Victory Old Horizontal

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

350 ml bottle from Bevmo. Hazy mahogany brown with a fizzy white head. Aroma of caramel and chocolate covered fruit. Interesting fruit, sugar, and pine taste transitioning to a good bitter bite, and finishing with a pleasant alcoholic warmth.

Sampled a few times now, and I like it more every time!! 10.5 % alc is well hidden! Easy, warming drinker, lots of malt aroma, some fruity, malt flavor, slight hops, but very balanced, got I love this brew! Thanks to Lou18 for the 2005 bottle! Yum!

bottle shared with the man [bdigi66]. One the best barley wines I have sampled. Wow plenty of hops but you know what, there can never be enough hops. Perfect sweetness that just amazed me. Loved it!

bottle shared by bdigi66 - Pours dark amber with just a little foam. The aroma is mainly sweet malts. The flavor has some nice complexity and balance with sweet malts, plenty of hops, and some dark fruitiness creeping in there. Full bodied and finishing on the dry side, this barley wine is very good.

Date: 01/10/2004
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

amber with suspended bits, rich sweet malt aroma and flavor, touch of bitterness to keep it balanced, nice creamy character, fruity character comes out at the end

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Score: **+/4
-------- /> Date: 12/12/1998
Mode: Bottle
Source: Norm’s, DC
Vintage: 1998

clear amber, slight sweet malt aroma, rich warm sweet malt flavor, just a hint of bitterness,
-------- /> Date: 01/30/2003
Vintage: 1998

dark amber, whispy tan head, rich sweet malt aroma under big hops, rich malt flavor, lots of balancing bitterness, slightly alcoholic, warming, just a hint of fruity character
-------- /> Date: 08/02/2005
Vintage: 1998

rich fruity aroma and flavor, low balancing bitterness. earthy hop character, slightly smokey, very rich, rich fruit not quite developed,
-------- /> Date: 02/10/2008
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 1998

big earthyness in the aroma with the caramel being pretty dry, sweet caramel malt flavor, nice fruity character, balancing earthy bitterness,

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Score: **4
-------- /> Date: 12/03/2003
Mode: Bottle
Source: Whole Foods Market, DC
Vintage: 2003

clear dark amber, thin fine beige head, big earthy hop aroma on top of a sweet malt base, rich malt flavor, slightly sweet, lots of balancing hops,
-------- /> Date: 08/02/2005
Vintage: 2003

nice sweet malty aroma, big sweet fruit flavor, stays rich but begins to fade, a bit of alcohol fumes,
-------- /> Date: 02/10/2008
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 2003

sweet fruity aroma with still plenty of earthyness, sweet and fruity flavor but still well balanced with the earthy hops,

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 3/5.0
Score: *4
-------- /> Date: 07/25/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub
Vintage: 2004

clear dark red, wispy beige head, sweet dark caramel malt aroma with light earthy hops, rich and fruity malt flavor, lots of earthy balance, no alcohol, fruity sweetness grows and starts to get a bit sticky,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.8/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4
-------- /> Date: 01/09/2008
Mode: Draft
Source: Brick Store Pub
Vintage: 2007

clear dark ruby red, fine beige head, sheets of lace, sweet caramel malt aroma with lots of earthy hops and a touch of alcohol, big sweet dark caramel candy flavor, lots of fruity sweetness, stickysweetness is lightly balanced by an earthy hop character, is this really the current version, tastes much more aged,
-------- /> Date: 02/09/2008
Mode: bottle
Vintage: 2007
Score: 3.7
Words: green’s

bottle aroma is much more earthy than draft with the fruityness taking the back seat, earthy bitterness also rules the flavor, touch of caramel sweetness in the background, will take years to equal the draft version,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.9/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

I had been holding on to this bottle for quite some time and finally decided to break it out for my first local tasting. Poured a deep amber color consisting of a small white head. Sweet toffee, fruity, malt aroma with a mild floral hop character in the nose. Much hoppier than I expected to the point where it vetoed the sweetness. Mild malt notes and some almond come through as it warmed. Bitter resin finish. Fine, fine brew.

Had it in a bottle at home. THANK GOD! If I was anywhere else I would have been in trouble! Very strong in both alcohol content and sweet flavor. Lingers in the mouth and becomes more appealing with every sip. Definitely can put you to sleep on the Old Mattress, as my girlfriend refers to it. Outstanding. Victory Rules!

I really can’t add too much that has yet to be said. I just think the overall balance of this barley wine is outstanding. Great texture and mouth feel from the start to the finish!