Victory Old Horizontal

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

The pour is a slightly cloudy, reddish brown, with a decent tan head. The nose is sweet barley, vinous, with a hint of grass, and the faintest of floral hops. The flavor is is balanced well and follows the nose quite well. A nice brew.

Bottle. Courtesy of Jeppe [Amager – Mikkeller Brew session @ Amager Bryghus] Small beige creamy head that mostly diminished. Fair lacework. Cloudy amber color. Bread, toffee, berries, wood, vanilla, alcohol. Full bodied with a soft carbonation and a hint of dry texture. Moderated balanced sweet and bitter flavour. I think the hops had mellow down somewhat in this bottle. Somewhat floral bitter accent. Excellent and once again thanks to Jeppe!

reddish brown appearance with slight head. the most impressive aspect of this beer is how well it hides the 10.5 percent alcohol, I would not have thought this was much higher than 6%. the mouthfeel is thick with the flavor having a malty sweetness with some cherry-like hints and it even has a noticeable hop component as well as balance. this beer has to be drunk at near room temp to let the flavors come out, otherwise it would be a waste. a good beer but maybe not as flavorful as I would have hoped

[Rerate 8.5.08] A gorgeous red beer with few big bubbles and a medium beige foamy head that leaves great silky lacing. Aroma of sweet malts, caramel, alcohol, a little sour. Very sweet malts, slightly burnt, a hoppy bite, smooth caramel, cotton candy, pineapple and a touch of orange. Full bodied, good carbonation, sticky finish, pillowy. Hides the alcohol very well. [rerate - with 7 months on it... much better brew, the plastic taste is gone, looks and smells a lot better too] 7.5.8.4.17 . . . . . . . . . . [rerate 11.2.09 of bottle dated November 2008] 8.5.8.4.16 Pours a clear glowing red with a huge foamy sudsy light tan soapy head. Aroma is piney and plasticy. Flavor is full of sweet almonds, marzipan, medicinal cherry, plastic, finishing piney, resinous, fruity citrus with just a touch of alcohol. It’s funny how 10% + beers seem completely normal now =p

’07 bottle on 7/25/09... this has aged nicely... some deeper darker fruits are coming forward such as plums, figs, raisins + some apple. the aroma has faded a bit leaving a touch of alcohol on the nose. still a nice full medium body with an abundance of flavor... some sherry notes are starting to develop... looking forward to another year on this vintage.

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draft at Ten Stone in Philly on 1/18/08. absolutely so much better on draft. wonderfully balanced, extraordinary palate full of fruit, hops and malts. rich, smooth and delicious. one of the best.

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bottle. this reminds me of a better, smoother lagunitas brown shugga. very well put together... everything seems to work nicely. As others tend to say - balanced. Nothing is too overpowering... just real smooth and slightly hoppy, slightly spicy and really drinkable. Cinnamon and caramel are present in the aroma and body. Pours a deep red color with very little head. Nice full body that evenly flows over the palate with a touch of spice and hops. Overall an excellent barley wine.... the 10+ abv sneaks up on you.

355 ml bottle from a trade with hogtownharry. bottle dec 22nd 2005. consumed jan 10th 2007. pours orangy/brown with no head and very lttle carbonation. very hazy with a lot of sediment. aromas: first of all hops, i cant believe there still there in this pontency but they are, secondly caramly malts. this sweetness rounds off the hop presents and gives you a good indication of whats coming with your first sip. the flavours on this one are huge. big sweet malty flavours with a still noticeable hop presents. perfectly balanced with a black tea finish. suburb in every way. thx harry for everything you sent but this was a true gem.

Pours a clear amber/copper with foamy off-white head. Aroma is caramel, dried fruit, bread. Flavor was sweet malts, raisins and plums. Hops and a warming alcohol presence brings about a nice finish to a very well balanced barley wine. Almost too drinkable (if that’s possible) at 10.5% ABV. If you like barley wines as much as I do, try this one.

12 oz bottle. Pours clear amber with red hues. foamy, two finger beige head that lingers with great lacing. Nose is bready and caramel malt with some raisin and a touch of alcohol. Huge malt flavor with some fruity notes, plum and raisin. A bitter finish with a good amount of alcohol warmth that lingers into the fruity, bitter after. Very good barley wine. Drinkable, almost too much for something 10.5 ABV.