Victory Harvest Ale

Brewed by Victory Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Downingtown, Pennsylvania USA

Tap at BT for the Victory promo night. Pours a clean clear copper with a foamy lasting white head. Aroma is citrusy and flowery hops- slight tea, orange zest, herbs and slight earthiness- some pine as well- and a light toffee and caramel malt sweetness. Flavor is a good solid toasty malt backbone and lots of fresh yet somewhat green hops- flowery and nice citrus and hints of mint. Clean and modest bitter finish. Nice, but not over the top with hops.

Draft at Blind Tiger. Poured a clear medium orange color with an off white head. Smelled of light citrus and caramel. Light to medium bodied with mild to moderate bitterness at the end. Dry up front and moderately carbonated with a crisp mouth feel. Pleasant flavors of fall leaves, grassy hops, toasted bread, and subdued toffee. Decent enough.

On tap at Rattle n Hum a couple weeks ago (from scribbled notes). Gold with lasting head. Toasted honey and spice aroam with toasted malt and English hop finish. Medium-light body. Seemed pretty good for a session.

Draught @ Victory: This one pours a clear, golden color. It has a frothy white head on it, which leaves some lacing down the glass. The aroma is nice, being lightly sweet with some earthy, grassy hops. The taste is good also. Some hop bite, with some caramel malt sweetness in the background. A touch of fruit also, perhaps pear? Seems more like a Pale Ale than an IPA.

Growler from New Beer, NYC. Clear pinky amber with a frothy whitish head. Nose is orange, toffee and grass; very fresh. Crisp, sharp carb but a bit subdued. Perfectly dry and resiny, a bitter bite to begin but after a few sips it smooths out to creamy orange and grapefruit zest. Hints of marjoram, mint and pepper.

Draught at Victory as "Vista Farm Harvest Ale": Aroma of hops, caramel, and tea leaves. Poured apple juice/slight copper/slight amber in color with a tiny white head. Slightly sparkling. Clear. Lightly sweet flavor. Tastes of wet hops, slight spices, dead oak leaves, malts, and tea. Light body. Average texture. Average carbonation. Malty finish. Earlier Rating: 5/5/2007 Total Score: 3.5. Draught: Floral hoppy aroma combined with scent of caramel malts. Poured brown in color with a small white head. No lacing. Cloudy. Sparkling. Flavor was moderately bitter. Lots of caramel malts with a ton of bitter hops to balance it out. Medium body. Light texture. Average carbonation. Hoppy finish. Overall, a nice APA.

This is a slightly different take on Victory’s Fresh Hop Wet Hop Harvest offerings, not a Braumeister Harvest Pils but a pale ale, and one using much lighter and younger hops. The ale itself has a light sweet malt flavor, and the hops, although American PNW, are still quite young and less assertive. The hops offer some citrus and pine, but some floral and grassy notes are present as well. Small crisp white head leaves moderate lacing. Everything about the beer is enjoyable and it works well with food but unlike some other offerings, like their Wild Devil or DFH’s Theobroma, it’s hard to write an essay about it.
Earlier Rating: 10/16/2006 Total Score: 4
An easy-drinking beer from Victory. Wet hopped Cascade, with lots of pine, some orange, and some caramel in the nose. Beautiful deep amber to orange, crystal clear, with a small white head that vanishes, leaving moderate lacing. Taste is lightly hopped for Victory, floral and pine and orange; nice sweet caramel malt, long long long bitter finish. Mouth feels dry and fresh. Did I mention the long finish, surprisingly bitter given the moderate bitterness of the beer in the mouth. Lovely.

20061007 tap at Kennett Sq fest. Doesn’t really strike me as a harvest ale with a dominant fresh hop character. Fair as a middling IPA. Decent notes of c-hops, floral/citrus. eh. Mildly hoppy to finish with slight resinous notes.