Festbier - Victory Brewing Company

goindownsouth

South Carolina

4.1/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A great auburn color with legitimate hop aroma and flavor. An intriguing brew, to say the least. Possibly, next to the Hop Devil, my favorite brew on Victory's menu. Very malty in the nose and on the palate, this bier offers little in the way of a lingering head, but do not fret, this one is a winner. One of the better Marzen-style brews I have had in quite some time. Seek and ye shall find!

Prost!

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2003 12:24:16 | More by goindownsouth

WVbeergeek

Ohio

4.43/5  rDev +18.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Appearance: Copper amber with an orange glow to it leaves a nice sized cream vanilla colored head with sufficient lacing left after the foam wains away. Aroma: Slight floral hop note lingers in there but more importantly a toasted malt character that is possibly the most delicate and pleasant from an Oktoberfest bier to this point mildly sweet Bavarian malts a blended so nicely here. Tase: Defines a well balanced beer, not tame or muted just made in an accurate approach toward the Oktoberfest or Marzen style that is consumed by the liter in Munich every year rolling syrup like malt sweetness with toasted nuts representing as the backbone of delicious tasty brew from Victory. Mouthfeel: Not watery but medium to light bodied has a slightly sticky texture that glides well down the palate. Drinkabilty: Must surely be the most drinkable example of an American made Ofest to date, wow just awesome beer everyone needs to sample this beer then go out and buy a case like I am going to.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2003 22:41:51 | More by WVbeergeek

goz

Massachusetts

3.28/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Slightly red-tinged amber, big white head that diminishes fairly quickly, and leaves very little lacing. Aroma is very light, some maltiness but not much else. Flavor is also fairly light, some caramel and other malt sweetness, and maybe a minimal hop hit at the end. Body is medium at best, mild carbonation, drinks easily, but is noting spectacular.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2003 02:38:13 | More by goz

shirfan

New York

3.68/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Copper-orange with a thin but sticky cream-colored head.
Aroma is a bit weak, only giving away a vague bicuity malt.

Taste is medium-bodied, clean bready malts predominate. Light on hops; just a hint of bitterness before an almost soda pop finish.

Carbonation is a little high for an otherwise smooth mouthfeel.

A good beer, but not in the stratosphere like most of Victory's offerings.

Serving type: bottle

09-10-2003 02:37:02 | More by shirfan

dmarch

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Copper in color with a thin white head that leaves a nice lace. Malty aroma with just a hint of hops. Taste is on the sweet side with a caramel flavor. It's easy drinkability makes it an excellent session beer. Another solid beer from victory. One of the better oktoberfests I've had.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2003 20:32:26 | More by dmarch

oberon

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Straight 4's on this one,pours a nice amber color with a medium head that leaves a little lacing, aroma is of caramel toffee very appetizing.Taste is malty and doughy with some soapiness in the finish.Nice toasted malt flavor as well,pretty drinkable.Man I love this time of year!

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2003 17:29:02 | More by oberon

sponberg

New York

3.6/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a deep amber/orange with a thin head that gets thinner rapidly. Bready, sweet malt aroma - to style.

Sweet maltiness abounds, with decoction like flavors and some slightly weird fruitiness that I can't quite figure out - it's not there when cold, and shows up when it's warm, a sort of fig like flavor? Very round flavor overall. Finishes a touch on the phenolic side, with a slightly numbing-the-tip-of-the-tongue effect alongside some green apple and toasted malt flavors. About 9/10 of the way to being an outstanding Ofest.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2003 02:22:25 | More by sponberg

thefireman

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured dark copper with an ample, beige head, which quickly dissipated. Good lace throughout. Malty at first, good smell. Slightly sweet, but finishes with the trademark hoppy bitterness. Mouthfeel is ok.

