Victory Old Horizontal

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

(Bottle, Monk’s Café, Wallingatan, Stockholm) Reddish amber colour with frothy, beige head. Malty, fruity nose with notes of red berries, dried fruit and caramel. Vinous and sweet. Malty, fruity taste with caramel, dried fruit, blood orange, orange peel and a generous citrussy bitterness in the finish. Full body, sweet and warming. Very nice beer.

Took Austinpowers' advice and tried this head-to-head with Elizabethan Ale. Though this was more drinkable, it got its butt handed to it in terms of complexity. Tangy, smells like powdered orange drink mix -- like Tang with hops thrown in. Warming. A well-balanced strong amber ale, I guess. Alcohol is masked rather well, not too sweet, not super bitter. Nice, smooth palate -- almost like it had used finings. Medium bitter finish, which is citrus and woody.

Pours a fine light tan head on an unclear deep amber/orange body. Sweet and full and very well balanced aroma of fruit, oranges, toffee, nut, prunes and a fine tone of alcohol - excellent! Flavor is just..... WOW!!! Starts with an excellent sweet fruityness, then an extremely well balanced hoppy bitterness kicks in and it all ends in a very fine dryness and a nice and warming bite of alcohol. Notes of prunes, raisins, chocolate, malt and lots of hops. Not as sweet as many other barley wines because of that fine hoppy bitterness. Very smooth and soft. Nothing less than outstanding and definately one of the best beers I have ever had, if not the best........

Rerate from a 2003 bottle at the Richmond Beer Industry Gathering 2006. Frothy tan head on a cloudy dark amber color. Aroma of caramel and molassas with some strong floral hops. Sweet caramel flavor blending with a floral hop background. Original Rating: 8/4/9/4/17

"Luxirious" is the perfect description for this beer. Aroma is hoppy, roasty, very nice, with a little coffee and malt. Pour has a beautiful, thick head and a nice burnt orange color. On taste you get a really warming, perfect barley-wine like malt fullness followed up with very pleasant hop bitterness. So thick and creamy in the mouth... palate is absolutely perfect.

Pours a deep amber with a nice tan head. Huge fruity nose with berry hints (raspberry preserves, strawberries) lemon-rind. Beautiful fruitiness in the flavor as well. Flavor parallels the aroma. Chewy, with hints of berry like sweetness, a touch of lemony tartness, strong grapefruit bitterness and a roasty warmth. Well balanced and nice.

Bottle, thank you Hogtown Harry. Golden dark brown, foamy off white head. Sweet deep dark malt, alcohol , and some hops in nice aroma. Very nice sharp hop sweet taste. Some dark herbal tea notes in flavour as well. Medium mouthfeel. Long lingering hops and alcohol. Very easy to drink for a barleywine. Very flavourful. Lacked a little complexity. An excellent Barleywine.

Bottle: Bottled January 11, 2005. Citrus hoppy aroma with banana bread and some malty fruitiness. Pours a dark transparent amber with a big off-white head with excellent retention. Very nice lacing. Malty up front with caramel, fruit, and light banana bread. Citrus hops in the finish, but not as much as I anticipated considering it only a few months old. Alcohol covered up very well, a touch of burn is really only noticeable if you’re looking for it. More malt and more fruit compared to some hopped up American barley wines (not that I have a problem with hopped up barley wines). Very nice.



Same batch as above. The aroma is a combination of caramel, chocolate, real light fruitiness, and light oxidized. There is also a moderate alcohol that I didn’t get previously. In the flavor, the caramel has intensified with some light chocolate and banana bread. Slight oxidation and extremely mild citrus hops in the finish. There is no burn at all as I noted before. Nice and interesting to see the difference, but I liked it better when it was more fresh.