Victory Old Horizontal

Brewed by Victory Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Downingtown, Pennsylvania USA

Botttle at home ... Thank to Secret Santa 2008 and a trading buddy for the 2 bottles i got, one know one gonna age to bits :-) ... copper thin white head ... sweet vanilla toffee malt nose sweet and rich ... quite a resiny mouthfeel ... again quite rich and sweet vanilla ... soft citrus fruits with vanilla in background and light bitterness... Going nice with a Mild Brie

bottle BB dec 29/2011 states 11%abv.

dark hazy copper colored pour capped by a small beige head which leaves behind some sporadic clumps of lacing. initial spicy hop smell gets followed up with honey, lightly toasted grain, flowers, dried apricots, really earthy spice akin to cinnamon and something minty-like maybe birch which numbs the sinus... perhaps it is the alcohol but it never disappears as the alcohol shows up when warm. the palate is sweet but nowhere near cloying. there is a nice bitterness throughout the flavor profile... which are... flowers, toasty grain, caramel, toffee and a beautiful spicy hoppy finish when it is cellar temperature. as it warms it shows notes of malt powder, vanilla, mellow orange, non resinous pine and some cocoa butter. alcohol becomes slight but it is welcome and warming. nothing seems out of place (like fresh bw can tend to be too hoppy/sweet/resiny or old examples which tend to be bland or oxidized)... it’s at a great age! medium body is rich yet spicy. bitterness from hops and dryness from the alcohol offset the creaminess and smooth mouth feel from the low carbonation. incredibly well balanced with great drinkability... i can’t wait to taste the rest of the case! 9/4/9/5/18/4.5

Nice, early aroma dark muddy fruit, crisp linen and grass. Not as complex as expected, some good whole grains and sweet dark malt wit a belgian fruitiness. Just a hint of bitter with a long, slow warmth that builds leaving a final dryness.

2008 bottle. Thanks Secret Santa! Nice dusty, smooth, oxidized, malt forward with notes of cherry. Thin tawny notes, nice and married after a year. Had next to the 2009 and it’s much better with a year on it, I bought a case to age myself.

12 oz. bottle - guessing the 08/09 batch; clear, dark amber with quickly fading tan head; quite a sweet, hoppy nose with mild fruit and juice-like aromas; super thin body with dry finish; alcohol is there, but not too hot; flavors are musky with apples and almost watered down brandy kind of flavor profile; not bad, but just not my kind of BW

2008 on tap at Brouwer’s Hard Liver ’09. Pours brownish amber with minimal head. Hoppy, fruity nose- strawberry, grape, slightly tropical, with a little caramel sweetness and the oatmeal grain notes I remembered from their Storm King. Tastes much the same, but with a hint of cardboard. Nice hop finish with a little bit of alcohol.

Pours reddish-amber with sweet malty aroma. Caramel, dark fruit, booze. Nice hops on the backside.

12 oz bottle. This was a spur of the moment buy, saw it, and thought it was interesting enough; hope for the best. Pours an amber-brown with a half-finger high off-white head that disappates somewhat quickly. Smells of yeast, some fruits, lots of caramel malt, and a hint of alcohol. Tastes of red grapes, a bread like substance (yeast), and lots of malt. Someone described the smell like grape bubble gum, which I consider accurate. Pretty smooth going down, with a light alcohol bite at the end. Overall a very decent barley wine, and I think it was a lucky pick up.