Victory Wild Devil Ale

Brewed by Victory Brewing Company
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Downingtown, Pennsylvania USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

750ml caged&corked bottle. Pours amber with decent clarity and a very large, fluffy off-white/tan head. The aroma is exactly as promised - Hop Devil with brett character. It has a very nice splash of citrus/fruity hops with a subtle earthy character, some doughy and caramel malt notes, and an interesting dash of plum pie. The flavor follows the aroma: interesting grainy and sweet malt notes blend with delectable American hops and a funky, earthy, grassy brett character. The finish is firmly bittered but pleasant with a nice, dry, bready and spicy flavor that has a distinct (though mild) brett tinge. The mouthfeel is luxurious - crisply carbonated with a smooth and luscious body. Overall, a frikkin’ fantastic Belgian IPA. Rock-solid, delicious, and drinkable.

Thanks for the warnings about the cork. I opened my bottle in the shower stall just in case and managed not to put an eye out. This is my first sampling of a "sour ale" and will be my last. I had to pour it after toughing out a few ounces. This stuff was nasty.

2+ year old bottle. BEWARE!!! If you are opening an older bottle of this stuff, be careful. Put a towel over the cork when you open it! This bottle freaking exploded. I was being somewhat careful (I’m a sommelier), but not careful enough (I was drunk). After the cork left the bottle like a rocket and took off a chunk of the ceiling, the foam monster ensued. Pouring for three people, we each got an over foamed portion. More than half the beer was foam. Each glass tasted completely different. Tough to rate on flavor here. Lots of Brett. It was ok in flavor but not great. I’ll never forget it though.

Bottle @ home. I should have read the previous reviews- this baby shot off gushing like champagne and I lost 1/3 of it to my pants and the couch. Cloudy, reddish orange appearance with a light brown head. Mildly cohort, barnyard, citrus fruity, slightly tart but mostly funky aroma. Tangy, moderately funky, lightly sour, mild caramel, slightly floral hoppy, orange citrus fruity, wild yeasty flavor. Tangy, funky aftertaste. I’m not a huge fan.

Watch out - this one really is a Wild Devil! The sample I got popped and fizzed like champagne, and about half of it ended up in a towel. What I got poured a hazy, dark honey golden with a thick pale golden tan head that sticks around for a while. Aroma is more fruity than hoppy, apple and citrus. Flavor is hoppy and slightly bitter with a sour apple overtone. Texture has average body and is somewhat fizzy. OK, not Victory’s best, but worth a try. And do have a nice big thirsty towel handy in case yours goes off like Aetna!

Dry crisp earthy. A touch of sweet and a touch of sour. not the best sour I’ve ever tasted so so at best.

Rusty peach. Billowy off-white head. Predominant band-aid comprises the nose alongside lesser dabs of pineapple upside-down cake, toffee malt, and plastic. Pungently phenolic. Boisterous carbonation. Sassy and awash with brett, initially, with an expressive wave of candied pecan which is quick to follow. Deep, well-textured malt reveals an earthy edge as its many layers unfold, dovetailing nicely with the rustic hop bitterness and phenolic crunch. Ample amount of juicy residuals bolster the core while absorbing some of the brett-derived cottony brashness. Nice and full, rather than stark and hollow. Vague note of dough/yeast adds a bit of unnecessary weight to the otherwise cleanly-attenuated body. Closes with prolonged honey-glazed biscuit and candied pecan malt depth kissed with an appetizing tandem of robust peppery hop bitterness and perfumey brett. Aside from the B-vitamin yeast character, which plagues most of the Victory line and is difficult to overlook in this case, this is very respectable. Nice malt extraction, good balance, forceful yet refined hop punch, etc. I’ll still take the breathtakingly bright and complex brett character of their Helios over this, as this is a bit more one-dimensional, stiff and plasticlike. Solid.

orange color, sudsy off white head, lacy. sour fruit and yeast in the nose. flavor is bready, yeasty and fruity. light bodied, light sour finish. not very complex. not much fun, but not a favored style.

Bomber. Lots of carbonation on uncorking. Pours a golden hue with plenty of head and retention. Nose has some barnyard, citrus, and slight sour notes. Taste us all over the place but not in a complex good way. Some tartness and citrus but not much else. Certainly will not be confused with Veritas.