Victory V12

750ml bottle, Bottled on Aug 10, 2006. Pours cloudy amber in color with full foamy brown head. Aroma sweet, malty and fruity. Taste sweet, malty and hop bitter with bitter finish. Taste of alcohol when it warms up.

Pours a medium amber color with a decent antique lace head to top it off. Strong aroma of dark fruit and molasses. Taste is assertive brandy, dried dark fruit, licorice and some smoke. Well balanced, but almost cloyingly sweet. Alcohol warmth is noted after the swallow. Real, real good!

I’ve had this, but apparently never put in a rating... So we’ll keep it average for now, and if I get a chance to sample it again we’ll change things up.

Bottle, aged about 1.5 years. Pours a hazy copper-caramel color with a small, foamy, beige colored head. Soapy lacing slowly drips back towards the body, some of it drying in place before it completes its journey. A swirl of the glass reveals viscous, sugary legging. The aroma reveals a bevy of dark, sweet, fruity notes. Golden raisons and dates meet notes of caramel, brown sugar, and various dark spices. Flavors are again sugary sweet, but with a touch of floral hop bitterness making it more palatable. Boozy and bordering on liquor-like status, this one is not for the faint of heart, and the thick, viscous, sugary body is further proof of that. Ultimately too hot and alcoholic, even at this age, this is a nice attempt at a Belgian Quad that was just taken a bit over the top. Its a decent dessert brew to share amongst 10 or so friends, but otherwise too big for my liking.

Bottled 27 July 2007 (1 year old). Cloudy caramel pour, tan lacy head, caramel toffee nose. Flavor was caramel, malt, spice, orange peel, toast. The finish was semi-sweet, a a little bit of hop bitterness, with a rich, slightly sticky mouthfeel.