Victory Old Horizontal

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

Cellar temperature: dark ruby in color with a medium-sized head. Aroma is of caramel and sweetness. Alcohol is warming. This brew is a wonderful example of the style: simple grain bill and a good dosage of hops making for a beer that I really think would be more appropriate for January than June, but I couldn't resist.

Reddish brown color w/ very little head, this is a strong one. It’s flavor is very rich w/ a slightly bitter finish. Loved it.

11/98 vintage sampled on 12/10/05 (7,4,7,4,14): I never thought I’d get to try this old of a vintage of this, but thanks to kp I was wrong. Pours a lightly hazy dark copper with a thin-lacing white head. Semi-sweet oxidized toffee aroma still has some mild hoppiness. Body starts sweet and caramely with some nice dark fruity notes and complexity and good viscosity. This has held up pretty well, but has definitely past its prime.

New vintage bottled on 12/14/04, sampled on 6/28/05: This is still one of the most balanced and flavorful barleywines I’ve ever had. After aging just over half a year, the hops still have a good piney presence in the aroma and nice bitterness in the body. Malt is nicely caramely sweet and hides the alcohol better than most barleywines do.

Rerate 12/21/04: Same vintage, aged two years: Butterscotch is more prevalent in the aroma with more caramel dark fruity complexity. Hops are still slightly noticeable. Still very balanced and enjoyable. This has aged very well. An awesome barleywine!

Rerate 12/8/03: Same vintage as earlier. The hops have seems to mellow down in the aroma giving way to more sweet caramel malt and some oatmeal. Palate seems to have lost a little of its smoothness as the carbonation has become stronger. Body still has a nice sweetness and the hop flavor is still in force. I think the fresher, the better with this barleywine. Although, even after a year it’s still delicious.

6/2/03: (bottled on Dec 04 02) Huge hop bouquet upon pouring. Color is dark copper with a thin covering of cream-colored head. Floral hop aroma is complemented with hints of caramel malt and candi sugar. Body is so remarkably viscous, smooth, and full with the softest velvety touch, that I’d like to rate the palate a 6. Flavors consist of a sweet and bitter onslaught of the senses. There are enough hops that this could be mistaken as a double IPA. Wonderful balance between the sweet almost chocolatey caramel malt and the floral and bitter, yet not overpowering, northwest hops. There is even a soft red apple fruitiness. Did I mention that my brain sensed the alcohol before my taste buds? Finish is the culmination of sweet and bitter in just the right amounts with dry, woody attributes. This is by far the best barleywine I’ve had! I’m so glad I bought a six pack of this. Expect re-rates about once a year.

Ahh yes, number one hundred! Gimme that crown. And a well deserving beer for the honor. This beer tastes very RED! It does not taste quite like any other barley wine that I have ever tried. It has the smallest amount of head and lace, just this side of none. Not too sweet, and does a great job with the eleven percent alcohol content. Definitely has a cherry medicine flavor and nose to it that I’m not sure if I like or not. All in all, the sheer uniquness of the flavor and the great handling of the ABV make this a winner. And as I just finished a big dinner with two beers, this after dinner one will surely have me horizontal soon.

garnet brown with a small tan head. Nice malty aroma. Wonderful full mouthfeel and taste of caramel malts with hints of chocolate, slightly sweet and warming in a very pleasant way. well done.

One strong ass beer. Highly recommend it.

While Three Floyds Behemoth is massively hoppy, and Hair Of The Dog is massively malty, Old Horizontal is a beautiful mixture that doesn't fall to one side of the tracks, but rather comes barrelling down the center like an overloaded freight train that never spills it's load. The rich and thickly sweet (almost syrupy) malts car carries with it a faintly fruity undertone, while the tanker car carrying the hops has preserved the fresh grassy and citrusy taste throughout it's journey. The caboose is an alcoholic and hoppy burp that echoes through the tunnel as the train keeps on rolling.

This one has a clear, dark amber color with a thin, off-white head. The aroma is fruity, slightly hoppy, has a decent bit of malt sweetness and is very tantalizing. The flavor is very smooth and quite malty upfront with a lot of fruity notes. The finish is lingering and slightly bitter from the hops. Nicely balanced between the hops and malts, this is an exceptional brew. The alcohol is well hidden in the flavor but you do get a nice warming sensation. Very nice, smooth, and easy drinking for its strength. Thanks to ConiseurofBeer for the bottle.