Brewery: Victory Brewing Company
Location: Downingtown, PA
Style: Barleywine
Brewery Website
Rating: A
Today's tasting is Victory's Old Horizontal Barleywine. The Old Horizontal is ruby-amber in color with a hint of gold. The head is slow-rising and climbs up to a massive volume. The head is a ruddy tan in color. The nose is very fragrant of fruit, with notes of berries, citrus, and apricot. There is a wininess to nose that is characteristic of a barley wine as well.
Upon tasting, there is a sweet fruitiness up front that quickly gets taken over by syrupy malt. A bitter kick is here from the hops, which takes on a bit of an herbal character. The Old Horizontal is well-hopped, but not over-hopped. Flavors of maple, pretzels and cherries are also notable. The Old Horizontal is heavy with a slightly syrupy body and leaves a bit of a warming sensation. The finish has piny hop resin over malt syrup.
Victory has really hit the mark with this year's showing of the Old Horizontal. It is very drinkable and enjoyable right now. I especially like the fruit notes both on the nose and the palate. What I am most excited about, however, is the promise this beer shows for aging. I'm kicking myself for not grabbing a few extra to tuck away for aging, so I'm hoping to grab some before they're all gone in my area. The big fruitiness and hops paired with the syrupy malt is generally a recipe for great aging. I'm really looking forward to revisiting the Old Horizontal in a year or two.
Showing posts with label Victory Brewing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Victory Brewing. Show all posts
Monday, March 21, 2011
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Victory Hop Wallop
Brewery: Victory Brewing Company
Location: Downingtown, PA
Style: IPA
Brewery Website
Rating: A-
Today's beer review is the Hop Wallop from Victory. As we've seen before with their Prima Pils and their Hop Devil Ale, Victory has a great track record with my favorite green flower. The Hop Wallop, as the name suggests, is a highly hopped ale that is not to be taken lightly.
The Hop Wallop is a hazy golden yellow in color. It pours a short, white, bubbly head. The nose is loaded with hoppy aromas of grapefruit/citrus along with pine. There is also a faint wheat aroma notable.
On the palate, the Hop Wallop wallops you with hops. (Yes, that was cheesy.) There is a bitter resinous hop punch. Citrus and pine notes are present in spades along with a bit of a mineral note. Some warming alcohol is here as well, which is expected at 8.5% ABV. The finish has clinging, bitter hops with citrus and mineral notes. The Hop Wallop is medium bodied with clinging tannic hop resin.
The Hop Wallop is another winner from Victory. This is a potent hoppy brew with plenty of flavor to support the strong bitter kick. While the alcohol level is high enough to keep this a sipping brew, it smooths things out nicely and provides a solid background that can hold up to the hops. Victory knows hops, and their Hop Wallop is a must-try for fans of bitter hoppy brews.
Location: Downingtown, PA
Style: IPA
Brewery Website
Rating: A-
Today's beer review is the Hop Wallop from Victory. As we've seen before with their Prima Pils and their Hop Devil Ale, Victory has a great track record with my favorite green flower. The Hop Wallop, as the name suggests, is a highly hopped ale that is not to be taken lightly.
The Hop Wallop is a hazy golden yellow in color. It pours a short, white, bubbly head. The nose is loaded with hoppy aromas of grapefruit/citrus along with pine. There is also a faint wheat aroma notable.
On the palate, the Hop Wallop wallops you with hops. (Yes, that was cheesy.) There is a bitter resinous hop punch. Citrus and pine notes are present in spades along with a bit of a mineral note. Some warming alcohol is here as well, which is expected at 8.5% ABV. The finish has clinging, bitter hops with citrus and mineral notes. The Hop Wallop is medium bodied with clinging tannic hop resin.
