Victory Yakima Twilight

Brewed by Victory Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Downingtown, Pennsylvania USA

Brown pour. Citrusy aroma. This ale has a ton of fruity, hoppy goodness. I’m not such a good judge of IIPA vs. strong ale. Is there a clear difference? I would drink this any day.

Deep amber pour, thick off-white head, laces nicely. Big hop aroma with malty sweetness in the background. Quite impressively balanced; the hops are definitely at the forefront, but there is a molasses-y sweetness to the malt backbone that is surprising and lovely. Interesting that an East Coast brewery has created such a fitting tribute to Pacific NW hops. A wonderful beer.

12oz bottle from Tyler’s Bottle Shop, Carrboro. Seems to be emerging as a polarizing beer? I thought it was delicious. Dark brown pour, lively and full of carbonation. I reckon it’s a double India brown ale or something? Lots of citrus holding together the tea leaves, dark malts, and so forth. Refreshingly bright aroma and taste, but not one-dimensional. Almost a pumpernickel thing going on at times, with fresh tangerines. Sounds disgusting when put that way, but I thought it rocked.

12oz bottle via secret santa trade. pours a very dark copper, almost chestnut brown with a creamy, bubbly, light tan head and great lacing. aroma is very nice with bold, citrus hop notes of grapefruit and orange, spicy pine notes, slight floral esters, and hints of roasted, nutty malts and toffee candy. flavor is very tasty as well with bitter, spicy, citrus hop notes and herbal pine esters up front back by chocolate malts, sweet caramel, and roasted nuts with a slightly grassy, bitter finish. palate is medium bodied and nicely carbonated with a hint of warming alcohol. overall, a solid american strong.

Sampled on 12/26/2009 bottle and at the 13th Annual Strong Ale Fest on 12/4/2009 on tap. This American Strong Ale pours a medium red color from the bottle. Large sized white foamy head with nice retention and good lacing. The aroma is caramel and sweet, piney and grapefruity hops. A medium to full bodied American Strong Ale or is it a Imperial India Pale Ale? The malts are caramel and sweet. The hops are piney and grapefruity. This beer walks the line between an ASA and 2xIPA. Lots of hops, with some heavy hop bite. But there is a nice malt backbone here as well. Nice carbonation. The bottled version seems a little hoppier than the draft version. The alcohol seems a little more present in the draft version. Mouthfeel us full and round. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is bitter.

Pours a dark copper with a nicely laced foamy off white head. Nose is a potent balance between fruity hops and brown sugar with some caramel, candy, and light toffee. The flavor is of citrus/pine combo, with some caramel/toffee malts trying to come through all the bitter hops. Very bitter end. Alcohol well hidden. Nice.

12 oz. bottle. Pours a clear deep reddish copper color with a large pillowy beige head that collapses into a blanket of fine bubbles and leavesthick lacing. The aroma is citrus and spicy hops with mild amounts of dark malt, caramel and honey. The more I swirl the glass provides additional pine notes. The flavor is more hop heavy with citrus and pine seeming to stand out. Bitterness is moderate with maybe not enough sweetness to balance things. The malt comes off as a secondary partner in this brew and is bready with caramel. Mouthfeel is medium-full, lingering bitterness with no sign of alcohol. Light yeast, resin and some bready notes. Rating #199 for this beer.

Bottle: The aroma consists of chocolate, roasted nuts, and lots of grapefruit and piney hops. It pours a very dark reddish-brown that is mostly transparent when held to the light along with a small off-white head that fades quickly to a thin film. The flavor starts with chocolate and faint caramel. The finish has moderate notes of roasted nuts along with pine and grapefruit hops. Medium bodied with mild carbonation .