Gravitation (Big Beer Series)
Smuttynose Brewing Company

Gravitation (Big Beer Series)Gravitation (Big Beer Series)
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From:
Smuttynose Brewing Company
 
New Hampshire, United States
Style:
Quadrupel (Quad)
ABV:
12.5%
Score:
83
Avg:
3.67 | pDev: 14.99%
Reviews:
311
Ratings:
615
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 02, 2021
Added:
Jan 01, 2009
Wants:
  40
Gots:
  64
This big, dark ale is brewed using a variety of Belgian specialty malts along with 200 pounds of raisin puree per batch. The resulting flavor is a viscous mix of dark fruit, rum, toffee and raisins balanced with aromatic fruitiness of the Belgian yeast.

25 IBU

2009 - 6.6%
2010 - 12.0%
2011 - 12.5%
2012 - 12.0%
2013 - 11.5%
2015 - 12.3%
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by superspak:
Photo of superspak
Reviewed by superspak from North Carolina

3.94/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
22 ounce bottle into chalice, 2015 vintage bottling. Pours slightly hazy deep orange/copper color with a 1 finger dense off white head with poor retention, that reduces to a thin ring pretty quickly. Minimal lacing on the glass, with some light streaming carbonation. Aromas of golden raisin, plum, fig, pear, apple, grape, light banana, pepper, clove, caramel, toasted bread, candi sugar, herbal, and yeast earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of fruity/spicy yeast and bready/candi sugar malt notes; with good strength. Taste of golden raisin, plum, pear, apple, grape, light banana, pepper, clove, caramel, candi sugar, toasted bread, herbal, and yeast earthiness. Good amount of yeast spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of golden raisin, plum, fig, pear, apple, grape, light banana, pepper, clove, caramel, candi sugar, toasted bread, and herbal/yeast earthiness on the finish for a while. Damn nice complexity and robustness of fruity/spicy yeast and bready/candi sugar malt flavors; with a great malt/yeast balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a very smooth and slightly slick/bready mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a light warming present after the finish. Overall this is a very nice pale Quadrupel style! All around good balance, robustness, and complexity of fruity/spicy yeast and bready/candi sugar malt flavors; and very smooth to sip on for the huge ABV. A very enjoyable offering.
Feb 07, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of 57md
Reviewed by 57md from Pennsylvania

3.82/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
Scored a 2013 bottle for a good price. I question the value of reviewing an 8 year old version of a beer that has not been brewed in several years, but here goes nothing...

Pours a brownish copper color with a slight layer of head. The nose has very mild breadiness to it. The flavor is generally the same with modest bready and malty notes. The body is super thin.

I genuinely can't say if this offering is way past its peak and moved into has-been territory or if this beer is a never-was.
Mar 02, 2021
 
Rated: 4.45 by j37geogaddi from Massachusetts

May 02, 2020
Photo of Stout80mizer
Reviewed by Stout80mizer from Florida

4.62/5  rDev +25.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Had this before multiple times last one was from 2011 and it was fantastic! Just scored another one from 2011 amid Co-virus ..stay tuned to updated review ...Sexy
Mar 20, 2020
Photo of GuyFawkes
Reviewed by GuyFawkes from Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Light purple hue.

Tan head; minimal lace.

Intense plum, raisin & booze nose. Dark yet sweet.

Medium mouthfeel.

HUGE raisin flavor, with a slight cinnamon & booze finish.

Bold; a touch over the top but pretty damn tasty. 2012 edition, drank August 2013.
Apr 01, 2019
 
Rated: 3.6 by KMcGrath from Massachusetts

Nov 28, 2018
 
Rated: 4.81 by perkineh from Massachusetts

Aug 18, 2017
 
Rated: 3.63 by tpauer from New Hampshire

Aug 14, 2017
Photo of Lone_Freighter
Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont

4.05/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This was poured into a chalice. The appearance was a hazy muddy brown color with light purple tinges on the sides of the glass. A half finger white to off white foamy head fills the top of the beer. The smell was that of a normal Belgian Quad in that it has the Belgian spices combining with some bananas, plums, raisins and ends up adding a nice bready and earthy yeastiness to it. The taste was sweet and spicy through the previously mentioned flavors leading to the same flavored aftertaste and into a dry finish. On the palate, it sat about a medium and indicated that this one was more of a sipper for the most part. Overall, this means everything for a good Quad. Would I have it again? Quite possibly.
Aug 01, 2017
 