Not the greatest Victory product, but would purchase again.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2003 18:48:13 | More by thefireman

mzwolinski

California

3.95/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Clear copper in color, with a thin, light tan head. The aroma is malty sweet, with doughy bread notes. Malt dominates the taste as well, starting off sweet and developing a pleasant toastiness mid-palate. Bit of a nutty flavor forms there too, and sticks around. Finish is lightly accented with herbal hop flavor, and the aftertaste is sweet. Medium-light in body, but well-carbonated and hopped well enough to prevent the taste from becoming cloying. Very drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2003 18:41:18 | More by mzwolinski

tavernjef

Minnesota

3.95/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Nice orangey glow and copper in color, good white head that stuck around the glass. Smell was all over the place, very complex for an Oktoberfest. Lots of sweet smelling hops and malts, some nutty notes and roasted barley and some pale citrus. Taste was pretty decent, not bad at all. Kinda sweet and malty bitter, very clean hop feel, a bit watery with a slight sweet twinge on the tongue. Its a drinkable fest, but this could be bolder and slightly heavier. Nothing really wrong with it, a bit of a different approach to the fest style then I'm use to.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2003 10:45:58 | More by tavernjef

maxpower

Missouri

3/5  rDev -19.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Clear orange-copper color, nice white foamy head. Has a light flowery and malty caremel aromas, sweet, balanced malts and clean tasting, light body, a little thin semi-watery mouthfeel, this is a decent oktoberfest, but nothing special, there are alot of other better ones out there.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2003 14:05:11 | More by maxpower

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.22/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Creamy, bubbling, humdinger head; a perfect darkish amber color. Aroma: fresh, clean, floral, nuts, buttery and sweet, vanilla, bananas, soft spices. Little hops, heavy with malt. Incredibly sweet on the tongue, long and lovely finish. A tasty sizzle on the palate, very flavorful, and an unusually characterful lager. One of the more subtle, but satisfying Oktoberfests I've ever enjoyed.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2002 20:31:31 | More by feloniousmonk

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.47/5  rDev +19.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

In my opinion, one of the finest domestically brewed Oktoberfests; but more importantly, one that easily rivals those of Munich! It pours a clear reddish/orange-tinted amber body topped by a frothy ivory head that holds quite well and leaves some very nice lace. Clearly well-brewed! The aroma begs you to delve deeper with a softly sweet and mildly toasty (even gently bready) maltiness that's enhanced by a delicate floral hoppiness that's quite alluring! The mouthfeel is gently crisp from a fine carbonation, and slick across the palate with a medium/full maltiness. The flavor starts with a sweetish maltiness that expresses a soft toastiness and mild toffee notes as well as some lightly floral hop flavor. It sweetens slightly as it warms, but then finishes dry with some gentle bitterness and a lingering nutty and toasty 'crust of bread' note that gives it exceptional drinkability. It continually becons to you taste again! Exceptionally well-balanced and rich without being overbearing! As much as Victory is known for their heavy-handed beers (such as the hop drenched Prima Pils), they should also be recognized for their beers that display impeccable balance. This is one of them and it should not be overlooked!

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2002 18:35:18 | More by NeroFiddled

Jarod

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer poured into the glass a amber/copper/orange color and was very clear, very bright, seemed to glow with the light. The head had an orange tint to its big foamy white mound. The aroma was of herbs, hops, bread (yeasty) malt and some hints of alcohol near the end, slight. The taste was of roasted bread malt, herbs, hops, caramel seemed to pick up near the middle of the tongue then ends with the nutty malt and slightly bitter hops flavor. A good example of this style of fest beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2002 09:38:12 | More by Jarod

the42ndtourist

Ontario (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A golden copper colour - amber, if you will. Little head, and not much lacing either, still it seems to suit the beer. Everything about this brew is smooth - smooth but unobtrusive maltiness, an ever so slight bitter finish, a smooth aftertaste that loses all bitterness. Very drinkable.

This went perfectly with the meatless burger (surprisingly tasty) that I shared it with. They complemented each other very well.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2002 16:45:28 | More by the42ndtourist

frank4sail

New Jersey

2.45/5  rDev -34.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Musty malt/old sneaker smell. Crystal amber color. No lasting head at all. Sweet chewy malt flavor with a smidge of hops. Very dissapointing effort for one of my favorite breweries. The label says victory but the taste is not one of a victory product. Overly sweet, unbalenced, and no head retention at all. Like sweet syrup.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2002 08:56:32 | More by frank4sail

RonfromJersey

New Jersey

4.13/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Clear bright copper body with a fine, steady stream of carbonation. Head came foamy up, and quickly left, leaving behind the thinnest of tops. Aroma is of fresh bread from the bakery up the block, not strong, but there. Taste is of deep, toasted malts, a hint of dark chocolate. Not overly, cloyingly sweet. Just a whisper of hops, I believe they are there, but can't be sure. Second best domestic O'fest I've had this season.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2002 20:43:59 | More by RonfromJersey

ZAP

Minnesota

4.13/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A malty, clean tasting 'fest that is highly drinkable....looks great in the glass....orangish...lace coats glass nicely...nose is of sweet malts...the body rates about medium....tastes of sweet malt and toasted grains...finishes on a dry, spicy note....very drinkable...very tasty....one of the better O'fests I've had this year...

