Victory Helios Ale

Brewed by Victory Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Downingtown, Pennsylvania USA

Bottle from Bev4Less. Medium golden in color with quite a bit of carbonation. Dry earthy floral aroma. Spicy and bitter up front. A hint of cider. A bit of graininess. Finish is bitter with some white pepper qualities. A little sweetness in the finish as well.

Vintage April 1, 2005. Pours perfectly clear yellow, with a three-inch head of pure white fluff. Unrelenting carbonation keeps a thin but complete cap of foam throughout the glass, with some light lacework. Aromatics are fairly clean for a Saison. Leaning twords a triple. Faint citrus, apples, honey, lemon-drops, and a hint of peach fuzz. The mouthfeel is light, crisp, and a bit tacky. An extremely light base of malt starts off the pallet, with a blend of orange and lemon zest. A hint of melon follows through as well as some honey and crushed mint. Finishes crisp, slightly warming, and with prickly carbonation on the throat. Pretty mainstream and pedestrian for a Saison. I had hopes of something special after sitting on the bottle for three years. More spice, funk, and phenols please.

Bottle. Golden with medium head. Hardly any lacing. Yeasty, earthy, doughy and spicey. A bit of spiced apples as well. Lively, medium bodied, dry and sweet. Crisp and fruity. Actually not bad at all. Enjoyable.

Bottle. Pours a clear golden with a large white head that fades leaving minimal lacing. Aroma of spicy & earthy hops, citrus, black pepper, and yeast. Taste is the same as aroma with a hint of sweet malt. Medium mouthfeel with a mild to moderate amount of biterness and a spicy dry litghtly tart finish. A very well done Saison.

hops and orange aroma. tangy sweet honey with a subtle bitter hops finish. pours cloudy honey colored with a large head that dissipates quickly. 750 ml bottle.

750ml bottle. Very similar to Lost Abbey Canivale but perhaps a bit more robust? Poured a lightly hazed glowing orange with a good sized off white head that yielded nice lacing. very fruity and doughy on the nose.

750 mL bottle rating. Hazy orange body beneath an average white head which diminishes into a ring around the goblet I poured this into. Aroma is classic saison. Fruitiness with a tart note. Flavor exhibits the tartness but balanced with a sweet sugary flavor which kind of makes it different than many saisons. I like this. Certainly nothing mind blowing here, but an interesting take on the style.

750 ml bottle from Bev4less in Santee. Pours a slightly cloudy amber-gold color with a sudsy white head. This head quickly recedes to a thin film and leaves no lacing. The aroma suggests that this is a wit, or a hefe, with a banana nod and a bit of cloves. The flavors, like the aroma, tend more toward the wit and hefe characteristics; the flavors start with a banana presence, develop into a clove spiciness, and then finish with a lingering ripe banana aftertaste. The mouthfeel starts thin and then develops into a slick diacetyl buttery effect. Overall: I know that every Saison can’t can’t taste like a Dupont, but the fact that so few do must attest to the difficulty of making this style. Still I appreciate this effort, I will consider this as a pairing the next time I make poultry or fish. Recommended.