Victory Old Horizontal

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

Bottle courtesy of, and thanks to Philip, the mid-west wonder! Pours murky brown and topped forthwith by a thin ring of brown froth that subsides to a ring. There’s sediment here, though I suspect there is not supposed to be? Vanilla bean aroma with heavy caramel malt and roasted brown sugar nuances and then add a touch of chocolate. Very sweet caramel flavours, vanilla extract, burnt sugars, and lots of woody/nutty aftertastes. Skooth and silky, and a pleasure to drink, even if it is 20 degrees Celcius outside. Thanks Phil!

(Bottle, thanks Rickgordon and beachbum25) Pours hazy amber/red. Dried fruits and fresh fruits, hops, raisins, fudge/toffee-ish malt in aroma with apples and oranges. Rich malty sweetness in flavour with fruits and peppery alcohol. A bit salty with liquorice hints. Young taste. Medium mouthfeel and body. Lingering afterbitterness with a light sweetness.

Props to Surffisher for sending this gem my way. Pours a cloudy brown/amber color with a white head. Ah, quite a rich nose on this. It’s sweet of caramel and oak with a bit of citrus notes and raisins and nutmeg. The alcohol warms my nasal passage just a bit. This is very dense in the mouth, just a tiny sip coats my palate with a sticky sweetness. I’ve had barley wines that are too sweet, this isn’t quite one of them. There is also a bitter grapefruit presence which helps to smooth things out. The finish is of maple and faint Scotch with complex dried fruit notes. Excellent brew to enjoy on one of the first nights with temperatures in the 30s. Great warmer.

Wow, wow, wow. This is one seriously tasty barleywine. You know when you get one of those beers that you just want to savor and sip it forever? This is that beer. While it may not be the BEST barleywine I’ve ever had, it’s right up there. Pours out a deep stained wood brown with reddish highlights and a smallish sized head. Aroma that hits you is just incredible. Caramel, pine, brown sugar, alcohol with an overal sweetness that delivers one of the things I love about sweet beers. Flavor is near perfectly hopped for a barleywine for my liking. Sweet with notes of brown sugar, toffee, light fruits and malts. Hoppy with pine coming out to play nicely. Overall, just really interesting, and really tasty. As I said, one of those beers that you just want to drink over and over. Count yourself lucky if you can get this beer whenever you want.

Bottle from john_adam2002. Pours with a thin creamy head of fine bubbles blanketing the surface of dark amber beer. Great looking beer. Malty citrus aroma. Flavor starts off leaning towards a nice hoppy bitterness, but then leans towards malty sweetness as the beer warms up. Well and very drinkable, despite the 10.5%. Could do with a bit of aging, but very good as is! Mmmmm tasty.

First impression: Sweet scents arising from pour. Dark amber color keeps a well maintained head. Looked great under my lamp resting under a coaster. Sweet malt and hop notes thru out the ale. Same character from first to last sip (which is not a bad thing) Very sweet but not to sweet Barley wine. The 10.5 % is not tasted at all and makes this a very drinkable barley wine. I could drink this year round because it’s not to heavy of a taste. Cheers!

Bottle courtesy of onenote81. Pours a hazy dark brown with red highlights. One finger tannish white head that settles slowly. Aroma is sweet and malty with notes of caramel, honey, wood, vanilla, some slight notes of floral hops. Flavor is sweet and malty with notes of flora hops, brandy, caramel, honey, grass, yeast, caramel, grass, hay pine and malt. Generally medium to full body with a sweet and malty finish.

Bottle. This beer’s initial pour is a work of art; a thin orange head that quickly goes down with a red/brown body. The aroma is mostly sweet fruit and some candies, but fairly light. The taste is really a great effort; some dark and citrus fruits, a sweet candy aspect, a bitter hops, and a some malts. Maybe the best BW I’ve had. So damn smooth, but also very complex.