Victory Old Horizontal

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

Loads of sweet candy like malts in the aroma, lots of caramel, some maple syrup, sweet liquor, a nice spicy, earthy and quite dusty hoppyness to balance out the massive sweetness. Dark crimson body with a creamy and fat off-white head. Flavor starts out with a massive chewy maltyness, lots of caramel, good sweetness with some various fruits, oranges, grapes and plums. Light bitterness in the end to balance it all out, leaves the mouth a little dry. A nice touch of alcohol.

bottle: purs a very nice red orange. the aroma is very sweet and malty. flavor is very is very complex an fruity with a nice hop bitterness on the end. i love this beer. i highly recomend it.

Bottled on 11/18/03 Poured a clear amber with a collar of off white head, but I had to force pour to get it. Aroma is a scosch alcoholy and sweet with both rock candy sugar and fresh brown sugar, sliced carmelized apple slices with a hint of cinnamon, young doughy raisin bread as well, even some very light hints of black peppercorn, definitely some candy bar like caramel as well. Obvious, sweet malt flavor with an almost wheaty undertow, quite tasty, alcoholy, cinnamon, raisins, dried apricots (mixed with dried cherries?). Even develops a minty finish as it warms. Mouthfeel is full, syrupy, coating, and perfect per style. Drinkabilty on this sipper is hampered by the sheer magnitude of the beer, complexity that needs to be savored slowly, also the alcohol slows you down, and the slightly unbalanced sweet-heavy tone of the brew. This is one magnificent barleywine. It's big, It's bad, It's a treat. I've got one laid down and I'll re-review in a year or so.

It is a complete travesty that I have not rated this beer before. This was the first barleywine I ever tried years ago before I started rating beer. I have had the beer many time since then and must have been convinced that I had already rated it. This is still the barleywine I compare all others to. Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a hazy red-brown color with a huge creamy red-orange had that lingered. The aroma was sweet and had a strong fruity hop presence and undertones of candied ginger and caramel. The flavor was sweet and bitter with toasted caramel, fruity hops, light pine, nut, cocoa and rum. A touch harsh. The finish is long with fruit, pine and caramel lingering. Full bodied. Excellent - an American classic.

2001 vintage. Pours a deep amber color with a nice lasting head. Aroma is full of citrus, lemon, orange, and malt. Taste is sweet and malty, with hint of red licorice. Stays on the tongue a while, and fills the palate. A slight bit of sour in the taste, but the malt comes through strong. A little orange too.

Bottled 1/6/01. Light brown/red color with a small tan head. Sweet malty aroma with lots of caramel, toffee and dark fruits. Slightly sweet malt flavor that dries a lot on the finish. Caramel and toffee come on strong. Tastes kind of like a liquid candy bar. Full bodied, but in no way cloying. Nearly four years old and has matured beautifully.

Considering how thick and malty this beer is, it’s also incredibly drinkable. Tangy, fruity aroma follows a dark brown pour with no head. Taste is strong, bright malts, warming honey and alcohol, with a noticable hop finish. This would be solid enough without the hops, but wow. A wonderful, welcoming ale, even when the weather gets warmer.

A wonderful barley wine, thankfully botted in 12oz servings. Deep orange pour out of the bottle. Lots of citrus and hop flavor that warms as it goes down. Very smooth and has a malt presence, finishes dry. This is great on an east coast winter, now if only victory would let me enjoy it on the west coast. It tastes so good that I don’t care if it is meant for cold weather.