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2002 21:12:55 | More by ZAP

Scoats

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -19.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Unlike several American takes on o-fests, like Flying Fish and Brooklyn, which have a great hoppy finish, this beer beer seems to be very true to what I recall of real German o-fests. Very malty, somewhat sweet and not very hoppy. The result is a beer that is very well made, very true to the style, but to my tastes not very satisfying. Not by any means dumbed down, but not smarted up either.

Heaven knows Victory has more than enough great beers to keep us beer geeks more than happy.This one though is probably made to keep their less adventurous brewpub patrons content.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2002 06:19:10 | More by Scoats

Thrasher

Oregon

3/5  rDev -19.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Clear amber with full head that completely vanished. Aroma mostly of caramel malts. Victory has put forth a big sturdy malt base for this beer... and leaves it at that. No appetizing hop dryness, no traditional spiciness. Just a sweet syrup of a beer, hints of butter but cloying. Well-made but ho-hum, esp. for Victory. Drinkability low for a Fest, since the hops do not pull their weight in creating a dry tasty finish or spiciness. Not bad by any means, in fact those who don't warm to O'Fests might actually enjoy this especially if they roam around the dopplebock end of the spectrum. May also be good for cooking.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2002 19:52:11 | More by Thrasher

Jason

Massachusetts

3.68/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Presentation: 12 oz brown long neck bottle with no freshness date.

Appearance: Big bubbly and frothy head, good retention at that. Light orangey copper hue that shows bright to the light. An appetizing brew.

Smell: Aromas of doughy bread, herbal hop and a clean alcohol in the rear. Clean to the nose yet still quite aromatic.

Taste: Sturdy medium body laying down a slick and crisp mouth feel. Big twang of toasted malt and soft herbal hop runs across the palate. Chewy hit of caramel in the middle, a tasty hit I might say. Maltiness is clean yet flamboyant with an icing of nutty toasted grain. Herbal hop is very noticeable with an ample bitterness and long lingering flavour. Finishes semi-dry with faint toasted grain.

Notes: Next time I have this beer I’m going to pair it up with a big fat juicy Ruben … extra kraut please. I think Victory tackled the style quite well with this one, a must try for any beer geek that makes their round of Oktoberfest Beers.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2002 18:34:06 | More by Jason

RBorsato

Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +20.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Dark gold, light amber color with a low head. Light spicy malt aroma and an awesome candy-like sweet flavor (reminiscent of smarties?). There was a nutty character as time went on. A medium bodied and creamy brew. One of the best American style Oktoberfests in my tasting.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2002 07:49:05 | More by RBorsato

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.08/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This beer is a clear amber, but lacks a head. Only a slight collar is present. Aroma is full of a deep maltiness. A bit of a candied like aroma is also present. Has a medium full body. And unlike many ofest, this one has a taste I can get in to. I think it's got a little bit more of a munich and vienna characteristic than a lot of the other ofests. The hebal hops accent very nicely as well. This is a nicely put together oktoberfest. Very clean tasting and highly drinkable. Nice effort from the gang at Victory.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2002 21:14:16 | More by Bighuge

garymuchow

Minnesota

3.73/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Looks very much like an Am. version of style, in that greater attention to amber-orange color (it seems many German ones aren't so dark). Big to huge full head. Light toast, yet pleasantly sweet malt aroma. Flavor is adequate for style, maltiness with roasty quality, yet non-distinct for many I've sampled this autumn. Very nice creaminess to mouthfeel, with nice richness without being heavy, and not excessive in carbonation. Finish is fairly long lasting with pleasing dryness of the malt and not bitter.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2002 18:04:51 | More by garymuchow

ADR

Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Deep orangey color, 1/2 inch foam settles to a skim in about a minute. Malty aroma, but a little tang in there. Malty while not being overly sweet, good body early. Proper sense of a good toast and a clean finish. A little more hops than some, while lacking some nutty qualities. There seems to be a variety of opinions on this beer, I found this suitable for style while a little hoppy and quite drinkable. Aged properly, according to Marzen style.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2002 10:45:21 | More by ADR