Victory Lager - Victory Brewing Company

orsulacp

Pennsylvania

3.38/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

The beer pours a clear gold/yellow with a nice fluffy white head. I wrote down what I smelt and then had to look it up, DMS (a sweet corn smell), it was very pronounced and there was a slight metallic smell there too. It had a nice grainy malt taste, slightly sweet with hint of bitterness at the end of the sip. It had a light/medium body with a good level of carbonation making a very refreshing beer.

Serving type: on-tap

08-25-2006 01:43:19 | More by orsulacp

rousee

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Clear straw color--good continual carbonation. It forms a small head and leaves a moderate amount of lace on the sides of my glass.

The smell is mud, skunk, earth essence--not real pleasant but somewhat appropriate for the style. After having a couple sips, the smell is actually more pleasant.

Very smooth bready taste with just a faint hop finish. This would be a good beer to introduce a macro drinker to craft beers with. There are some adjuct-ish characteristics present but I would bet they dont use any here. Smooth and very drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap

07-04-2006 19:29:18 | More by rousee

futureman69

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +39.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Ok, ok....you guys (and gals) are looking at my ratings and thinking "how could this brew possibly be as good as he claims..?"...well, there are a few things you need to know first:
1) You need to be a Helles Lager fan
2) See item #1...
3) You get the picture. Helles lager is a VERY exclusive beer club; it's definitely NOT for the faint of heart or for the hop-enthuiast. Helles-style lager has its own beer-aesthetic - and not one that can be easily explained - but let's just say I live within 45 minutes of the Victory brewery in wonderful Amish-laden Pennsylvania and I can say with utmost confidence that - straight out of the tap or the bottle - this IS the most delicious example of this variety of beer I have ever had.
Do yourself a favor: try it. If you don't like, set it aside and don't think about it for several months...
Then pick it up again - give it another try. If it still doesn't appeal to you, set it aside. Talk with friends. Play pinball. Shoot skeet...take a walk.
THEN - come back and drink it again. Ok..."Wow!", you'll say...or "huh.." or something.
Ok. At this point, change your life. Go back to school and get that post-graduate degree. Or, maybe, propose to that high-school sweetheart and finally get married and settle down. Something. SOMETHING! Do something with your liffe, Goddam-itt! Then, after you've changed, come back and try Victory Lager again. Perhaps you will have found a place for it in your life - at last. Perhaps not.
Ok, several more decades have past; the family's good, the kids are grown, the wife's got some 'growing pains'...says she wants to try life on her own for a while - out in the Pacific Northwest - without you - so you let her go...you trade in your stocks, sell the homestead, flip over your long-held socio-political ideology and find life anew as an ascetic new-millenium warrior monk. God bless you! Now, go to your local beer retailer and purchase a fresh case of Victory Lager. Chill it. Open it. Sip it. Savor it. Delight in life, because (God knows) your days are numbered and good lager (like this) is a rara avis - a scent of life blown on an ocean breeze.
...try to grasp it for a moment and know life as few others live it...

Victory Lager. Indeed.

Serving type: on-tap

03-17-2006 03:12:19 | More by futureman69

DarkerTheBetter

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer came a clear straw yellow with a hint of brown and a thick frothy head. Smelled of dry dirty corn and a musky citrus. Tasted very citrusy for a lager with a sweet corn and oats base. Very slight and simple. Mouth feel was light bodied with a medium to high carbonation. I’d have to say that this would be an ideal transition beer for some one addicted to macros who is curious about Victory.

Serving type: on-tap

01-16-2006 18:37:41 | More by DarkerTheBetter

HugoGrim

Pennsylvania

3.23/5  rDev -10%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served on tap at the Victory brewery.

The look was pretty plain. Pale yellow body with a white head which disappeared quickly.

Scent is sweet grain with hints of spice and fruits. Hops hiding in the background.

The flavor starts with a graininess then moves to a fresh bread flavor mixed with fresh hops. Finishes with a yeastiness.

