8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Very light in colour...obviously a pils. Tons of small bubbles similiar to champagne. A mild hoppy smell. Somewhat hoppy taste with a very noticable lemony taste. Light malt flavours, but an overall good taste, especially for a pils! One of the best pilsener's i've had in my life.
Tried
on 19 Jan 2003
at 13:34
7.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Original Export style: Virtually indistinguishable from any native Dortmunder style lager. A superb accomplishment from the guys at Victory. Very well balanced - creating a complexity that keeps the beer interesting til the last sip. Plenty of body.
Tried
on 14 Jan 2003
at 13:12
6.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Golden brown colour, very citrusey smell. Smooth, somewhat hoppy taste and finish. Not a great IPA, and if you are looking for hops, look at Tuppers Hop Pocket Ale!
Tried
on 10 Jan 2003
at 19:00
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
I just tried their festbeir, and this is very similar, thought a bit better. This is a mighty fine lager. A great balance of light maltiness, sweetness, hops, as wiseguy pointed out. If this were not a Victory beer, I would probably rate it higher, but I hold them to a higher standard. This is a good beer for its style, but Victory makes much better.
Tried
on 29 Dec 2002
at 17:11
6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Not much head, but very high carbonation, and a burnt orange color. I can't sense much in the aroma, maybe a little yeasty presence. I expected this to be a little more malty, but I can deal with that. The flavors are very subtle, but numerous. It tastes like liquid wheat bread with a little bit of honey on top. There even seems to be a hint on caramel in the mix. The finish is smooth and somewhat wheaty. Not the greatest of Victory's products, but still quite good.
Tried
from Can
on 29 Dec 2002
at 16:09
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
[upon gaining an appreciation of pilsners, this has become on of my favorite american-made examples] I’m not a fan of pilsners at all, but I’ll try anything made by Victory that I can get my hands on. Looks pretty much like a standard pilsner should look, light golden color with a medium-sized head. The aroma is a subtle mix of hops and malts. The subtle malt character is in the flavor, and the hops come through very much. The finish is all hops and bitterness that I really didn’t enjoy very much. For the style it is very good, at the very least drinkable, but still not my thing. Nice try Victory, but not even you can make me like pilsners. [RE-RATE] (original 12/17/02, now 12/21/02) After a second bottle, I must give the beer props for being the best of its style. That is saying a lot. And I can’t remember the last time I was able to finish an entire 12 ounces of pilsner. Bravo, Victory. This may be a bad style of beer, but there is still something to be said about making the best of the worst.
Tried
from Can
on 21 Dec 2002
at 22:44
6.5/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 7
Has a great overall appearance, like any yummy, dark red belgian ale. Very nice head that leaves good lacing. There is a bit of spice and citrus in the aroma, but nothing that denotes a very complex beer. The flavor is what it most interesting. For the first second or so, it tastes like a standard belgian, then a wave of citrus flavor overwhelms the tongue, but that, too, drops away after a few seconds, finally ending on a mildly-sweet maltiness that stays on into the finish. At first, I enjoyed the diverse flavor characteristics, but they don't seem to work together to make this a really good brew. It seems more like a beer that can't make up its mind. I do believe, however, that a well-aged bottle will produce a very tasty beer.
Tried
from Can
on 20 Dec 2002
at 20:15
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
[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.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Dec 2002
at 18:15
9.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 10
Texture 8
Overall 9.5
Dark reddish amber, with medium sized tan head. Head faded fast, leaving no lace. Strong fruity aroma with dates and raisin, possibly pear, and lightly phenolic. Rich fruity sweet flavor, lightly appley with dates. Phenolic/pepper in the finish, though barely detectable. Finish is mainly dry, with a lingering prune-like fruitiness. Full flavor but surprisingly light mouthfeel. Lightly carbonated. Complexity and richness increases wonderfully as it warms. Alcohol is amazingly masked - but this is definitely powerful. So easy drinking I savored the whole big bottle rather quickly, and was left both smiling and intoxicated. To irreverantly compare it to any Belgian ale: I'd say its a Chimay Red crossed with a Westy 12.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Nov 2002
at 09:15
9/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 9
Another winner from Victory. Bottled on 10-25-02. Thanks to urbnhautebourg for hooking me up with this one! Being a Stoutie I was really looking forward to this one and I was not let down. I was reminded of a cold cup of coffee as I poured, it was that color. Aroma of coffee, dried fruit and chocolate. Wood-burned flavor of malt, alcohol and espresso kept my interest throughout. I'd like to try a bottle that has aged a bit next time, because I have the feeling it would be even better. Thanks to Victory for living up to their name again!
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Nov 2002
at 20:30