Victory Old Horizontal

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

I have been waiting all year for this beer. Pours a clear brilliant ruby brown with medium white head and lacing. Served just slightly chilled. Aroma of some things that I can not begin to explain, other than barley and hops, not that it's that impressive, I just can't explain. Flavor and mouthfeel are simply impeccable. Melted butter over homemade waffles, chewing on a handful of citric hops, in fields of barley, as you gently nod off to sleep. Hops to no end here. It is almost criminal for a beer this strong to be so drinkable. Going to try to cellar one of these for future reference.

Amer/brown body with a medium withe head. Wonderful floral and hoppy aroma. Starts with a sweet malty taste, then transitions to a bitter hops bite, and finishes off with more sweetness. Excellent!

This barleywine pours nicely with a deep amber brown hazey color, head was thin, tannish and lace in spotty sheets on the glass. Nice rich floral hop tones when first taking the glass to my nose then the caramel malts sneak in, sweet and candylicious. Taste is complex like most barleywines with malty richness, caramel thickness and sweetness and a slight smokey tone at the finish. Full notes of caramel malt sweetness thoughout. Perfect balance of twingy, hearty, mildly earthed hops, bittering to the perfect height of satisfaction leading through to the smokey-like finish. This is a great beer to knock yourself out with. Incredibly drinkable! Yum!

A caramel color with a sweet scent. A sweet malty start with a nice alchohol warming. The finish on this beer makes you want another.

[bottle] Very dark and hazy amber pour with a thick, slightly off-white head. Aroma of perfectly balanced hops, malt and sweet. Sweet initial flavor with a super-creamy mouthfeel. Finish is very smooth with a slight peppery/citrus punch and a slightly bitter aftertaste. Definitely cannot taste the high ABV on this one. Absolutely delicious.

On draft at Monks. 6 year old keg (1998 vintage) that Tom is trying to work through (still two kegs left, get it while you can). Served in a "wine" glass : clear and dark liguid, small but steady head. Ethanoly aroma. Lots of dry red fruit in this one: plums, cherries, and more plums....

Ahhhh. That's good drinkin. Sweet malts and hops and something baking drift out of the glass from this beautiful reddish brown beer. The floating creamy tan head invites you to take a bite of this chewy brew and you find smooth hops and rich earthy fruits, like you might get from a port. Touched lightly with a bitter tinge but very smooth you wonder where the alcohol is. I mean, this is a warming experience but not by being in-your-face with the alcohol. Very very nice. (Great with chocolate too!)

Nov 15 02 bottle. Pours orange-red with virtually no head. At 10 months: Beautiful aroma of fruit, maple syrup, and maybe a touch of vanilla. Silky, creamy flavours bring more of the same, with only a hint of hops and alcohol in the background. A sweet barley wine that might be cloying if it weren’t so utterly delicious. At 15 months: The extra time in the bottle has really muted the maple syrup sweetness and presents a much more balanced beer. The aroma still has sweet and fruity notes, but now has a more obvious orange zest hop character and alcohol presence. Slightly drier fruitiness to the flavour with a less syrupy mouthfeel. A grapefruity burst of hops at the finish, together with some alcohol sting. A phenomenal beer at 10 months old. With extra time in the bottle it is more balanced, but not necessarily better—although we’ll see how my third, and last, bottle matures.