Victory Old Horizontal

12 ounce bottle in Duvel glass. Slightly hazy garnet with lasting ring and a little lace. Complex aromas of earth, port, wood, brown sugar, cherry pie. Brown sugar toasted caramel sweetness, ripe fruit, medium bitter finish with lingering sweet fruitiness. Full body with a little carbo bite. Barleywines are usually love ’em or spit ’em out for me. This one’s pretty damn good. Complex and drinkable and in-your-face.

Dark amber with modest tan head, good amount of lacings. Aroma is roasted malt. Sweet rich roasted malts with some soysauce, molasses, brown sugar, prunes, and a nice bitter hop finish. Some citrus in the hop flavor. One strong beer that is entirely enjoyable. Go slow though, this one will sneak up on you. Label abv is 11%.

I’m not a big fan of Barley Wines, but this is very good. Perfect amount of warming alcohol presence. Sweet, dark fruit, caramel and hops. I’m glad they put this in 12oz. bottles, 22oz. might be too much. One of my favorite Barley Wines.

Pour is dark brown/red with small head. Aroma is fruity and a little sweet. Taste starts off smooth then comes in sweet with a little alcohol bite, but nothing overwhelming. A really great beer. Highly recommended.

Bottle. Pours a copper brown, with little head, and a (somewhat off-putting) thick floating yeast sediment. Aroma is malt and yeast, with a bit of fruit sweetness, and a slight metallic tinge. The flavor is very nice - dark fruits, brown sugar, and caramel, with a slight hoppiness in the finish. The 11% ABV gives the beer a nice warming bite, without being overpowering. An excellent barleywine, though a tad underwhelming, given its phenomenal ratings. A bit more hops would balance the beer nicely.