Victory Old Horizontal

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.

A great barley wine from one of my favorite breweries. This one is easy to drink but at 10.5% watch out. A few of these and you’ll be feeling good.

Bottle thanks to 1 2many. Another excellently hopped up barely wine. Dark amber red in color with a pretty thick head. Hoppy, yet fruity aroma. Flavor is hoppy, fruity, alcohol, and sweet malt. Probably the smoothest barley wine I’ve ever drank. Not extreme, definitely not weak, but very well balanced. I was surprised at the drinkability of this 10%+ barely wine.

Bottle. This beer was very surprising. Burnt dark orange with a decent head that stays around. Tons of piney hops at first but then the second sip was a standard barley malt aroma. These went back and forth with every drink. Hops then malt, hops then malt. Very well balanced sweetness with bitterness. Gave this to bigmmartin blind and he guessed it as a hoppy barleywine which was right on. Very smooth. This has piqued my interested in Victory. Fantastic.

12oz bottle, purchased sometime in early 2006 I think (best by 2011 on the bottle, so maybe it was a bit later). Anyways, this beer remains a very fine one, a favorite American barleywine for me. On the pour it looks like nice amber, trending ever so slightly to brown, with impressive carbonation. The notes are mildly fruity with a bit of sweet malts. Still a bit hot, amazingly enough, though not so much that it interferes with the complex flavors. Some bite from the hopes, sweet sugars, and a lovely combo of tobacco and bitter herbs round out the finish. Delish!

Pretty pour, looks tasty. NIce chocolatey fig flavors come off the top as well as dried fruits. Dusty character to the scent. NIce warming chocolate almost wheaty flavor. A long and warming finish is quite elegnt with a lasting malty richness and features a quiet lemon zestiness and an oaky followthrough. Very enjoyable.