Victory Old Horizontal

Victory’s Old Horizontal is the first barleywine I have tried. A nice winter brew that warms me up on the inside. Great after-dinner-sipping beer. Ive heard its great to have with desert or a cigar too. This ale is very bitter with a hint of citrus and a kick that hides the 11% alc very well....actually what am I saying...this beer is intense.

**New** Wow! Now that I have a half hearted appreciation for this style I realize that this is AWESOME! Not over the top like a lot of American barley wine. The big thing here (small as it may seem for you Europeans) is the carbonation. Great carbonation, tastes fresh and does not feel like you are drinking old motor oil. Nice sweet malty aroma with a warming alcohol burn but not getting too Vicks Vapo-Rubby with it. The most drinkable barley wine to date for me. Old rating: A-6 A-3 F-6 P-3 OI-15 Total Score-3.3 Not a bad barley wine from one of my ol’ faithfuls, Victory. This was a nice take on the genre with a bitterness to it that I haven’t noticed in barley wines before. I don’t drink these often but I would have this one again. Pour was a rich amber with a perfect 1 finger head. The aroma was fruity and the taste was caramelly with malt and alcohol aftertaste. You can feel this one going down. Good job.

I do not like Victory as much as others on this site, and the same can be said about this beer. The taste/smell has been summed up by others better than I (typical barley wine taste) and it is very good. The part where I get hung up is all the hops at the end of the beer. I know fellow raters enjoy hops, but I don’t enjoy them as much as most people. The ending of this beer (last swallow down your throat) is very hoppy. This takes away from the enjoyment for me, as I would rather have a BW more balanced, and an IPA hoppy.

A nice copper amber pour with a sticky lacing. An aroma of raisins, malt and light alochol. A flavor of rich sweet maltiness, fruit, and light alochol. A nice lite bitter that really sets this beer off. A beer from a style that I really like a beer that I really like.

Having noticed that each night I keep picking one of these out of my well-stocked fridge (it is the holiday season), I surmise that I must really like this beer. I like barleywines in general but this is one of the smoothest ones with no off tastes or harsh notes. The alcohol is not overwhelming but the result is smooth and warming. I had one at the Victory brewpub several years ago and thought it was the effect of a Storm King that made me enjoy it so. This was the first bottled version I have had since local distributors don’t generally carry it. Time to place an order.

12oz bottle dated 12/04 (2 years old now). this was my first drink during the great blizzard of Colorado ’06. pours a light brown with sustaining head around the outside. looks lighter than most BW. aroma is rather unpleasant with weak malty sweetness with some citrus from the hops. flavor has that typical barleywine flavor, big malt presence with still a good amount of bitterness (even after 2 years). flavor also has a slight hint of a chocolate covered clementine (i swear!). hops also provide a nice grapefruit flavor. alcohol is very well hidden. in the end this BW doesn’t do anything to offend me and yet nothing to impress. enjoyable and easy to drink. I’ve had it fresh and at 4 years (12/02) and as of now i prefer it was 2 years on it.3.2.

12oz bottle dated 12/04 (aged for 3 years). nose of raisins, toffee, and dark fruits. flavors of sweet toffee, tobacco, and some dark fruits. some hop bitterness too. pretty dry and alcohol warmth finishes. a rather short and watery palate. i think i like this a little more than at 2 years but it really isn’t very complex. not sure if more age will help.6/4/7/3/14=3.4

12/18/07, 2005 vintage dated 12/9/05. cellared for 2 years. the citrusy hops haven’t blended well with the aged malts as everything seems hard to drink. not the worst aged BW but at 2 years this needs more time. much better at 3 years.3.3.

2/6/08, 2008 vintage, dated best before 1/15/13. bottled 3 weeks ago. on hearing the 08 vintage marks a resurrection for Old Ho I needed to pick up a 6er for myself. and wow. it’s back! pours dense reddish-bronze with creamy beige head. looks great. aroma is intensely fresh maltiness that will age out, caramel and piney grapefruit nose. flavor is pretty hoppy with floral grapefruit citrus notes combined with red and dark fruits getting hit big with caramel maltiness. a big slick body, long palate, and alcohol well hidden. a bit brash at times right now but really drinkable and somehow the soul of this beer found its way back into this vintage. 8/4/8/5/16=4.1

Thanks to Papsoe. Bottle. Dark amber brown colour with a little head. Aroma of caramel, sweetness and some flower too. Flavour of burned caramel, hops and ends up with a warm feeling from the alcohol.

Pours kinda brownish red with a thinn tan head. With a hoppy nose with a touch of sweetness in the aroma. Taste is big and full of flavors. It starts of sweet and packed with fruit flavors raisin and dark plum flavors. This is all balanced out by some bittering of the hops and a bit of alcohol on the tail end of the sip. Mouthfeel is fairly thick and the beer seems to want to stick which is a nice touch. I like the beer not gonna lie.