Victory Old Horizontal

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

Uh-oh; Ruby Red in color; No head at all nor any lace. Alcohol is VERY upfront in this one. Medicinal. Lots of cherry Robitusin. Molasses. Palate thins quite a bit at the 3/4 mark. Cloyingly sweet with no balance. No attempt to hide the alcohol. I have another bottle and will definitely give this beer another chance, but as it stands now, this is woefully over-rated. RERATE: 3-9-02 (let bottle warm to nearly 65*) Smooth, very little effervescence. Lots of candy suger sweetness- malted burnt flavors also playing a huge role. Not as vinuos and thick as some other B-W’s that I have had. Alcohol is present for sure. Warming at the 1/3 mark. There is a degree of medicine flavors that really bother me- the cherry robituson is gone, but not by much. I am liking this better this time around, but I still sense very little balance. Now, at the 2/3 mark, the maltiness is perfect (the beer is now fully at room temp-73*). Much more satisfying this time, but still not the world beater that everyone says.

(on bottle, thanx Maj) Very full aroma, tons of grapes, herbs, gummibears and nuts. Extremly mild in both taste anf mouthfeel, like whiped cream on drugs. Halts out pretty sweet and malty, to be haven real cold.

From a 12oz. long neck brown bottle with a stamped bottled on date on the front label. Made a decent appearance, poured a cloudy orange hued amber with a foamy pale tan head that settled into a thin bubbly lacing, minimal amount of sticking, moderate carbonation. Had a grapefruity and caramel nose with whiffs of butter toffee and alcohol. A crisp, creamy smooth fullish bodied mouth feel, good sipping drinkability. Caramel and toasted malts, a sweet grapefruity hoppiness, a warming alcohol presence through out the taste, a light butteriness towards the end and a dryish grapefruity and malty finish. A nice barley wine from Victory, tasty with a balanced bitterness.

bottle BB dec 29/2011 states 11%abv.

dark hazy copper colored pour capped by a small beige head which leaves behind some sporadic clumps of lacing. initial spicy hop smell gets followed up with honey, lightly toasted grain, flowers, dried apricots, really earthy spice akin to cinnamon and something minty-like maybe birch which numbs the sinus... perhaps it is the alcohol but it never disappears as the alcohol shows up when warm. the palate is sweet but nowhere near cloying. there is a nice bitterness throughout the flavor profile... which are... flowers, toasty grain, caramel, toffee and a beautiful spicy hoppy finish when it is cellar temperature. as it warms it shows notes of malt powder, vanilla, mellow orange, non resinous pine and some cocoa butter. alcohol becomes slight but it is welcome and warming. nothing seems out of place (like fresh bw can tend to be too hoppy/sweet/resiny or old examples which tend to be bland or oxidized)... it’s at a great age! medium body is rich yet spicy. bitterness from hops and dryness from the alcohol offset the creaminess and smooth mouth feel from the low carbonation. incredibly well balanced with great drinkability... i can’t wait to taste the rest of the case! 9/4/9/5/18/4.5

Reddish-copper in color, sweet nose, very smooth body, fruity, hoppy, strong, other complex flavors, nice beer to relax & sip on

Bottle 11/23/03 Pours a hazy redish brown with a modest creamy off-white head that settles slowly to a nice thin ring, lacing down the glass on each sip. Aroma is full and complex. Fruity, with apple, orange and vanilla and a little spice like cloves maybe. Stronger hops that the other BWs I’ve had. I can’t find those nice aroma notes any more here. Still though, malt and caramel. Some citrus rind. Strong and heavy. Very nice rich feel, almost syrupy. I'm a bit dissapointed after all the hype and the 4.2 rating. I’ll be sure to give it another chance.

A little bit of a disappointment following a lenghty quest to acquire this one. Aromas is of apple, caramel, malt and light spice. Appearance is brown with tawny red highlights. Flavor is apple with sweet caramel flavored malts and a cider pucker that overpowers a bit at the end. Carbonation is a bit higher than expected and a little obnoxious. Slight viscosity overcome by carbonation. This would be much better without astringent pucker that detracts from overall enjoyment.

Bottle, alc 11%. Pours a dark amber with a small tan head that dissipates quickly. Aroma of bitter flowery hops and sweet malt. After my first sip, my initial impression was yuck! Sharp bitterness that didn’t quite hide the super sweet malt. But as the beer warmed and my palate adjusted, it got a lot better. The rich malt gets tastier and less cloying, the bitterness recedes. A heavy beer but not syrupy. Alcohol finish. The ~7 or 8 months of aging didn’t seem to improve this beer: either it’s best after 2+ years or just fresh.