A decent beer overall, though it is paled in every category to the other beers available. It tasted like water after such monster brews as Storm King and Hop Devil, though I tried not to let that hinder the rating.

Serving type: on-tap

12-25-2005 14:37:58 | More by HugoGrim

RBorsato

Virginia

3.03/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Tasted on-tap 6/15/05 and 6/22/05 at Mighty Mike's in Sterling, VA.

Had to try twice (a week apart) and verify a few times that this was really a Victory product that I was poured.

Straw colored with a very low white head. Not much of an aroma or flavor ... what is there is very light in the malt dept but not very grainy like I find with most Helles beers. No hops to speak of. Fairly light bodied and weak. I'd almost swear this was a macro.

Not a very good Helles -- a decent All Malt American Lager I guess but not one I'd go back to.

Per Victory website: 4.8% ABV

Serving type: on-tap

06-23-2005 17:37:09 | More by RBorsato

BuckSpin

Maine

3.38/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Enjoyed the Hop Devil so much I jumped at the chance to try this, but must say I was very disapointed. Poured a pale yellow gold with a 1/2" white head of tight foam that had a little lacing going on. Nose was sweet, lite, nothing spectacular. Tasted very even, nicely balanced, with perhaps some very mild hoppiness and an excuse of some spice as it warmed. Very little body, finished a little watery. I would take a Yuengling over this.

Serving type: on-tap

04-13-2005 22:50:57 | More by BuckSpin

Gavage

New Jersey

3.2/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Clear yellow in color with a short white 1/4" head that disappeared quicker than your can say Downingtown Pennsylvania. No lacing either. The aroma was very faint, as some malts are detectable. The flavor is not what most are used to with Victory brews, as the mild malt and soft bitterness don't overly excite your tongue. The mouthfeel was clean and crisp. No noticeable aftertaste. Drinkability is there, but flavor component is lacking to make this a more interesting brew. This is a perfect beer for the macro drinkers in the crowd and maybe it will spark interest in trying some of Victory's better offerings.

Serving type: on-tap

10-25-2004 21:40:16 | More by Gavage

Boto

Connecticut

3.75/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Draught @ Victory: The new All-Malt Lager is a pretty good beer. This was a clear golden yellow color. There was a bit of a white head. Fortunately, it wasn’t fizzy. As expected, the aroma was a little light. It was pleasing, hoever, with hints of malt and hops. The taste wasn’t too bad either. Definitely lighter in body, but a pleasing mix of malts and hops. The brewery probably refers to this as "billpayer beer" as it definitely appeals to the masses.

Serving type: on-tap

09-09-2004 20:50:30 | More by Boto

ppoitras

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Part of the Poitras/VA 2004 vacation.

Enjoyed on tap at Capital Ale House - Innsbrook, Glen Allen, VA

14oz pils glass presentation. White 1/2" head over a plae straw brew, and no lacing present. Light pale malt aroma, and the flavor expanded on this with the crisp malt character leading up to a hoppy finish. Mouthfeel and drinkability excellent.

Serving type: on-tap

07-09-2004 12:21:46 | More by ppoitras

shapudding

Pennsylvania

3.13/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap at the drafting room. Clear and very light golden with a small amount of white head that left a creamy ring. Floral and fruit scents, little bit of white grapes. Very light tasting, clear and watery, lightly reminiscant of fruit. I want to say it is one dimensional, but I do catch alot of fruits and flowers in it... No body to speak of, but drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap

06-28-2004 00:37:42 | More by shapudding

guinness33

New Jersey

2.93/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

victory really continues to disappoint me. with exception of the wonderfully tasty hopdevil, the other brews of theirs that i've sampled thusfar really seem to be below the standards that i had hoped for them. the all malt lager is easily the worst of the lot that i have had. it pours a macro looking crisp straw golden colour with no head. i was very disappointed here. the smell and taste: average to slightly below average. both are watery and malty with a touch of grass, sweetness and hops. any flavour is way in the back behind the watery characteristics that dominate here. there's nothing here, really. bland. boring. blah. the one thing i will give this brew is that it is crisp and refreshing on a hot summer day, a bit moreso than your standard macro would be/is. this one is better than those macros, but not by much. i expected more from you victory and you keep disappointing. convince me otherwise...please.

