Yakima Glory - Victory Brewing Company

DrJay

Massachusetts

4.35/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Clear, very dark reddish brown with a thick tan cap. Great head retention with lots of sticky lace. Very hoppy aroma, lots of pine and orange zest, sweet tarts, caramel and malt, nuts, brown sugar, very floral. Solid bitterness that lingered into the finish. Big maltiness, lots of caramel. Plenty of hoppy pine and citrus with alcohol in the finish. Medium plus body with smooth, creamy carbonation. Nice texture with a bit of warmth. Very good overall. I really liked what the addition of some darker malts did for this beer.

Serving type: on-tap

12-26-2008 20:59:32 | More by DrJay

HopHead84

California

4.05/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

01/17/2011

On tap at Stone.

A: Deep brown with a crimson tinge and a big beige head.

S: Smells like heaven compared to the Titan I just choked down. Lightly roasted with a touch of smoke and some caramel. I detect pine resin and a bit of orange. Pretty nice. Maybe some chocolate.

T: Lightly roasted with notes of chocolate and caramel. Not nearly as aggressive as other beers of the style, but elegant in its restraint. Orange flesh makes an appearance, as does pine. Pine is definitely the most pronounced hop component evident to me. There's a little sweetness, but the beer is on the dry side with ephemeral astringency in the lightly boozy finish.

M: Medium body with moderate draft carbonation and a sticky, creamy mouthfeel.

Overall: A nice beer, I wish the overeager server wouldn't have taken my glass when I got up to get another beer.

Serving type: on-tap

01-18-2011 03:34:18 | More by HopHead84

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

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

What is a woody, brick-wall auburn colour surprisingly irradiates to an almost dragon fruit pink when held directly against bright light. Its hue notwithstanding, the beer is unremitting of its deep-set opacity, hardly allowing shadows to be visible from the other side. The extravagance of tightly wound spores that tops it takes the appearance of a sponge cake.

Victory has never been one to compromise on its beers' character, so when they put the name of a hop right there in the beer's title, you can darn well expect that it'll be hoppy. The aroma certainly doesn't dance around that fact, it comes right out and says it. It is an unsparing, unsuppressed, yawning bouquet of dryness, bitterness and pithy fruitiness.

Fruits seem to be seething out from both the hops and the malts, the former infusing the beer's flavour with earthy, pithy, stiflingly citric notes while the latter submits a more sugary donation, something more akin to dried fruits. The two seem to lock horns like male rams in mating season; my palate is given both a beating and a buss.

It smacks and then it smooches, the hops kick and then the malts caress. But the fight isn't fair, the teams are lopsided: an ethanol-like alcohol freely helps in the assault. Although the beer's fruity, oxidative and vinous flavors play well into the alcohol, it is a little too assertive and overhasty, like a self-absorbed first date that comes on too strong.

It surely cannot be a coincidence that a brewery named 'Victory' is seemingly incapable of making anything less than stellar, if not spectacular beer. Like I said, Yakima Twilight has a loud, spirited personality, one that probably takes some getting to know before becoming truly comfortable around it, but that's exactly why I keep asking their beers out.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2010 23:53:43 | More by biegaman

Brad007

Vermont

3.83/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a dark brown color with burgundy highlights. Certainly not a black IPA but could pass as a Cascadian Dark Ale.

Aroma is a great mix of grassy hops and sweet malt with a hint of raisin to it. Very much similar to a barleywine.

My tongue is greeted by grassy hops with a slight citrus edge to them. Sweet with raisin and warm with alcohol as well. Again, these are the dynamics one would expect from an american barleywine.

Mouthfeel is full of lingering grassy, citrusy hops with sweet malt and alcohol heat.

Hmm. This is a tough one. It's very much delicious and all but the style just doesn't seem to fit. I would only rate it lower due to the fact that it's not quite where it should be style-wise.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2010 21:17:46 | More by Brad007

stakem

Pennsylvania

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

Pours a clear amber/dark red color with a finger of very yellow stained head. There are faint particles of yeast stuck in suspension despite a very careful pour. Nose reeks of spice and pine hops. In the background of the nose there is a bit of grain and alcohol. Taste is spiced hop bitterness upfront with a bit of toasted grain about the profile as well. Lingering oil like hop bitterness is left in the mouth. Yeast and warming alcohol notes play quite a part in the flavor as well. It is a medium feel beer with mild carbination. Drinkability is fair for a beer that is still quite fresh and "hot." I will gladly enjoy a few more before setting some in the cellar to see what some time does to these.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2010 03:19:41 | More by stakem

Georgiabeer

Georgia

4.22/5  rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Very interesting beer- I love the blast of bitterness coupled with the deep, dry malt. Pours very drk brown with excellent clarity, but a short head. Big citrus and strong, dry malt aromas with a pine backbone and some alcohol heat. Almost treacly, but more in that heavy carmelized way rather than overly sweet. This is a big flavored beer- lots of hops and big almost oxidised malt flavors. Deep pine and earth with a long almost tannic bitterness and hefty malt background but never becomes sweet overall. Big andnot thick, but with a punch. Quite a good beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2009 03:08:56 | More by Georgiabeer

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3.98/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into Sam Smith pint glass.

