Victory Old Horizontal

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

This was impressive stuff-sampled at the map room-very nice balance here with sweet tangyness along with lots of spices. I must go back to the maproom for more of this stuff. ReRate-bottle 2002 wow, the flavor profile changes with a hint of Liqorice on the finish. still very well balanced, but less hoppy than it is fresh.

Latest 04 batch. Deep clear sparkling amber/crimson, creamy light tan head. Just a shy under room temp, the Old Ho opens up (insert joke here) with a rich nose of juniper, pine, cherry, vanilla, caramel, and a slight hint of pineapple. The flavor practically mirrors the aroma and is very well balanced with only a slight hint of 11%. Full bodied, smooth, velvety, soft carbonation, warming, bitter-sweet drying finish. Always top notch......

12 oz bottle from 12/14/04. Man This is a good Barley Wine. Brown pour with a head that foamed and left. Aromas of molassas, dark fruit, and other super rich maltinesses. Flavors were the same with a great balance in hops to finish it off. Alcohol was masked well. Delcious Stuff. Thanks SuIIy for this bottle.

So glad I picked this up last night. Pours a semi hazey copper colour with a small offwhite head that quickly dissipates. Zero lacing, but lots of bubbles. Aroma is noticeably pungent with choke hold on my nose. Slamma Jamma prunes, ginger and cherry cough syrup. A mouthfeel like a pillows insides. Fluffy, light and delightfully creamy. Taste has this chewiness to it with bubbles, caramel and some tart fruit. cranberry perhaps. Awesome!

Up until about 2003, this was IMO one of the best beers on the planet. It went from a beautiful mix of hops and caramel, a great bridge between American and British-style barleywines, to an unpleasant, harsh, oversweetened sticky glass of slop. Tragic. 2003 and older versions still are OK with the age, but they’re fading fast.

12 oz bottle. Pours hazy dark ruby orange with large orange-beige head. The aroma is spicy alcohol, some pine, some toast, and a little bit of toffee. The flavor is pleasantly hoppy with pine right off the bat, then toast and alcohol. Ample bitterness stays throughout the mouth, with a leathery malt backbone. The finish is dry, slightly tannic. Lingering, bitter aftertaste. Good, but overrated.

Brownish garnet in color. Large head for a barleywine - creamy, about 1/4" thick, off-white to grey. Aroma is sweet floral hops, honey, brown sugar and roses. Flavor is sweet and hoppy; honey and granny smith apples. Body is smooth, good levels of carbonation. Thins and mellows a bit near the end. Good hops and malts balance. Finish is mouth watering and light. Hard to believe that this one’s 11%. Thanks to lamas for the bottle!

Rerate of a Jan 2001 bottle consumed May 2006. Wow, this entire time I thought it was another 2004. Wow though. Poured the same body, maybe a few more floaties. Nose was just divine though. The grapefruity aroma was still there, but almost brought out a vanillalike (perhaps an evolution of the citrus?) nose. I wanted to fall in the glass. The smooth caramel malts were there too. The flavor was the same, and at 11% was DANGEROUSLY drinkable. Best balance I’ve seen for a BW. The hops were there, and very tasty, but not overbearing. Same deal with the malts. Huge flavor profile yet very drinkable. A treat I may never again experience, especially since it looks like the newer vintages suck compared to the older ones. I have never had a new one.. Bottled Dec 14, 2004. Orangish brown body with a small head. Huge, rich hoppy aroma. Pine, grapefruit, citrus, it’s all here. Also notes of caramel as well. Flavor is the same, huge and complex. I think my favorite American Style Barley Wine to date. Reminded me of a better version of Avery. 8/4/8/4/17