Victory Old Horizontal

Cloudy amber hue, with a tan-colored head, leaving laces, sweet toasted malt nose, with a faint spicy, flowery hop citrusy accent, with some grassy, leafy accents, a mild candied fruity aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a sweet toasted, caramelized malt character, with a floral hop accent, when the beer is getting warmer an evident herbal lavender note emerges, with a hint of leafiness and grassiness, a bit fruity, leading towards a malty, alcoholic, grassy hop bitterness finish. Maybe because drunk too young, the beer seems to hopped for the style.

Pours brown with a thin off white head. Strong malt and alchohol aroma, with some fruit and citris in there as well. Taste is about the same. Thick sweet malt, alchohol and citris hops on the edge. Well made but a little hot and a bit cloying for me.

Color was orange-brown; smallish white head. Aroma of citrus, dark fruit, malt, alcohol, some raisin, and hop peppering. Good mouthfeel; alcohol well hidden. Flavor was of caramel malt, brown sugar, raisin, some dark fruit and some pepper. Nice hop presence. Enjoyed this, but not nearly as much as 3Floyds Behemoth which i had quite recently. (+.01 after having it at the Blind Tiger in January 2008).

Pours a pretty reddish hue with a small off white head. Aromas of Dark fruits and light citrus. Roasted malts, raisins, berries and light hops stand out at first. As the beer warms the alcohol is most apparent. This superb barley wine coats your mouth with a full, sweet, and very smooth finish.

I smell victory. They make good beer. Nice aroma, sweet and gooey. Good lacing in the glass and good alcohol covering. Don’t realize the strength until you stand up afetr a few. Nice touch of hops and I will have more some day for sure, if I can pull myself away from IPA’s

Bottle aquired in a trade with jredmond. Slightly cloudy red tinted deep amber colored pour. Moderate frothy light tan head that laces the glass nicely. Nose is sweet - some orange, candied fruit, a little bit peppery. Mouthfeel is slick and lightly carbonated. Nice sweet citrusy flavor with a slight hop bitterness in the end. A very nice barley wine.

THOUGHTS: I finally tried it. I always think to look for it when it’s out of season. Very sweet aroma and flavor. Some metallic aftertaste and some alcohol in the aroma, but not bad for the ABV. It was kind of pleasantly warming. Very carbonated. A really good beer, but I’ve had better barley wines. Very malty with a slight bit of chocolate in the flavor. TECHNICLE: Bottle. Poured a medium red-brown with a small, white head that mostly diminished. There were also tiny, thinly spaced particles in the body. The finish flavor was bitter with an average duration. The body was medium to full and dry but sticky on the lips with very fizzy carbonation and a light alcoholic finish.

I don’t what I love most about this offering from the Dukes of Downingtown. My favorite Victory beer up to this point was having Hop Devil from cask at the brewery. Old Horizontal has it beaten! The color is deep reddish brown. The aroma grabs your attention with its malted, perfumy, alcoholic character. The taste is wonderful, with its lingering bitterness. However, the bitterness is not overwhelming, and reminds me more of an English-style barley wine. The taste of alcohol is not really evident, but one can certainly feel it. Superb beer from a great brewery!