Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Prima Pils from Victory Brewing Company 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Very very golden, maybe a bit of orange haze. Very clear though, bubbly, decent small white head that lasts. Typical hops profile, a little bit of sourness. Good even lagered taste. Surprisingly smooth and soft texture, quite sweet for a pilsener, almost like it has honey, but then the peppery hops flavor kicks in and the carbonation adds more of a spicy flavor. Very good bitterness on the finish, good aftertaste, medium light body, but great for what it is. I just couldnt get used to the white grape juice meets light apples (is that a tropicana twister flavor?) that seemed to prevail upon the body.
Sloefmans (15389) reviewed V Twelve from Victory Brewing Company 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 9
Foxy amber, slight cold haze; yellowish foam fast reduced to rim and less. Leafy, fruity nose with crystal malts, raisins. Quite complex, really. Rich, madeirisated-like taste without oxydised notes; alcohol and fusels, raisins, slight aroma of hops. Sweet without any cloying. Finish is again very wine-like, grapey, raisins, complex. Definite alcoholburn, slight slickness but not yet viscous, very low carbonation. WOW. This is one hell of a beer - the more as it is impossible to tell exactly why. It is too big to be called subtle as the Grand Cru is. It’s vinous and complex as a vintage port.
Sloefmans (15389) reviewed Grand Cru from Victory Brewing Company 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Orange-amber, slight haze; irregular, ambercoloured good head, slowly shrinking to nothingness. Fruity nose, like preserved and dried apricot, alcoholic. Starting with a typical USA piney hops onslaught, underbuild by quite good light-coloured malts. Quite some sweetness. Chestnut-flour taste, slight oxidation it seems. Beer ends rather sweet, but every new gulp gives a fresh dose of good hops, until warming up too much. Full-bodied. Oily, slick mouthfeel. Alcohol obvious without burn. Aftertaste becomes distinctly grapey. Truth to tell, the nose isn't very much. The rest is all the better. This is actually a very refined beer, vying with the best. Certainly not Westcoast - brutal. But Belgian???
Dogbrick (24210) reviewed Prima Pils from Victory Brewing Company 22 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Thanks to Darkover for the trade. This is one of the better Pilseners I have tried (along with Schell), and leads me to wonder why so many other ones are so bland and tiresome. The beer is a lightly cloudy pale gold color with medium white head that lingered quite awhile. Lots of small bubbles and thin lacing. The aroma is zesty hops. Light-bodied and crisp with a peppery hops flavor throughout. Some malt is evident as well. The finish is dry and hoppy. The Pils style is nowhere near my favorite but I can see this beer being the standard by which to measure others.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Great ruby tinted dark copper colour with a thick, dense tan head that leaves a perfect lacing behind. Great aroma consisting of yeast, wheat, caramel sweetness, bananas and even a hint of grapes. Medium-bodied; Strong maltiness masked with the banana flavour as well as some spices (think cloves, even allspice). Aftertaste is a bit thin, but still leaves behind a great spiceyness with the adequate amount of sweetness. Overall, a great beer, definately one to be had by everyone! I bought this twelve ounce bottle (Best by 11-September-2004) at Beers of the World in Rochester, New York.
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
A pretty solid weizenbock, I must say - dark brown, no real head or lacing, though - spicy, tart aroma, with a hint of pumpkin - flavor is a bit tart as well, but with enough sweetness to balance it out - caramel, banana, cloves and spices mix together to make this a pretty good autumn beer.
Dogbrick (24210) reviewed HopDevil from Victory Brewing Company 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Thanks to Darkover for the trade. This brew is a pretty sanguine amber color with a medium and clingy off-white head. Nice lacing throughout. Aroma is heady floral hops. Medium-bodied and crisp with a near-perfect level of hops in the flavor. There is a hint of citrus (lemon/grapefruit) and grass as well. The finish falls off just a little toward the end but overall this is a very good beer.
notalush (7339) reviewed Grand Cru from Victory Brewing Company 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5
Yeasty, fruity aroma - copper color - some alcohol in the aroma, too - the flavor is subdued but fairly complex - sweet up front, with slight caramel and fruit flavors - surprising amount of hops - some spice - bitter and sweet balance well at the end, but the finish is a bit thin - this is like Hop Devil as a belgian.
jgb9348 (11828) reviewed Grand Cru from Victory Brewing Company 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
I figured I would drink this beer on its second month anniversary. This was bottled on 15.5.2003, I figured now would be a good opportunity to try this beer for the first time. The colour of the beer is great, a nice amber body with orange highlights and a thin white head. The aroma is very strong and fruity, with the biggest of scents being apricots. Big intense flavour of malt and hops subsides after a second leaving a nice mouthful of spicyness. I can definately taste the yeast and some of the sweeter tones, but there is more sweetness in the aroma than in the taste. The aftertaste is definately drying and pretty bittering. Pretty darn good for the style and a great beer overall. I prefered the V-12, but obviously they aren't the same style...so there is really no comparison. Worth trying if you can find it...evidently its not widely available yet. I had this in a 750 mL bottle purchased from Beers of the World in Rochester, New York.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
2001 Draft. Deep black with some brown tinges. Nice, albeit thin head that actually stays around for a couple sips. Aroma is rich and strong with a nutty/malt chocolate aroma intersparsed with hops. Initial taste is pleasantly bitter, with a hoppy/roast flavor not too far off from a dark rich fruit, which soon gives way to a smooth and rich body. Like an alcoholic mashed walnut with brown sugar and roasted chocolate malt (whatever the hell that would be). It even adds a nice hops flavor towards the end of the body. The body is perfectly full, something you can’t say about many beers that claim to be full bodied. What is most enjoyable is the balance of roast that is attained with a decent hops presence. Often times, the roasted barley can be too dominating or lead to an acidic/bitter taste that is unpleasant. Hmm how could it be better? Needs a little bit more subtle finish, which does not mask the oily roast/alcohol burn/taste well enough. The initial roast/hops flavor may be a bit too pungent/sweet for the beginning of the beer. And for perfection’s sake, it could use a large thick, rich head. I am going to stop going on about this beer. It is good. Go drink some. 2003 bottle consumed September 04. Well it’s been a long time and now I have a year old bottle to try. Great flavors as I remember, chocolate, raisins, caramel as I remember with just a bit more roast and hops than Old Rasputin. Creamy mouthfeel, but this seems a bit thin?? I am definitely not one to buy in to "Bigger is better" and I strongly disagree with how the ratings for big beers are higher on this site, but this one just seems lacking after only a year. Needs some more substance to chew on and ponder. Oakes claims this stuff is best when aged and it definitely still has too much bitter alpha hops assault. Will keep aging and rerate later.
Feb 21, 2004 bottle. Drunk on 3/2/07
Retention/lacing is moderate to poor. Very muddled, hop and black malt soup flavor. Breadiness and roast are too heavy. Guess this batch didnt age too well either.