hirigalzkar (568), Stockholm, Sweden
| 3.6 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 3/5 | 14/20 | Nov 29, 2009 Bottle. Pours black. The aroma has a distinct citrus hops touch. The malty chocolate is there in the background.Very hoppy taste for a stout, wich in my opinion gives it a thin feel. ricke (240), Malme, Sweden
| 3.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 | Nov 28, 2009 Almost black with a thick pale brown head that settles into a nice lid of lacings. Looks good.
The smell is very hoppy. The peppery and citric hops almost overpower the plentiful aromas of roasted malts in this one. Notes of chocolate. Hoppy imperial stouts are always impressive, but underneath the hops and roasted malts, I don’t find much of anything in this one, and therefore it gets somewhat boring after a while.
The taste is really good. I have a thing for the combination of roasted malts and powerful hops it it’s made in a good way, as it is here. Of course, you have the usual suspects of roasted malts, coffee and chocolate. But they are almost muted by the fresh citric and peppery hops in this one. Nice notes of hop resins. There’s a lot of sweetness going on, and the citric hops actually add to this. The finish is very bitter with some sweetness and lots of hops. Hints of anise and powdered chocolate. No sign of the alcohol.
Rather light body but still in the full body range. Medium carbonation. Quite a boring texture. This part of the beer is somewhat of a letdown.
A tasty beer. Lots of big hoppy flavors. But unfortunately, the hoppy character also makes the beer slightly unbalanced and one-dimensional. I actually think the hops take over to much after a while. But either way, overall it’s good.
Serving type: bottle
(Copy of old Beer Advocate review) Gmku (250), Asheville, North Carolina, USA
| 4.5 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 10/10 | 5/5 | 8/10 | 5/5 | 17/20 | Nov 27, 2009 I’m not devout over stout but this is the best stout I’ve had. Dark flavors, roasty, aromatic. The great thing about almost every Victory brew I’ve tasted is that the hops taste very fresh. They come through nicely even through all the darkness of this stout. MJGG (414), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| 3.9 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 9/10 | 3/5 | 15/20 | Nov 26, 2009 Bouteille de 12 oz. Arômes de chocolat noir, de malt torréfié et de houblon résineux. Robe noire et opaque, légère mousse moka qui disparaît rapidement, effervescence active pour le style (peut-être un peu trop). Moyennement ronde en bouche, on retrouve de belles notes de chocolat noir et de malt grillé. Le houblon résineux est bien présent et crée une finale plutôt amère. L’alcool est peu apparent. patrickfannon (324), Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, USA
| 4.4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 5/5 | 9/10 | 4/5 | 18/20 | Nov 25, 2009 Bottle. 12 oz. Pours a solid, obsidian black with a thick, pillowy amber head. Aroma of raisins, figs, red peppers, corriander, barley, roasted malts, and hints of coffee beans. Heavy, full body with a smooth, subtle mouthfeel, rounded out by a powerful finish. Outstanding Imperial stout from Victory. altonbrownd (1898), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 9/10 | 5/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 | Nov 25, 2009 Bottle from Hi-Times. Pitch black with fluffy head. Nice nose of malts, and chocolates with coffee. Lots of taste of chocolate. Really nice. Coffee notes as well. Really roasty, smooth and delicious. Nice finish with lots of bitterness. kenter2000 (12), , Wisconsin, USA
| 4.6 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 9/10 | 5/5 | 9/10 | 5/5 | 18/20 | Nov 24, 2009 great beer. light chocolate coffee. malty start and hop finish. those who like IPA, stouts, porters will like this. intense. did not realize it was 9.1 anddd charles barkly is a hoot on jay lenno showw Jow (14), New York, USA
| 4.4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 5/5 | 9/10 | 4/5 | 18/20 | Nov 23, 2009 Love it. So delicious, brought it to a beer tasting and made everyone like me. Coffee flavors and smooth
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