Serving type: on-tap

06-25-2004 20:58:30 | More by guinness33

meathookjones

Virginia

3.53/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance is a slightly hazy deep yellow with a decent sized white head that goes quick. A bit of lacing remains throughout the life of the brew. Smells of malt and earthy hops with notes of spice and a few other things. This tastes of a wheat/grainy malt flavor with a slight sweetness. There is a small hop taste in there as well but I can’t detect much else. Mouthfeel is decent with good carbonation. This is a beer that would be good to give to someone who is used to macros to try and convert them. A fairly tasty lager that I would probably get again.

Serving type: on-tap

06-10-2004 14:53:32 | More by meathookjones

roguetester

Pennsylvania

2.5/5  rDev -30.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

This is a review of the reformulated All Malt Lager. It is now "Helles Style". I picked up a growle of the beer while in the area and took it home to sample...

The beer poured with a large white head that dissapated quickly. Beer is extremely clear, light yellow in color.

I'm not sure what Hops variety added to the aroma, but I did not like it. It may be the style, but I was not a fan. It seemed rather pungent.

The taste was clean as was the aftertaste. Very little in the way of malt or hops flavoring. This beer is about as easy drinking as they make them.

I'm having a hard time trying to describe this beer without using phrases like Bud or Miller. Helles is Germany for light and this tasted like a light beer. There was an article in the forum about if breweries should have guest light beers on tap. I think Victory has answered by creating this lowest common denominator brew.

Having gone to High School I consider Victory my home town brewery and support them when I can. I, however, do not have much good to say about the new All Malt Lager.

Serving type: on-tap

08-03-2003 11:21:16 | More by roguetester

bierman2000

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Smooth malty lager that is quite thirst quenching and low in ABV so this lends it to being highly drinkable. Light amber in color and very full bodied for a lager it is another excellent beer from Victory, with a hoppy finish and floral bouquet. Smooth mouthfeel and taste make this a great year round beer. Better on tap.

Serving type: on-tap

07-05-2003 13:45:56 | More by bierman2000

dmarch

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Everybody around here loves yuengling so there alway scared to try any of Victory's beers. This is the one I always tell them to get. It's always available and it gives the macro something they can not only enjoy, but appreciate. Clear copper in color with a fluffy white head. Sweet maltiness in the aroma and slight hops. Taste is malty with a slight flavor of hops in the finish, not much bitterness from the hops. For what it is, it's a great beer. It's like they just did what every macro brewery does, only they did it much better.

Serving type: on-tap

07-05-2003 11:26:10 | More by dmarch

oberon

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured a nice deep golden color with nice rocky head,a slight malty sweet aroma not much to speak of.taste was nice and fruity witha good malt backbone,very drinkable.A real nice lager not to wimpy but realy drinkable,I would seek it out again when i wanna drink something a little lighter but with some real substance.

Serving type: on-tap

05-28-2003 18:42:34 | More by oberon

goindownsouth

South Carolina

3.63/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I am traditionally not a Lager fan, but this one was an eye-opener. Very malty, with some diversity mixed in, this brew was very earthy and hearty, but in a very good way. Combine that with the fact that it goes well with some of the more carnivorous items on Victory's grub menu. Worth the try.

Prost!

Serving type: on-tap

04-19-2003 15:53:17 | More by goindownsouth

pezoids

Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

This beer poured a bright and clear amber color with a thin white head. A very easy drinking light to medium bodied lager beer that matched perfectly with the wings I was having. Well controlled hop bitterness and a nice malty aroma. Similar to but easier drinking than the Yuengling Traditional lager I’m quite used to.
A good average beer.

8/3/03:

Bought a case of this recently and I don't remember this beer being so light in color. it's a golden color with tinges of amber. Still very good, but doesn't seem as malty as the above draft version.

