Victory Old Horizontal

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

22oz bottle. Trade with TheEpeeist. Thanks. Pours close to amber with a red & orange hew & a lasting small creamy head on top - Wauw!. Nose is complex of various things. First is the dark fruits - resin & plum. Then it is the malty caramel. Nice citrus hop note also. Very smooth, soft & full mouthfeel. Sugar & alcohol is noticeable - but far from overpowering. Sticky lips. Well made & truly fine barley wine!

bottle, poured a dark orange into my glass, raisiny citrus nose that gives way to a fruity hopbomb with a sweet dry finish, very nice

12oz bottle served at cellar temperature. Smelled of alcohol (ala apple brandy), brown sugar, light molasses, and tobacco. Poured a reddish orange color. The head was fizzy and dissipated quickly. Medium bodied and sweet with a warming alcohol effect. I tasted toffee, citrusy hops, toasted bread, tobacco, and black tea. Decent enough.

12oz bottle(courtesy of mreusch)Enjoy by 12/29/2011. My bottle says ABV 11%.-Pours a cloudy amber body with some nice floaties and a small off white head. Aroma of sweetness, caramel, malt, and fruit. Taste of malt, hops, slight alcohol, raisins, plums, and finishes with a nice bitterness and dryness. Not one of my favorite styles but they kicked butt on this.

A Mes rate: bottle from American Beer Distributors.
Darkish red amber colour with a decent beige head. Big rich malty aroma with some good peppery alcohol and plenty of fleshy fruit. Big big flavour. Everything is turned up full. Malts are excellent, so are the hops. Bitterness is spot on, as are the sugar and barley. Strong hit of orange in the finish with some full on bitterness, rounded off with some warming alcohol but not at all over the top. Seriously good stuff.

Bottled sample via radiomgb. I can’t quite make out the date of this one, but I received it in early 2007 so it must be fairly old. Clear ruby in colour with low to moderate carbonation. Aromas of somewhat sweet pale malts, a bit of sour citrus fruit, woody hops, stone fruit, and a bit of booze. Well rounded flavors of pale malts, vanilla caramels, brown sugar, orange, and a bit of herbal hops. Heavy and slightly sweet upfront, but a nice drying bitterness. This stuff has aged really well.

Bottle, alc 11%. Pours a dark amber with a small tan head that dissipates quickly. Aroma of bitter flowery hops and sweet malt. After my first sip, my initial impression was yuck! Sharp bitterness that didn’t quite hide the super sweet malt. But as the beer warmed and my palate adjusted, it got a lot better. The rich malt gets tastier and less cloying, the bitterness recedes. A heavy beer but not syrupy. Alcohol finish. The ~7 or 8 months of aging didn’t seem to improve this beer: either it’s best after 2+ years or just fresh.

My first Barley Wine, and it’s a good one. I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy it, but I certainly did. Fairly opaque orange pour with a small light brown head. Initial smell test presents a lot of hops. Pretty sweat, with some hops, but smooths over with a good amount of malts. Feels very smooth and almost creamy in my mouth. Finishes with a hint of alcohol, closing out in a very complex taste.