Triumph Gothic Ale

Brewed by Triumph Brewing Company
Style: Traditional Ale
Princeton, New Jersey USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, English pint, Stein, Yard

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UPDATED: APR 8, 2005 Another winner from the Princeton Triumph brewery. Herbal goodness in a glass. Quite fragrant. If you are familiar with gruits, this one will be a welcome taste. A nice malty backbone rounds it out well.... A very daunting beer if you have never tasted a gruit. Herbal nose, cloudy brown color. Spicy in taste, definitely true to the style. I went back many times for this until it was kicked. The oddest buzz after my second pint. By the third (or 6th?), it was time for the designated driver to step in. Not sure the ABV, maybe its the "secret" ingredients....

What to say about this beer.... it was the last beer of the 7-glass sampler, and surprised and engaged my palate all at the same time. The hops are noteably missing, but the flavors are incredible. Gruit, whatever it is, is a phenomenal taste. Also great for those that like to transpose themselves as they drink a beer--the brewery claims that it is brewed in a Medieval style, so you could feel what it is like to drink back then. A great beer for a celebration. Yes, even truly, a Triumph.

Hand Pumped. One word really.........GRUIT. Those herbs and spices go a long way

Pours a reddish brown. Aroma is earthyness and spices (but they were faint). Taste is sweet and spicey. Very creamy, coats the tongue and leaves a sweet aftertaste. Nice.

UPDATED: JUN 23, 2006 One of the strangest brews I’ve ever had the pleasure of trying. At the time of this rating, the only other gruit ale I’d had was Heavyweight’s, which is a light bodied tart summery brew. By comparison, this brew is a meal in a bottle. The nose is chock full of Rosemary, with a bit of cinnamon. A numbing clove aspect spreads across the tongue in no time with a strongly alcoholic tide. Clear ruby with a spare off-white head, this brew is all about the unusual. Made with Bog Myrtle? What the hizzay?

On tap at brewpub. Clear orangish brown in color with a tan head. Spicey aroma with a malty flavor. I get cloves, and nutmeg. Decent.

Cask at 3rd Manhattan Cask Fest. Deep brown with a touch of ruby highlights. The aroma is very herbal. Sweet gale, rosemary, lavender and rosehips. Floral and spicy. There is a bit of astringency mid-palate that actually lends the beer a nice silky body. There is a touch of caramel through the middle that works quite well. It is light-bodied and quite refreshing. There seems to be a kiss of cinnamon as well that is quite different from most gruits I’ve had before. I like it.

Cask at the Manhattan Cask Fest. Always good to see a gruit being made, though this hardly tastes like other versions I’ve had. Sweet rosemary and thyme aroma, malt and black pepper. Mild wintergreen and juniper flavor, cinnamon. Decent but a bit of a herb and spice sludge.

on cask in Princeton. Clear amber in color. Aroma is heavy spices and malt: ginger, nutmeg. Taste is spicy with ginger, nutmeg, pine, sweet malts. Finishes spicy. very interesting beer.

Sampled at Triumph. I’m still being amazed by these beers. A gruit! And well executed. It poured a hazy deep orange with a creamy thin, white head that left excellent, sheety lace. Very intense aroma full of lavender perfume, cloves, cinnamon stick, nutmeg. Taste is full of cinnamon and lavender to the point it is almost numbing on the palate. But it was not the gross herbal bomb I was expecting. There is a nice caramel malt backing and a sticky sweetness that cuts through the herbal medley. Well done.