Yakima Glory - Victory Brewing Company

DIM

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

a: This was a clear, dark mahogany color, very pretty. It poured with a sticky off-white frothy head.

s: This is definitely hop forward with aromas of lemon rind and some freshly broken pine needles. More citrus than pine though. Strong, sweet caramel malts punctuated by some solventy heat.

t: Up front, big fresh lemony hops fade into sweet caramel malts with some surprising chocolate flavors. This last part caught me off-guard at first, but it works extremely well with this one. The finish brings a piny hop bite that leaves a residual, generic tasting astringent bitterness. Too bad about the finish, this was almost great.

m: Spot-on long lasting carbonation. I love Victory's automated growler filler! That lingering astringency is a drawback unfortunately.

d: I did like this a lot, but I wanted to like it more. As others have mentioned, this does walk the line between American b-wine and DIPA. It looks like a b-wine, but I think it is more of a DIPA. Interesting stuff from Victory.

Serving type: growler

12-24-2008 11:49:42 | More by DIM

marcpal

New Jersey

4.45/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

On cask and regular tap both tried at the brewpub. One of the rare beers where when side by side I strongly preferred the regular over cask. Once warmed from regular pour, flavors were great.

A: Dark mahogany- this is an IPA of any sort? Caramel colored body that is pretty vacant of bubbles and thin but creamy head.

S: Citrus and sweet. As it warmed, the bready flavors come out- something of a good hearty rye toasted IPA. Toasty and inviting.

T: Malty sweet finishing with a hop oil residue on the cheeks and tongue. Citrus bitterness that is supremely balanced with woody flavors and hop juice. Balanced as balanced can be. I would not have blindly recognized it as a DIPA, credit the brewer there.

M: Creamy texture, lightly carbonated and not wet. Oily resins are just enough to coat the tongue but not one sided. Virtually no heat whatsoever.

D: This is more of an IPA in flavor to me, its just not an over the top hop kick in the face. I detect zero, I mean zero, alcohol fumes in the taste, smell, or mouthfeel. I had several and this could be dangerous but enjoyable.

This should replace (yes, blasphemy to some) should replace the Wallop as their seasonal. Superb beer.

Serving type: on-tap

12-19-2008 00:45:20 | More by marcpal

gdfan47

Pennsylvania

4.47/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A- Pours a light to darkish chocolate color with that lets some light in, Huge froathy off white head (larger than the liquid)
S- Hops, some subtle malt notes, hops again, flowers
T- Earthy, hops, a little sugar, its hard to pick out what hops, but there are few
M- probably the most deceptivly tasting beer I have had, it looks like a stout, but finishes and has very simular characteristics of An IPA/DIPA
D- I dig this alot, but the high abv make it to high for a session beer , but def if you wanna get tipsy.. have a few of these

I hope Victory decides to make it again, it has great marketing value in my opinion

Serving type: cask

12-18-2008 07:39:56 | More by gdfan47

HopDerek

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served on cask at Victory Brewing on 12/12/08, a small glass.

Poured a muddy chestnut color with 1 finger of creamy tan/creme colored head. Good retention and nice sticky lacing blotches. Smells of floral hops, pine resin, chocolate, dark fruits, and rye bread. Tastes of pine, chocolate, roasted malt, rye, caramel, raisins, and a combination of citrus, mint, and earthy hops with a nice warmth of alcohol to finish. Medium-fullish in body, though a little watery with moderate carbonation. Smooth with a good hop bite right from the start, but also a nice balance with the rye and roasted malt. Kind of hard to distinguish what style this beer is, definitely middle ground between a double IPA and a barleywine with even some candidacy for Black IPA. A good brew but hard to classify and therefore hard to determine when I would want to drink it.

Serving type: cask

12-18-2008 03:53:01 | More by HopDerek

hopdog

Pennsylvania

4.45/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pint on tap at Capones.

Poured a darker brown color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of pine, earhty, roasty, floral, toasted malts, and some citrus. Tastes of pine, roasted malts, earthy, citrus, and lighter caramel. Alcohol content well hidden. Lacing left on the glass. More on the hoppy side vs. a balanced IIPA. If I had to choose, I would list this under and IPA, although if a Black IPA were a style, this would fit that.

Serving type: on-tap

12-16-2008 19:32:03 | More by hopdog

ffejherb

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On cask at Victory on 12/12/08.

A - Deep chestnut brown body with lighter nut brown and deep reddish hues at the bottom and one-finger creamy beige head that retained quite well.

S - Earthy, woody and herbal notes dominate the aroma, while an underlyng mild rye presence pokes through the hops. Citrus hops also emerge as it warmed up a bit. Malt is crackery/pretzel-ish with a pinch of salt.

T - Dark malt character with a pretty subtle amount of hops for a DIPA. Earthy, herbal and minty hops parade across the taste buds, while some citrus hops emerge in the middle. Malt has a dark roasted character with mild chocolate notes.

M - Smooth and creamy, albeit a tad watery, texture with a soft mouthfeel. Bitterness lingers for a while on the palate. Finish is a bit dry overall.

D - Hard to wrap my head arond this one. There's a lot going on with this one. It's almost more like an American barleywine than a DIPA, but there is also a dark malt aspect with this brew, giving it yet another interesting twist.

Serving type: cask

12-13-2008 22:31:51 | More by ffejherb

weeare138

Pennsylvania

3.35/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Capone's...
Appears a semi-transparent dark chestnut toned brown with tons of CO2 rising to the top. A fluffy tan head of silk slowly fades into a floating cap. Scattered spots of lacing are left around the glass.
Smell is of huge amounts of citrusy, piney hops with notes of rye, cocoa, ripe fruite, spices, and saw dust.
Taste is of the mentioned aromas with some woody notes that lead to a borderline acidic flavor. Sort of a strange, dry, astringent, grainy flavor follows that I'm on the fence about. I liked it at first but it starts to turn me off and make me wish that I didn't have an entire pint of this to finish.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, astringent, zingy, spicy, dry, and lip smacking with an astringent bite that makes this less balanced and leaning way on the bitter side of the spectrum than a balanced beer.
I'm not sure I'd classify this as a Double IPA. It reminds me a little bit of a beer my good friend, Shaun Hill brewed a few years back called Isabella(named after my daughter). This one has a unique hoppiness and a distinct dryness to it that gives me a "rye" impression. The lack of a malty backbone is the only thing that seems to be suffering in this beer. I'd be curious to try it on cask at some point.

Serving type: on-tap

12-12-2008 02:10:11 | More by weeare138

sholland119

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

On tap at the Drafting Room Exton, this is another in a line of first time beers brewed in the new, larger facility. I don't think I had a dark DIPA before.

A-A very dark amber brown, with a very thin white head an a little bit of lacing.

S-Roasted and caramel malts with some floral and citrus hops. A bit light on the hops for the style.

T-Kind of a disappointment. The malt sweetness and the floral hop flavors never really blend together. I can taste them separately but very distinctly.

M-Nice, a bit heavy on the medium side.

D-Yeah, not bad, but not my favorite thing.

I love the new styles and challenges the new Victory capacity allows. I did not care a lot for this one, though. Maybe my expectations were too high.

HV

Serving type: on-tap

12-06-2008 02:29:51 | More by sholland119