[edit - this beer’s quality has suffered a great deal in recent years - hold on to those older bottles as long as you can] A deep, ruby red color and slight lacing make this look like any old barleywine.....but it most certainly is not! The aroma is mildy alcoholic, but mostly dominated by what I can only describe as ’candied fruit,’ if that makes sense. There is a subtle hop and alcohol presence in the flavor which is enjoyable on these long winter nights (but the alcohol is very well masked). The most dominant aspects of the flavor include a heavy malty sweetness, and a deluge of fruit flavors (black cherries, grapes, raisins, and possibly strawberries), which combine to make this my new favorite barleywine. The fruit and sweetness stick around in the finish for an astounding length of time after you swallow (if your don’t brush your teeth, the flavor could probably stick with you for weeks). Storm King is my favorite Victory beer, but I think this brew will make me call that title into question.

[as with their other beer, quality has suffered as of late] This is the best IPA I’ve had in a long time. The color is perfect, and the hops melt perfectly into the overall flavor of the beer, rather than overpowering it like in most other IPAs. My only complaint is that it doesn’t smell nearly as good as it tastes.

[quality has suffered greatly in recent years] Outstanding! Quite simply the best stout to come around in years. Perfect color, smoothness, taste. You can’t even tell it has such a high alcohol content until it hits your stomach, and even then it just leaves a nice warm feeling. These victory guys are the best new microbrewers out there, by far.

2002 bottle Oh wow did this smell good. A rich brownish-golden color, with no head. Wonderfull fresh aroma with a hint of. . .cucumber/spices?? The taste was amazing. I expected alot and it delivered. The most floral ale i have tasted, but still maintained a great hop presence. Had a medium body that finished smooth and fresh with a nice warm hop flavor left on the palate. I couldnt believe this was 6.7 alcohol after i drank it. i still can’t. What a wonderful beer, by a wonderful brewer. CASK 2003! Wow, had this on cask. Speechless. Such warm tones and wonderfully fresh cascade hops. Even with a round bitterness at the end that lingers and grows stronger. Great amount of body.
2004 bottleBlind tasting. Very relaxed, herbally and lightly malted. Mineral water flavor, with some sharp grassy/spicy tones on the finish. Very distinctive, but I don’t think the bottled version will ever live up to the cask version I had.

2015 bottle drunk fresh on 10/4/15.
Wow, been quite a while since I’ve really taken a look at where this beer is. Oddly enough, it’s less resinous (actually not resinous at all) than Prima Pils. At first I was a bit put-off by the bready, caramel malt dominance with that hard, stale-like crystal malt finish. But as I kept drinking, I have to admit to being charmed by the lovely, floral, delicate hop bouquet both in the nose and flavor. Herbs, fresh grass, watermelon, meyer lemon and no pine or heavy citrus anywhere to be found. So that’s definitely worth something, in this day and age of massively overdone IPAs (and even the ipas that arent obnoxiously resinous are often just so monotonously citrusy that they’re no fun). Not a worldbeater, nor was it ever, but still very drinkable and enjoyable.

Pretty good beer, better than sam adams weiss. Nice bitterness to complement the spice. I wish this beer was heavier and wheatier though.