Hop Wallop - Victory Brewing Company

Ianhockey91

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +22%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Wow! A phenominal ipa, this is one for the ages. Pours out a nice darker golden color with a white head that leaves a beautiful amount of lace, i mean its a work of art in its own right. The smell is overwhelmingly citrusy, wit ha hint of alcohol and very little malt. The taste, ohhh the taste, hops hops and more hops. The malt is light in character and doesnt have too much presence. Its a bit sweet up front and then you "get walloped" bith a citrus blast of hops towards the end all followed up with a touch of alcohol. Perfect Perfect Perfect.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2003 00:17:43 | More by Ianhockey91

Jarod

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Jaysus for the tip on where to buy this one.
Dated 12/11/03

Well what can I say about this beer. It poured a simply beautiful pure spun golden color, 24 karat and was crystal clear, and well carbonated. The head that it produced was an off white, butter cream color that was thick, creamy, rich and sticky ( I know because I stuck my finger in it and it just pulled away a small peak from the beer and left a peak on my finger tip. It lasted fairly well, and then when it finally fell it fell to a small skim on the surface and a healthy ring on the edges. There was really nice lace left behind, at first it was in a thick sheet then started to break off into a nice speckled lace ½ way to the end of the glass. The aroma was dominated by hops. Fresh hops, dried hops, whole hop cones and the leafs of the hops. I also noticed a tad bit of sweet malt as it warmed in the back of the nose. But this one is all hops my friends. The flavors that danced across my tongue were similar to the nose but more complex. First I got a micro second taste of a sweet malt the it was conquered quickly by all the hops, (fresh, whole leafy, you name it), then a nice carbonated bite came across my tongue along with a Christmas tree, some fresh fruit (grape fruit, apple, pear), light but noticeable, then finished with a spicy bite and more hops as it flowed down to the belly. The after taste was more of a piney taste then anything. The abv of 8.5% was not noticeable at all, which was a big surprise to me. The body was on the medium to heavier medium side. It was a bit chewy at times. If one word describes this beer it would be “HOPS”, or 2 words “complex hops”. There is allot of things going on with this beer. Granted dominated by hops, but as it raises a few degrees more and more flavors become present. It certainly mellows and becomes smoother as it warms. A real treat to drink again and again.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2003 22:14:07 | More by Jarod

goindownsouth

South Carolina

4.4/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I am generally not one that buys into hype surrounding a brew, even though this hype was coming from Victoryville, Pennsylvania. This beer was purchased at Tanczos in Northampton on 12/19/03 and it was bottled just 2 days prior. That deserves a "yo!" India Pale Ales are, without a doubt my favorite style of brew, given their complexity and depth of aroma and flavor. Enough about me, let's get to this brew. I poured this bad boy out of the 12 oz. ever-so-entertaining bottle and the color was a little more pale then I had expected, but still, a great head and a fantastic looking glass of beer. The aroma is amazing, similar to some of the best IPAs I have ever had, yet so damn different. It is complex and ohhh so hoppy. The hop aroma smacks you in the face immediately, and leaves you asking for more...because you want it. The first sip, slowly taking the glass to your lips to get a good whiff of the brew as you drink, and you are transcended into a time and place that is boardering on otherworldly. The flavor offers notes of pine and citrus (apricot so my wife and I say). This brew just glides back against your palate with solid carbination and mouth feel. I cannot believe how much I enjoyed that first bottle. If you can find it, and that will not be easy, get some. It is well worth it.

Zum wohl!

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2003 15:57:10 | More by goindownsouth

frank4sail

New Jersey

4.93/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Golden peach crystal clear color with lots of little bubbles in the glass.. Beautiful jewel (it shimmers in the glass) of a beer. Rich thick white head on the pour leaves within 5 minutes (due to abv). But there is a constant white sheen and nice lacing effect on the glass at all times. Fresh grapefruit rind and orange peel nose. Smells like you are in a citrus grove in Florida. The inital smooth sweet malt taste is quickly slammed on the tongue by a huge excuse the expression "wallop of grapefruit hop juice". If you were not a hop fan like myself you would freak.. The grapefruit sting then is mellowed in the finish with a touch of lemon and a malty smoothness comforts the abused tongue. Balence in the abuse. Medium to fuller body with a nice smooth lively mouth. Very flowery and floral upfront as well.

This brew lives up to the talk... Victory please don't change a thing, except offer it for wider distribution... It was worth my quite long drive to get it.... A very pretty, flavorful, satisfying brew.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2003 03:09:38 | More by frank4sail

Maestro

Pennsylvania

4.7/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I skipped out of work today for about 45 minutes to pick up the last case at the local distributor. It is about 10:30pm and I just filled a pint glass. The nose is amazing with a very strong, rich hop character. The head is quite good. It gets thin but leaves a very thick lacing, like a milkshake. The beer is golden in color. I'd love to switch it with somebody's BUD and see what happens. The taste is outstanding. There is a very clean, crisp bite. The taste is rich and has strong grapefruit-like tastes. The alcohol isn't noticeable because the hops cover it up. I haven't had an IPA this good, ever. I hope that they make more of this. I guess I am one of the lucky guys to get one of the 300 cases produced.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2003 03:41:03 | More by Maestro

Edwin

Pennsylvania

4.68/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

After reading the insane hype on this while at work, I called and reserved a case of this brew. Got to the store and they had sold my case. Needless to say I was not happy (Jaysus, you dirty bastard :) ), but I took it with good humor and kindly asked the guy to call another beer store and see if they had it. They did. Good ol' Glen Miller's. I fought rush hour traffic and finally got my hands on this case an hour and a half after setting out to buy it. I have waited for it to cool a bit and now is the moment of Zen...

In the immortal words: "Momma said knock you out."

Every sip makes me smile. This is the no-diversion hop explosion I have been waiting for. I am giddy writing this review. I whole-heartedly felt that my $42.00 was going to go completely down the tubes. I could not have been more wrong.

Appearance: More gold than I had thought it would be. A golden delight that completely fools you on the style. A nice, white head with some lacing left over.

Smell: The smell is of hops. Not much else, as I don't think their intent was to include anything else. A great hop smell that is every bit as good as advertised.

Taste: Effin' great. If you like hops and Imperial IPA's, this beer is your bitch. This is the girl that you take to the prom and don't hook up with because you are too afraid to lose her, but she ends up wanting it bad anyway and your night quickly goes from good to great. The taste is of hops, hops, and...um...hops. Some more beer goodness in there, but no fruitiness or other flavors. Perhaps a slight alcohol tinge on the end. An outstanding hop flavor.

Mouthfeel: Mellow, but with a slightly bitter hoppiness that hop-heads will not only love, but savor. A smoothness that you will not believe.

Drinkability: If you are into hoppy beer, you will drink more than 2 of these in a sitting. This brew does not ask nicely, it DEMANDS you drink a few and love it. It goes down easy and the flavor is so nice that you will constantly find yourself having more. Only thing you have to watch is the 8.5% ABV.

In conclusion: DRINK THIS BEER. I am convinced it will solve world hunger, bring peace to the middle east, make models like me, promote me, and make my penis grow. It's pretty darn good.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2003 00:00:47 | More by Edwin