Serving type: on-tap

04-06-2003 14:01:27 | More by pezoids

OldFrothingSlosh

Pennsylvania

2.95/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: Bright golden-blond color with no head and minimal lacing.

Smell: Grainy and malty with a little citrus in the background.

Taste: Not very appealing to me. The first thing I thought of when I tasted this beer was "Budweiser". Too much of a "grainy" flavor and it lacked substantial sweetness, too.

Mouthfeel: Not a lot to get excited about here. Barely any carbonation to speak of detracts somewhat.

Drinkability: Not a beer that I cared for. I was too reminded of a macro beer. It's interesting to read the other reviews of this beer. Most seem to think that it is a very good example of this beer style. Given that this is the first beer of this style I've reviewed, I am probably not fully appreciating what this beer has to offer, but I just didn't care for it. One positive thing to take away from this is that I like hops (and lots of 'em) in my beer.

Serving type: on-tap

01-28-2003 11:07:59 | More by OldFrothingSlosh

metter98

New York

3.75/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: The beer is slightly hazy in color and has a slight amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a thin white head that died down, leaving a thin layer of bubbles on the surface.
S: Light to moderate aromas of bready malts and spicy hops.
T: The taste is similar to the smell and has lots of flavors of bready malts along with notes of spicy hops towards the finish. There is a light amount of bitterness.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied and clean on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is easy to drink and very well balanced. It is a good representation of the style. I could drink this all day long if I was sitting in a biergarten.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2013 17:17:10 | More by metter98

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.79/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

A: Pours a very lightly hazy medium straw yellow in color with moderate amounts of visible carbonation and golden yellow highlights. The beer has a half finger tall sudsy white head that reduces to a medium patch of very thin film and a thin ring of large bubbles at the edges of the glass. Light to moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of bready and grainy malts with slightly lighter notes of spicy hops.

T: Similar to the smell, upfront there are moderate flavors of bready malts with a lighter amount of grainy malts and just a touch of sweetness. There are moderate flavors of spicy and herbal hops that results in a light to moderate amount of bitterness which lingers but only for a short amount of time.

M: Light to medium bodied with moderate to heavy amounts of carbonation.

O: Very enjoyable and easy to drink, reminds me of sitting in a biergarten enjoying a pleasant afternoon. The lighter body, low ABV (which is well hidden), and enjoyable flavors make this one I would definitely have again.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2013 17:12:29 | More by dbrauneis

horshack7

Massachusetts

3.55/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Poured into a Pilsner glass is a clear golden colored beer with only one finger of head.

Aroma: Golden raisins, dates, mild apricot, grassy, touch of biscuit. Twinge of dryness in the nose, and sweet maltiness.

Taste: Light bodied, grassy, apricot, light raisins and a crisp mouthfeel that finishes nice and dry.

Notes: Very drinkable all around good for anytime of year but even better for a warm day. Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2013 23:58:02 | More by horshack7

tone77

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a light golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is malty, slightly sweet. Taste is crisp, malts, some grains, refreshing. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a decent brew, probably best enjoyed in warmer weather.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2012 21:11:13 | More by tone77

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.63/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from bottle into pint glass

Appearance – Poured a pale yellow colored brew with a big white head. The head has a good level of retention but eventually fades to leave very little lacing.

Smell – The aroma is heaviest of a bready and caramel smell with some lighter hints of citrus.

Taste – The taste on this one is rather simple and non-complex. It taste begins with some lighter malty and bready flavor. These flavors are soon met by a light caramel sweetness and a light citrus flavor which take the taste to its end.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is light and the carbonation rather average. The light body suited the simplicity of the beer very well. A little more carbonation may have better suited the brew however by making it even more refreshing. With that said however, the mouthfeel overall was still done rather nicely.

Overall – Very easy drinking and a nice session style brew. Good for drinking on long nights with pals.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2012 02:11:42 | More by Darkmagus82