caramel play back and forth on the front end, with the spruce flavors building by mid-palate; after the swallow, the bitter flavors continue to build, though the fruit cake flavors emerge in the background to round out the profile

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation; a bit of warmth in the gullet

Overall: A complex and flavorful old ale with some winter warmer elements, to boot

Thanks, hannont (from the other site), for the opportunity

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2012 17:33:21 | More by brentk56

shelby415

Oregon

4/5  rDev +2.8%

03-01-2012 06:49:04 | More by shelby415

kylemckinnis

Oregon

4.5/5  rDev +15.7%

02-27-2012 02:07:15 | More by kylemckinnis

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.4/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured out a heady mix of brown and red color, with a decent 5/8" head on it. Aroma was winter warmer warmth, mild tinge of toffee, decent hopping along what I'd guess to be the 45 ibu variety.

Taste, pretty nice and chunky, more caramel, still some toffee, cocao powder, brought enough stuff to hold down some of the bitterness. Held the alcohol of the tongue nicely, the aroma had me wondering if that would be the case. A little bit of dark fruit raisin type of mouthfeel. Good degree of chewiness and viscosity to it, probably from the respectable amount of caramel and breadiness in the beer.

One of the better beers TG bottles. They're always the preeminent example of a good brewery that doesn't bottle their best stuff. This is better than their ipa or golden ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2012 16:49:40 | More by Beerandraiderfan

hannaho

Washington

4/5  rDev +2.8%

01-03-2012 16:53:26 | More by hannaho

tompearson

Oregon

3.55/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance - brown orangish tint. Some head but not retentive.

Smell - sweet, malty, subtle

Taste - got the alcohol first then again at the end. Like that. Got some toasty, coffee, caramel.

Mouthfeel - big mouth full of body. Again subtle feel but goes down well.

Overall - this is a keeper. Nice job. Will try again next season.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2011 00:47:07 | More by tompearson

djbreezy

Washington

4.2/5  rDev +8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance - reddish brown, opaque, not much head or retention

Smell - caramel malt aroma

Taste - caramel and toffee notes in the malt with some light alcohol burn on the finish

Mouthfeel - full body but ever so slightly undercarbonated, not that noticeable however or could be something else

Overall - really enjoyed the flavor, great winter beer, better than I expected

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2011 04:41:21 | More by djbreezy

Arbitrator

California

3.18/5  rDev -18.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Chilled bottle into a glass, courtesy of ramnuts. Thanks, Frank!

A: Pours a murky, chestnut body topped with a pinky finger of off-white head. It retreats into a milky swirl of bubbles with a spotty, broken collar around the edges.

S: Caramel malts and bread are abundant. Without knowing the style, I find myself expecting a doppelbock, though the fruit aromas aren't quite there. Even as an old ale this is a bit simplistic, though not bad.

T: Caramel, with a touch of toffee. A small raisin flavor. Grainy flavors are noticeable, along with leaves and pine hops that pull into the finish. They leave a small bitterness that offsets the initial sweeter flavors.

M: Mild bitterness in the finish along with some very light spice exhalations (can't place it). It's medium-plus bodied, with very light heat.

O: It's hard to have an old ale from the land of my favorite old ale (Adam) and not make a comparison. This isn't in the same league -- at all -- but it's enjoyable enough.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2011 20:08:34 | More by Arbitrator

Docer

Washington

3.85/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: (4.0)
- A nice mostly clear dark ruby brown brew. Big fingers of fluffy off-white head which slowly settled to a very spotty thin blanket with lace up and down the sides. Not bad.

Smell: (3.5)
- Certainly a healthy dose of caramel malts here. Perhaps other sweet grainy and bready malts like Munich or Marris Otter perhaps. A sweet English aroma to the malt. Little brown sugar, perhaps a touch of spice, fig, clove, and cinnamon. Surprisingly little hop presence. Maybe some floral and earthy hops in the finish.

Taste: (4.0)
- Certainly a flavorful beer. Sweet brown sugar, light molasses, caramel malts, bready grain, and some bitter pine hops in the flavor. The aroma of the beer hid a bit of what the flavor is packing. Light spice which I can dig. Heavily spiced winter beers make me want to vomit. Not this one. Very well rounded.

Mouth Feel: (3.5)
- Overall a medium bodied brew, plenty carbonated, and certainly chewy and drying. Overall it's balance keeps the mouth watering though. Still just seems a touch thin for what it boasts.

