Victory HopDevil

Brewed by Victory Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Downingtown, Pennsylvania USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

Pours a rusty orange color with a medium white head. Has an aroma that isn’t as hops heavy as most IPAs and has a somewhat citrus and herbs nose. Not as bitter as most IPAs I’ve had which isn’t a bad thing. I enjoy a good balance in any type of beer. Light body with a nice smooth texture and soft carbonation. One of the best IPAs I’ve had to date and I hope to be able to find it on a regular basis.

Pour is tarnished gold light white head decent lace. Smell is mild slight hop roast. Taste is a little better grapefruit hops present malt. Ok.

Bottle from Mane Liquor. Pours clear amber with a nice white head leaving some good lacing. Nose is predominately pine and grassy tones with some citrus backing it. Grassy undertone comes through in the taste with the pine and citrus playing roles either side of the palate. Very easy drinking. Mouthfeel is a little thin but makes up for it with a solid bitter finish that makes you want another sip. Solid in all aspects but nothing wows me. Massive quaffer

Bottle. Bright amber with a large pale beige head. Aroma of toffee, pine, grapefruit, some spices. Taste has toffee sweetness with some toastiness to it, then firm bitterness with citrus, pine and more spices than suggested by the aroma. No particular magic about it, but it’s tasty and quaffable. Certainly wouldn’t guess it was above 6% ABV.

Sehr aromatischer, zitrusartiger (orange) Geruch, angereichert mit Gewürzen, duftig. Süßlicher Antrunk, orangig und gewürzt. Zur Mitte hin röstiger mit ausklingenden Fruchtaromen. Im Schluß schokoladiger und trocken malzbitter abebbend. Zeitweise etwas unruhig im Verlauf, dennoch schmackhaft und probierenswert.Test vom 7.11.2009, Gebinde: Glasflasche

Bottle from Bierzwerg. Amber color with huge beige Aroma of grapefruit, hops, spices. Taste, strongly bitter, with grapefruit, spices and pine. Long bitter finish. Excellent.

I poured a 12oz bottle into a tulip glass.

Appearance: Quite dark for a single IPA: dark copper/orange hue with a noticeably haze. Little carbonation visible. Forms a small, yellow, soapy head which retains and laces about average.

Smell: Thick sappy pine tree with a slightly sweet floral aroma.

Taste: Victory Hop Devil epitomizes the East Coast IPA style and then some. Just like the aroma it’s sticky pine bitterness up front, with a quick burst of tropical fruit juice in the middle, finishing with a dry, sappy hop bite. This is what a balanced IPA should be. The bitterness is pronounced throughout the palate, but the malts hold their own with a mild, caramel and butterscotch sweetness all along.

As it warms the beer becomes even sappier and the fruity flavors and sensation that were present at the beginning fade away quickly, leaving a dry, bitter palate. The sweet maltiness is still there, but just less pronounced. This is a tasty palate to be sure, but not necessarily a creative one. I don’t mind if a beer plays the same notes repeatedly, but Hop Devil doesn’t finish quite as strong as it begins.

Mouthfeel: Surprisingly thin and tepid. Aftertaste is slightly dry, but easily tolerable.

Drinkability: It’s very rare that I would consider a beer to be "too drinkable," but I think Victory Hop Devil might be just that. The body is a little too thin and flat and seems to subtract from the genuine hoppy flavors and bitterness. It’s quite smooth and easy to get through the mouth, although at one point all the CO2 got backed up in my throat at the same time. The 6.7% ABV is impressive since it seems to have a little more energy than that, and dare I say this might even be sessionable? A great beer to have with sports bar fare.

Overall, Victory Hop Devil Ale is a good beer and a good IPA that is just a tweak or two away from being great, in my opinion.

Fabulous hoppy full bodied tasty beer. Hoppy but not too much, well balanced with malt & sweetness. An excellent American beer for an Englishman!