Victory HopDevil

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

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

Poured into a Unibroue Tulip Glass, has a very nice reddish color with a good amount of carbonation, but not too much. Aroma comes out more as it warms up, strong hoppy scent, but not overwhelming. Smooth balance of malt and hops, but hops definitely dominant. Strong hoppy aftertaste -- if you like that sorta thing. The hops mellowed out a bit as it warmed up. Slightly fizzy feel, but not in a negative way. I can usually drink about two of these in a row before I have to move to an ale or witbier to cleanse the palate, just because the hops are so prevalent. This beer just exudes hops.

Nicely balanced beer with a strong hop presence. I wasn’t expecting a great beer (not sure why), but was pleasantly surprised by this brew.

Beautifyl golden brown color. Nice small bubble carbonation. The nose is piney, citrus, and peppery. The head stays around for a while (or it was the way the waiter poured it, not the best work I’ve seen since it overflowed the glass and went all over the table). The finish was a bit gritty, and oily not sure why. It was not as flavorful of the finish as it was in the begining.

UPDATED: AUG 14, 2010 This rating of the tap version replaces a previous rating of the bottle version. On tap at the Jet Rock Bar and Grill at Philadelphia airport, served in a pint glass. Pours clear deep amber with a small tan head. Head slowly fades but leaves good lace. The aroma is very floral, with big American hop notes. There is also a fair bit of biscuit and caramel malts. The flavour is moderately strong bitter up front and becomes even more so. Throughout, dryish crystal malts peek through and alcohol is present in the background. The finish is long and lingering hoppy bitter. On the palate, it is medium in body with a dry texture and minimal carbonation. Overall, this is an excellent American IPA with beautiful floral and high-alpha hops. It is one of the best IPAs out there, but the malts could be more complex. The bottle version seemed to have more prominent malts; in the keg version, alcohol was more prominent. 2010-08-13

UPDATED: MAR 12, 2010 little too much crystal in this for me in a ipa but still a descent beer on its own

Sampled in a 12 oz. Bottle. Pours deep amber red / brown. Thin lacey head. Really nice crisp hoppiness. Not too complex and easy to drink.

I see that JW32Hoops has given quite a bit more than his two cents on the following IPA.. While at first take I would disagree, I must say with this as I have marinated on it for a little while it isnt quite as good as I may have originally indicated.. Now the plum color and french vanilla head is as good as any and Im hit with a floral aroma. On first taste a slight bitterness of hops and reisinous slightly grainy tasted engulfs me. Extremely pleasant on the back end as well with a toasty nuttyness that pushes the taste through.. Very good but I will say the lack of hoppiness and bite detracts from the overall experience somewhat.. Almost as if its wearing a padded bra and quite frankly I was hoping to see some nipples poking through the tee shirt... Still a good IPA and actually a great session IPA

With a name like "Hop Devil" I was expecting a Sculpin-like explosion of hoppy bitterness, but this is way more in the English tradition. The aroma is extremely subtle toffee and I guess hops. Bites the palate like an IPA I suppose but I’m not getting the citrus notes or intense hoppy bitterness that I crave. I’m tasting a little amber, caramel, english leather. Hop Devil is like the bastard child of Tower 10 and Newcastle Brown Ale.