Victory Old Horizontal

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

2 year old bottle. Excellent head from the pour that stuck around for a little while. Very floral/hoppy aroma with loads of caramel and sweet malts. Sort of a hazy dark mahagony brown in color. Thick and chewey palate. Loads of caramel, sweet malts, bitter hops, and roastyness. Big alcohol presence that hits you up front and lingers for a while. Seems bigger than 11.0% which it states on the bottle. Great balance in this brew. Very hoppy barleywine. Finishes sweet and bitter and alcoholic. A great drinking experience.

The aroma is a masterpiece of smoke, wood, high alcohol and deep malt. A touch of the trademark victory hops as well. Tremendous mouthfeel; not as ’ heavy’ as some other barleywines, IMO. In fact, very quaffable for this kind of animal. Fruity flavors is right...but nothing small there, either. Overripened plum? Prune? Sugary Date? Yum.

Cloudy amber hue, with a tan-colored head, leaving laces, sweet toasted malt nose, with a faint spicy, flowery hop citrusy accent, with some grassy, leafy accents, a mild candied fruity aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a sweet toasted, caramelized malt character, with a floral hop accent, when the beer is getting warmer an evident herbal lavender note emerges, with a hint of leafiness and grassiness, a bit fruity, leading towards a malty, alcoholic, grassy hop bitterness finish. Maybe because drunk too young, the beer seems to hopped for the style.

Bottle. Bottled Nov 13, 2002. Dark amber/red and very cloudy. Nose is sweet like grapefruit. The taste can be summed up in one word: WOW! Ii is complex but I wil try to describe. First flavors to come out are caramel, a little prune, hops, grapefruit, some light spices I cannot put my finger on (anise? black pepper?), grape, and a little orange. One thing I can’t detect is alcohol, even tho it is 11% ABV. The flavors are VERY subdued for a barleywine. I know the term balanced is thrown around alot, but I gotta say it. This sutff is balanced perfectly. No flavor out ranks any other flavor, they all mingle together in your mouth and make slow sweet love. The finish has a little black pepper, and it is very smooth and just a little dirty with a slight alcohol bite. What can I say? This beer is the reason I drink beer. Thanks to Eyedrinkale for sending this to me.

Pours a dark amber color, with a off white head that had some lacing power. Aromas of citrus, sweet malts, and some alcohol. Flavor isn’t as sweet as I was led to believe. You can taste the alcohol from the get go, what follows is a nice mellow brown sugar (I Guess) sweetness that finishes with a nice bitter hop.

100 Percentile? No way. Yes, WAY!! Awesome. Best barley wine I ever tasted. Pours deep ruby red with a tan head that leaves fine lacing. A symphony of scents caresses the nose and sets you up for a flavor that is better tasted than described. If you love barley wines, you'll love this. If you don't, try this and taste a superb barley wine.

Bottled Dec. 2004. Nice!!! Deep copper colored with a sparse white head. No lacing. Very nice blend of hops and caramel malts in aroma. Medium bodied. Full flavors of malt and hop. Very nicely done for a young barleywine and the best offering from this brewery. ’03 bottle consumed on 11/05. Rich amber brown color with a fantastic beige head. Wonderful lacing. Full, heady aroma. Moderately oxidized, plummy, still full of estery goodness. Full bodied and smooth. Fantastic balance with just a hint more malt showing. Nice light alcohol bite. Really superb.

RERATED 2-14-06 Bottle. Pours mahogany with nice off white head. Sweet caramel and perfumy aroma, with some alcohol. Strong caramel and nutty malt profile is the backbone to a predominately spicy and bitter hoppiness. Slighltly watery mouthfeel for this style. Finishes bitter, hot, and peppery. I think this one needs more time in the cellar. Overall a decent barleywine, but there are better examples out there. This one just fell out of my top ten list.