Rated: 4.16 by GravityKills from Massachusetts

Jul 16, 2017
 
Rated: 3.79 by madelf66 from Pennsylvania

Jul 14, 2017
Photo of jkblr
Reviewed by jkblr from Indiana

3.83/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
22 oz bottle marked "bottle conditioned 2015 ABV 12.3" poured into a tulip glass at fridge temp. The beer is copper colored with orange highlights when held to light. The head is light khaki and recedes fairly quickly leaving a ring around the glass and no real lacing. The aroma is a beautiful mixture of plum, brown sugar and sweet caramel without any alcohol notes. The taste is similar with sweet caramel, plum, raisin and brown sugar all making a brief appearance. It finishes without any notes of bitterness and no shift in flavor. Mouthfeel is a bit thin, well carbonated and semisweet in the finish. Overall, good. This beer lacks some of the dimensions of a world class example. It has gotten better with age and for the price, it's worth grabbing a couple and tucking them away.
Jun 25, 2017
Photo of papposilenus
Reviewed by papposilenus from New Hampshire

4.1/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 2.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
From a 22oz bottle, bottle conditioned 2013, served in a tulip.

Pours a reddish-yellowish-amber, sort of like fig preserves or maybe pee the morning after you got kicked in the kidneys. There is no head, so nothing to talk about there. Lots of busy-busy, big-bubbled carbonation which suddenly stops, leaving the glass looking like a Jello shot. Shit, I'm scared.

Smells nice, though. Plums, acorns and tobacco. Also, it might smell a little like those jeans you were wondering whether you needed to put in the laundry.

Actually, it tastes really nice. Maybe I'm just super-suggestible but it tastes like the fig preserves I said it looked like and the plums I said it smelled like. Lots of nice warm fruits, the figs and plums, cherries, walnuts, dried leaf-tobacco and caramel creams. I think I'm going to add points here just because I was expecting it to taste like crap and, in fact, it's really, really good! No trace of the faint copper I detected in the nose and then forgot to write about. Super clean finish.

Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy, no more than medium-bodied and, while there's not much carbonation left after the (apparently) overly-enthusiastic pour I subjected it to, there's still enough to keep it easy-drinking. There's no abv stated on the bottle and, I think, that's just about right because I can't actually taste any alcohol.

Overall, this was an excellent quad! And one of the things that made it so excellent was that I thought it was going to suck! Point of clarification: I don't think this is the same raisin-purée-mess that Todd subjected himself to back in 2010 or, at least, there's no mention of raisins on the label today. It just says that it's abbey style that they've 'tinkered' with and 'tweaked,' whatever the fuck that may mean. It's too bad because I bought this bottle for somebody and then decided to drink it myself after I saw the ratings and it turned out to be fucking awesome. By the way, I drank the whole bottle while I was writing the review, in case you couldn't tell.
Mar 20, 2017
 
Rated: 3.36 by lochef81 from Michigan

Mar 09, 2017
Photo of mynie
Reviewed by mynie from Maryland

2.79/5  rDev -24%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Pours bright orange and kind of flat with no head to speak of.

Smells like a high octane quad. Big ripe fruit and then sharp fruity alcohol that's bordering on that of a bad mead.

Tastes, unfortunately, more like the booze than like the fruit. It's like they were going for a BIG quad but then just let the BIGness totally overwhelm the quadness. Sharp, unpleasant alcohol starts things off, very incredibly sharp, and then ending on some pleasant enough spice and fruit. It's not horrid. I've had worse. But this is still a beer to forget.
Feb 10, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by GRG1313 from California

Feb 08, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by Fettpopps from Massachusetts

Feb 05, 2017
 
Rated: 3.63 by RRB328 from Massachusetts

Oct 16, 2016
 
Rated: 3.85 by BigSmooth12 from Massachusetts

Sep 19, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by Gkruszewski from New York

Sep 17, 2016
Gravitation (Big Beer Series) from Smuttynose Brewing Company
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 615 ratings