Victory Old Horizontal

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

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.

Bottle courtesy of kmweaver. Best by 12/29/2011. Pours a cloudy mahogany with chunky sediment and a finger of creamy beige head which diminishes to a thin skin and wispy lace. The nose is a blend of dark fruit, piny hops, and a big round and fairly complex malt backing. Full-bodied and creamy with an interestingly fine yet tongue prickling carbonation concluding in a lingering bitter-hopped and fairly "warm" finish. In the flavor... round, sweet, dark fruity caramel malt blends with piny hops; it possess an almost "green"/woodiness to the flavor. This is a damned fine beer. I am inclined to think I would enjoy it even more with a bit more age on it.

Thanks to HogTownHarry. Appearance: still, ruby red, no head. Aroma: wow, dark fruit, bread, caramel, honey. Very floral. Flavour: rye, alcohol, dark fruit, spices, like a malty sherry. Long tangy dark fruit finish. Alcohol blended superbly. Lovely.

I had this one last night. I didn’t want a barley wine but I figured I needed to taste such a highly valued beer. The Horizontal was amazing. It has a sweetness like from C20. And, if it can be said for a barley wine - well balanced. Not overly bitter.

12 oz. bottle - Poured clear reddish brown color with medium head that quickly faded. Aroma - plums, peaches and sweet malt. Flavor - sweet brown sugar and hard candy. Palate - medium mouthfeel with spices on tongue. Average carbonation with bitter dry finish. Overall - Really sweet at first but mellowed as I drank. Superb malt flavor on tongue has you wanting more!!