Victory Old Horizontal

12 ounce bottle from Holiday Wine Cellar (Escondido, CA). Pours a dark reddish-brown with very little off-white head that disappears quickly. Aroma is nice -- sweet with some raisin and grape and notes of alcohol. Flavor is sweet maltiness with warming alcohol. The finish is sweet with some hoppy bitterness right at the end. Well-balanced and very smooth for a barley wine. Very drinkable.

12oz bottle. Pours a clear, but dark mohogany-brownish red body with a tiny, off-white head that fizzes away immediately and leaves minimal oily lacing. Aroma is very plump and fruity. Loads of dark fruits, mainly figs and prunes. Abundance of sweet, caramel malts and even a hint of strawberry. Lots of sweet and sugary earthy hops. Touch of wine-like booze in the back of the nose. Fantastic balance in the aroma. Flavor is loaded as well. Still packed with figs and caramel malts, but more earthy orange hops in the flavor. Very vinous. Finishes astringently bitter and lightly boozy with a mellow sweetness. Warming on the way down. Palate is extremely clean for a barley wine with a medium, oily body. Very smooth with a nice hop burn. Overall, fantastic. Has a phenomenal taste. Its sweet without being candy-sugar sweet and loaded with hops. As malty as this is, the hops come through big time which really impresses me for such a big beer. Its like the malts and hops are fighting an epic battle, but there is no clear winner. This could easily be my #1 barley wine to date. Remarkable beer and at $11.99 a six pack, this is a steal. I am not hesitating to cellar a bunch of this to see how it develops.

"whoa...big aroma! lots of hops right up front, but they mellow a little to let the caramel malt and a bit of alcohol through. looks good...nice thin head with good retention, great dark amber color. carbonation is near perfect for the style and i love the mouthfeel. a dangerously drinkable barleywine. the flavor is more balanced than the nose. Pretty close to perfect actually. great mix of sweet malt and hops. lingering finish. i’d been looking forward to this one and it did not dissapoint. Better deal than the expensive 22’s as well!"

Enjoyed via draft. Appearance is dark brown with just the slightest head. Aroma is one of dark fruits and a slight touch of alcohol. Flavor is a wonder of complexity: malt sweetness, a hop presence, and a smooth sweet finish.

Rerate. Same as original rating. Doesn’t impress me as far as barley wines go. I’ll try some different batches at some point.

I’ve been looking for this one for 2.5 years, basically since I started drinking beer. Best by 12-5-13. Pours copper orange, thin head, not quite clear. Aroma - alcohol, tangerine. Musty flavor, hops? bitter middle. Malty body, but not much in way of sweetness. Medium carbonation. Coniferous aftertaste - pine, fir, etc. Agree with comment about alcohol felt in the nasal passages. This is good but I don’t see from this bottle how it scores so high. Will rerate soon.

Bottle... Poured deep burgundy in tone with a soft, beige head. Aroma of fruit, pine, hops and bread. Insanely smooth palate, which really allowed the alcohol notes (almost like whiskey in semblance) to be unobtrusive. Flavors of raisins and other fruit, a little bit of hop bitterness but the sweet, malted grains were dominant with their caramel and oak/wood-like characteristics. Finished dry but also smooth and sweet allowing me to crave for more.

Bottle. Lovely copper hue is rich, deep and warm. Small head. Apples and brandy throughout nose and palate in fine and admirable balance. A very nice barleywine.

(Bottle (best by 11/15/12) from Julio’s Liquors, cellared for 1 yr. after purchase) Pours somewhat cloudy dark reddish amber with about a finger of lightly yellowish off-white head that recedes to mostly just a very thin layer. Aroma of sugary rock candy, pine and grapefruit. Mouthfeel is full, smooth and sticky. Fine light sheets of lacing that melt way quickly along with a syrupy film. Flavor of rock candy malt sweetness, perhaps a hint of caramel. Pine and grapefruit overlay and a lightly piney bitterness builds and provides a nice crisp bite in the finish. Warming ABV presence does not overpower but is lightly felt in the nasal passages. Not overly complex but a fine barleywine nonetheless.