The Hop Wallop is another winner from Victory. This is a potent hoppy brew with plenty of flavor to support the strong bitter kick. While the alcohol level is high enough to keep this a sipping brew, it smooths things out nicely and provides a solid background that can hold up to the hops. Victory knows hops, and their Hop Wallop is a must-try for fans of bitter hoppy brews.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Victory Hop Devil Ale
Brewery: Victory Brewing Company
Location: Downingtown, PA
Style: IPA
Brewery Website
Rating: A
Up next for review we have the Hop Devil Ale, an IPA from Victory Brewing. The Hop Devil is a deep, golden amber-red in color. It poured a huge, off-white, frothy head. The nose has citrus, stone fruit, juniper and pine from the hops, along with a faint hint of malt.
On the palate the Hop Devil leads with some malt up front. The bitter hops present themselves well, but without too much of a bite. A wide array of hops flavors are present, including juniper, pine, lemon and fresh herbs. There is also a sweet maltiness and a touch of cucumber. The finish is balanced between hops and a lingering sweet maltiness. The Hop Devil has a medium body that is well-matched to the full flavor.
The Hop Devil is just about everything you can ask for in an IPA. It has a full, rich flavor. There is a broad spectrum of hops flavors and aromas without too much bite. The Victory Hop Devil is just a great, fruity, flavorful IPA.
Location: Downingtown, PA
Style: IPA
Brewery Website
Rating: A
Up next for review we have the Hop Devil Ale, an IPA from Victory Brewing. The Hop Devil is a deep, golden amber-red in color. It poured a huge, off-white, frothy head. The nose has citrus, stone fruit, juniper and pine from the hops, along with a faint hint of malt.
On the palate the Hop Devil leads with some malt up front. The bitter hops present themselves well, but without too much of a bite. A wide array of hops flavors are present, including juniper, pine, lemon and fresh herbs. There is also a sweet maltiness and a touch of cucumber. The finish is balanced between hops and a lingering sweet maltiness. The Hop Devil has a medium body that is well-matched to the full flavor.
The Hop Devil is just about everything you can ask for in an IPA. It has a full, rich flavor. There is a broad spectrum of hops flavors and aromas without too much bite. The Victory Hop Devil is just a great, fruity, flavorful IPA.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Victory Prima Pils
Brewer: Victory Brewing Company
Location: Downingtown, PA
Style: Pilsner
Brewer Website
Rating: B+
I've been on a bit of a Pilsner kick lately, so today I'm going to keep the trend going with the Victory Prima Pils. The Prima Pils is light in color. It is a hazy, golden yellow. There is a light, foamy head that hangs around for a little bit. The nose is rather faint, with hoppy fruit and a touch of sweetness.
The Prima Pils flavor is led mainly by hops. Bitter and aromatic hops are both present in well-balanced proportions. The hops leave a lemony citrus note. There is some sweet, light malt present that plays a support role to the hops. The Prima Pils has a light body and some fizzy carbonation. There is a fairly short finish with the bitter hops sticking around a bit longer as the other flavors fade leading to a pleasant grapefruit note at the tail end. While this pilsner does seem to be a bit one-dimensional on the palate, it does quite well at what it does. If you like your pilsners on the hoppy side, then this has "session beer" written all over it.
Location: Downingtown, PA
Style: Pilsner
Brewer Website
Rating: B+
I've been on a bit of a Pilsner kick lately, so today I'm going to keep the trend going with the Victory Prima Pils. The Prima Pils is light in color. It is a hazy, golden yellow. There is a light, foamy head that hangs around for a little bit. The nose is rather faint, with hoppy fruit and a touch of sweetness.
The Prima Pils flavor is led mainly by hops. Bitter and aromatic hops are both present in well-balanced proportions. The hops leave a lemony citrus note. There is some sweet, light malt present that plays a support role to the hops. The Prima Pils has a light body and some fizzy carbonation. There is a fairly short finish with the bitter hops sticking around a bit longer as the other flavors fade leading to a pleasant grapefruit note at the tail end. While this pilsner does seem to be a bit one-dimensional on the palate, it does quite well at what it does. If you like your pilsners on the hoppy side, then this has "session beer" written all over it.
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