Altbier - Victory Brewing Company

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.1/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Max's today.

The beer pours a glowing copper amber color wit good head retention and lacing. The nose is impressive, showing cereal, sweet malt and a bit of black pepper. Mouthfeel replicates the nose, and I'm impressed by the amount of flavor this low abv. beer delivers. The beer also has a slight fruity flavor, that blends in well with the light hoppy bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, and drinkability is exceptional. Could easily drink a bunch of this, and at 4.5% abv., can't imagine what would stop me.

Impressive beer from Victory.

Serving type: on-tap

05-19-2010 23:24:03 | More by johnmichaelsen

Immortale25

Florida

4.1/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a Bell's pint at The Local Miami.

A- Pours a dark amber color with a 1/4 inch head that soon becomes a thick ring around the edge of the glass and a full sheet of bubbly surface foam. Non-resilient lacing slides quickly down the glass.

S- Bready malt aroma with a mild hop smell and nearly no alcohol.

T- Well-balanced flavor of soft malt and moderate bitterness. Very easy to drink as it should be for only 4.5% ABV. Slightly sweet and refined, almost like a lager which isn't surprising. A bit toasty.

M- Pretty crisp with a small bite from the hops and a medium body. Medium-low carbonation.

O- A fine session beer with plenty of character. Could definitely see myself knocking back a few of these in an outdoor setting.

Serving type: on-tap

04-03-2013 22:11:37 | More by Immortale25

david18

New York

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

I'm a big fan of German Ales (i.e. Kolsh and Altbier) and this one is quite good. Victory is very good at emulating styles and this in no exception.

A light brown color with a lighter brown head. Good fresh aroma and very drinkable. I hope to see this a lot this summer because I'll drink it when i do.

Serving type: on-tap

04-28-2010 19:06:20 | More by david18

wedge

North Carolina

3.98/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

@ Tyler's (Raleigh)

Clear, dark copper body under a fixed head of fluffy foam that leaves sheets of lace on the glass. Nutty sweet, toasty aromas...toffee, light brown sugar, and noble hops. Toasty malt flavor balanced by a solid bitterness. Spicy, noble hops, black tea, and slight minty notes. Medium-light bodied and very drinkable. I enjoyed this quite a bit.

Serving type: on-tap

08-21-2012 17:57:24 | More by wedge

tobelerone

New Jersey

3.93/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at the brewpub. Gorgeous looking beer; very clear burnished copper color, small creamy head that settles to a thin band on top; clingy sheets of lace. Mild nutty toasted bread aroma with muted grassy hops poking through just a bit.

Extremely well balanced taste combines toasted bread maltiness and that nutty note with subtle but interesting hops that feature herbal, grassy, and floral flavors. Just a hint of alcohol. Dry all around; very little sweetness, just a trace of caramel to the malt. Lightly lingering bitter aftertaste.

Medium body with moderate carbonation. Full, rounded, and very pleasing mouthfeel. A relatively subtle beer that nonetheless has a lot of depth of flavor.

Serving type: on-tap

07-03-2012 13:34:38 | More by tobelerone

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.9/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served on tap at Barcade in Jersey City, NJ

A: Pours a clear very dark amber to an almost brown in color (slightly darker than I am used to seeing for the style) with some moderate amounts of visible carbonation. The beer has a finger tall dense foamy off-white head that very slowly reduces to a thick film covering the majority of the surface of the beer and a very thick ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Light to moderate amounts of toasted malts with just a hint of toffee sweetness and a fairly strong aroma of herbal and spicy hops.

T: Similar to the smell, the taste of this beer has a the light to moderate body of the toasted malts with just a hint of toffee sweetness followed by even stronger presence of the hops. There is definitely a strong presence of herbal and spicy hops with moderate amounts of pine and citrus. Strangely, there was just a hint of something that reminded me of star anise in the background.

M: Medium bodied with moderate to heavy amounts of carbonation. Dry in the finish.

O: As someone that has visited Dusseldorf and tasted all of the Altbier available there, this beer has a slightly different twist and a much stronger presence of hops. Enjoyable but maybe not exactly true to the style.

Serving type: on-tap

09-02-2012 14:26:21 | More by dbrauneis

FickleBeast

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Growler purchased from the brewery. Poured into a nonic.

Pours a dark toffee brown color with great clarity and a nice head of foam on top. Aroma is malty, raisiny, with a touch of spicy hops.

First sip is substantially more bitter than expected. Nice munich malt body, but finishes pretty dry with a firm bitter aftertaste.

The dry finish combined with the strong bitter aftertaste knock it down a few points for me. I really like the flavor of the beer, for the split second before the bitters washes over my palate.

All in all, not too bad, but I sure wish I had brought home a growler of Hop Wallop instead :)

Serving type: growler

07-04-2012 00:18:53 | More by FickleBeast

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap at Liberty St for $5/pint. My beer arrived a dark amber color with a short white head. The aroma and flavor began with smooth caramel malts with a touch of garden spice and then finished with a very grassy orange rind hop flavor. All in all, a finely made alt. I just found there to be a dead spot in the initial flavor that detracted from an otherwise great beer.

Serving type: on-tap

05-09-2010 23:16:32 | More by tempest

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.41/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Victory. Served in a sample glass. Pale caramel with some bread in the nose. A bit of earthy hops. Light body with a dry finish. Fairly bitter. Crisp.

Serving type: on-tap

01-09-2013 12:43:51 | More by Thorpe429

MrMcGibblets

Illinois

3.15/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

on-tap at 3Fs pub.
A: served in an imperial pint glass. chestnut/deep copper and clear. decent off-white head and lacing is somewhat diminishing.
S: muted. some nuttiness and caramel.
T: quite dry and almost a bit sourish. get some nuttiness and dark bread from the malts. hops bring decent smooth spicy and earthy bitterness.
M: light to medium, astringency damages this for me.
D: a little more malt sweetness and a lack of the astringent/slightly sour character would have helped this beer immensely for me.

Serving type: nitro-tap

07-10-2010 22:40:38 | More by MrMcGibblets