Overall: (4.0)
- Not a bad winter beer at all, and not too spicy. Overall it is a heavy hitter, warms you up, and drinks well. Certainly worth having a few of these kicking around in the fridge this year.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2011 04:48:45 | More by Docer

harrymel

Washington

2.9/5  rDev -25.4%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Bottled: unk

A: ruddy dark clay brown. single finger of taupe foam falls to a sheet of the same. No lace. murky.
S: Hops, cardboard, toffee, darker malts. Nice, almost well-aged barley wine nose.
T: Sweet malts have tones of caramel, spicy hops and some alcohol.
M: thin with hi carb. Initially feels creamy, then gets really carbed, weird. slick finish.
O: decent enough.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2011 04:47:33 | More by harrymel

Reidrover

Oregon

4.22/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz single from "Lifesource". S.Salem. $1.75 Dark murky brown/amber ale with a lovelly thick light tan head. Pretty hoppy aromas..resiny,spruce like type...a little caramel malt. Despite the hoppy nose the flavour is full on chewy,toffee,caramel maltiness..hops you can feel them underneath..stopping this from being over sweet. Nice palate..strong and smooth..very chewy. Overall a very very nice malty winter ale.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2011 03:14:24 | More by Reidrover

cbarrett4

Oregon

4.18/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from tap into pint glass at Nano-brew festival PDX.

I love the brews from Terminal Gravity and have seen it in 6 packs, but couldn't pull the trigger for a $12 six pack of a seasonal I haven't tried.

This batch claims to be from the last keg and aged 16 months.

Pours with a darkly amber hue, short head and light lace. The nose assails you like a jackhammer, but a jackhammer that is fun and hammers little bursts of joy into your head. I was getting raisin and toffee at first, then earth, some malt, roasted meat, cigar tobacco, and English bread pudding. Soooo complex!

The palate was disappointing after the amazing aromatics. Mainly malts and dark fruit with lingering sweetness. Very good, but not as complex as I had hoped. Imminently drinkable though, despite the 8.4% abv.

Texture was nice, big but not over the top with balance of alcohol, tannins, and acids. Finished nice though a little sweet.

Very good. I wonder if this was a batch aged longer than most? I don't know if I am to be disappointed when I buy it from the store next time!

Serving type: on-tap

08-21-2011 22:13:58 | More by cbarrett4

drabmuh

Maryland

3.55/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served in a Bruery tulip. Beer is dark amber / red and hazy (served with sediment) form a big off white head of small and medium bubbles, tons of lacing on this one, looks pretty nice.

Beer smells a little like spice but overall the aroma is quite weak.

Beer is medium to big in body and has some odd dryness at the back that brings forward some spiciness to the whole thing. It's OK overall but not my favorite old ale / spiced ale. Just an average experience overall.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2010 00:34:26 | More by drabmuh

jdense

Oregon

4.1/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap at EOU Faculty Lounge in The Big, OR, poured into frosted pint glass (arghh), $5, 12.27.10. Had this many, many times before, review based on 2010 version.

Light tan one-finger head over fairly dark brown clear body, significant amount of lacing after fairly slow dissipation. Really surprised at the nose, the traditional Festivale aroma, huge maltiness, bready, sweet, some raisins, balance by big hop noble hop infusion. Taste mirrors nose, quite a bit of roast, not overly sweet and nice hop bitterness on back end. Mouthfeel halfway between medium and full, sticky finish. Really drinkable. IMHO, upon significant reflection, this doesn't taste anything like the bottled version. I like the tap version much better, more of a full boutique, and esp. a fuller mouthfeel. One of Eastern Oregon's better beers. Check it out.

Serving type: on-tap

12-28-2010 05:04:05 | More by jdense

Spikester

Oregon

4.22/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

First time I have seen this beer from Terminal Gravity. Picked up a six pack at Market of Choice in West Linn. Dark hazy red with a good three fingers of tan head. Good amount of lacing and the foam cap lasts all the way to the bottom of the glass. Aroma of floral hops and sugary malts. Taste is big bitter fruity hops with plentiful malts to lend support. Mouthfeel is good with just enough carbonation and a medium body. Alcohol is obvious but not bothersome on the palate. Drinkability is perhaps too good given the 8.4% abv. A couple of these could really give you an attitude adjustment. A powerfull Old Ale that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2010 07:23:28 | More by Spikester

ElGordo

Oregon

3.65/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours an orange-amber brown color with a slightly cloudy body and a small tan head. Malt-forward aroma with a good dose of citrusy hops - notes of some dark fruit, maple, a touch of brown sugar, and a good whiff of booze. Palate is again rather malty up front, with a decent balance of citrusy hops to balance things out before the swallow. The sweetness of the malt lingers for a while, with a trailing hoppy bitterness that sticks around after the swallow. More than a little alcohol heat on the finish. Maltier than most TG beers, but still with a decidedly hoppy kick.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2010 05:40:22 | More by ElGordo