Victory Old Horizontal

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

(Bottle) Pours a headless, mahogany body. Appears rather thin though there is some oiliness. Nose of raisins, hops, port wine and figs. Flavours are somewhat subdued and it is still fairly hoppy (young?). Nice texture yet a tad thin and two-dimensional. I had expected more. Very good but a Top50 beer? I think not.

Re rate: bottled nov 13 2002- Aroma is better this year I think- more hops in the aroma- and the head is larger and lasts longer. I also remember noticing the alcohol last year- but there is very little alcohol at the beginning- when it warms it becomes present but it is still slight. Since DFH WWS 23% any amount of alcohol in a beer is going to taste muted. Still the best barleywine I’ve had so far. Color is deep amber. Almost no head. Smell was sweet and citrusy. Taste was extremely complex and changed after warming up. I first noticed a very sweet almost molasses-like taste witha nice toasty maltiness with mild hop taste. As it warmed there was plum and other caramel-like malt flavors with increasing hoppiness. I went directly to bed and passed out after having one of these at the end of a night fillled with drinking good beers at the local pub.

[Bottled. Thanks Kramer] Hazy dark amber colour, good head. Aroma mostly from dried fruits, almonds, butterscotch and loads of hops. Nice. Also bit buttery and alcohol-ish in aroma. Thick, yet pretty smooth mouthfeel with little licorice and a malt sweetness. Fiery. Salty. Peppery alcohol. Long flavour. Hopbitter.

12-oz. bottle via trade with kramer17801, bottled 02.04.05. Pours cloudy, murky copppery maple dark brown with a small foamy tan head and creamy lacing. Fruity fragrant hop aroma to greet and awaken your sense of smell, followed by some sweet medium roasted caramel, maple malt and then finishes up with a perfumey, fusel alcohol nose. Heavily bitter and acidic fruity, perfumey hop flavor, maple and nutty caramel malt body with some yeast notes. Medium to full bodied, fizzy and tingling mouthfeel.

Another great beer from a brewery which is quickly climbing the ladder in my opinion. Nice light red color with smallish head. Malty citrus flavor and warm mouth. A supurb barleywine. The ’01 cellered is freakin amazing.

Bottle courtesy of HogTownHarry. Bottled Dec.’04. Pours a very bubbly murky dark amber-orange with a lasting average size off-white head. Fantastic aroma of sweet malt, caramel, lots of floral hops, pine, brown sugar and alcohol -- lots going on there and it’s very lovely. Delicious flavour follows the aroma -- it isn’t as big as some Barley Wines, not as hoppy or boozy, but in a good way -- it’s really smooth and goes down really easy. Medium to full bodied. A truly wonderful Barley Wine, one of the best in my opinion, and definitely one of my favourites.

Bottle 2004 vintage poured a hazy orange copper with a small, diminishing amber head. Aromas of plum, apple and brown sugar. Palate was medium bodied. Flavors of bread with a little fruitiness and a warming bitter finish. Hides it’s alcohol very well!

Bottled on 1-11--05. Rated at small rating session at flemdawg’s in Naples, FL. Thanks for sharing, Jim! Small tan head that mostly diminished, few floaties, sparse lacing, no visible carbonation, cloudy, and an orange brown hue. Aroma was hoppy, sweet, rich and fruity. Flavor was hoppy and vinuous. Tingly, hoppy mouthfeel. Medium body.