Pours 1 finger of dark beige head. Decent retention. Color is a dark ruby copper. A lot of sediment is in the glass.

Aroma: Tons of hops hear. Floral and caramel notes. Some bread flavors. But just really a ton of hops, citrus, and grapefruit.

Taste: Starts out with a nice citrus mix, then comes the floral hops and caramel come in. Lots of bready malts balance this out a bit. I also get a touch of toffee.

Mouthfeel: A little bitter, but kind of crisp. Medium bodied with a very nice amount of carbonation. Ends happy with a touch of booze.

Overall, this is just a big ol' hoppy beer. I like it, but I don't love it. I'd drink it again if it was offered me, but nothing I would go crazy to find.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2009 23:33:16 | More by mothman

tavernjef

Minnesota

4.68/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Very dark cherrywoodish blood red color with a mostly smeared glow to its body. Capped with a dense, nearly tan, mostly yellowed foam of medium stacked height. Keeps its immenseness for quite a bit to leave an ever present amount of skim and laces the glass well with an intricate sheeting and lots of holey globs.

Mega wafting hopped up aroma of fresh crisp green hops, earthy, deep, dense, dark, and weedy(both the garden variety and its brother left hemp) with a big toasted malt backing. Nice!

The flavors don't disappoint here as that aroma encapsulates what the taste delivers as its vast display of fresh green hops works its dark magic across the palate. However, I find this has alot more complexity to it. The hops are doing all sorts of wonderful things here, dark, greasy, dirty, earthy, toasty, green, fresh, herbal, and intense. All that with a crunchy toasted malt backing and some easy going dryness of late grassyness and some slight bitterings of greasy, oily pine and dark grapefruit oil. A hop monster of yummy complexity!

Body is about medium with a soild tone the whole way thru of hoppy goodness thats crisp, crunched, toasted, and bold. Hop oiled warmth breathes up thru the finish as it drys with herbal grasses and earthy dark oils dashed with a grace of toasted bitterness. It drinks down pretty damn easy too.

Victory for Victory! A wonderment of scrumptious hops and a wet dream for hopheads. Yum!

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2009 20:07:42 | More by tavernjef

mactrail

California

3.88/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

Sensational mouthful of hops.

Give a shot glass of this stuff to your friend who drinks Corona and say ""this is what hops taste like." Absolute blast of resiny, pitchy, flowery hops. While strongly bitter it has a spicy and aromatic punch. Beautiful red coppery color and good carbonation. Appealing sweetness. I wouldn't call it balanced, but robust mouthfeel and malt is redeeming.

A little too much of a good thing, but great flavors for the IPA enthusiast.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2010 04:16:39 | More by mactrail

Cyberkedi

Georgia

4.28/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a clear, translucent, dark mahogany. Aroma is spicy and hoppy and just a little malty. The richly hoppy flavor has a spicy undertone and an interesting metallic taste that complements the rest of the body rather than being unpleasant. The sharp, edgy texture has some tingle and a firm alcoholic bite.

Serving type: on-tap

01-07-2010 02:42:13 | More by Cyberkedi

ccrida

Oregon

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

Draught shaker at the Collins pub. Appearance is bright, dark ruby wit ha nice light sand head, nice foamy lace, very attractive.

Smell is bright, a sharp laser-beam of hop resins, big and skuny, woods, loving it.

Taste is also big hops, herbal snap, minty, resinous, very fresh, and well balanced. Very yummy.

Mouthfeel is dry and dusty, like chewing on a hop cone, but less stickiness. Medium heavy, chewy.

Drinkability is very high, loved it. Well done PA! Dangerously tasty.

Serving type: on-tap

07-06-2010 23:29:00 | More by ccrida

RoyalT

Ohio

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

Appearance - This is a light brown in color with some nice copper tones and a big head that comes up quick. It showed great retention and left tons of lacing on the inside of my glass.

Smell - The hop aroma is tight yet opens up nicely. I'd call them fruity but add that they show a lot of depth and aren't sweet if that makes any sense. There is some nice floral notes as well that are huge and actually form the backbone to the hop bouquet.

The malts are just as big as the hops. There's almost a winey port aroma to the malts but really they are filled with toffee galore. It's not the kind of toffee you get in a Heath bar but more like what you'd make on your stove top. I find some smaller notes of chocolate here as well but this has a nice, robust, malt structure that actually is probably the closest thing I've ever tasted to Arrogant Bastard.

Taste - The aromas meld nicely together at the taste. This is half hops and half malts and I mean split exactly down the middle. If I had to pick one I'd say the malt is just a shade stronger. It is so rich and heavy.

Mouthfeel - This is full-bodied with little bitterness and a flat yet pleasing texture that again reminds me of Arrogant Bastard.

Drinkability - This is a world-class beer that deserves the highest of accolades. It must be incredibly difficult to pull off this flavor combination but Victory did a tremendous job.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2010 02:52:42 | More by RoyalT

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Victory's Yakima Twilight pours a very dark brown with an off white head and some lacing.

Aroma is of toast, roasted malts, and caramel. Hints at the pleasant hoppiness found within.

Hops are forward upfront, laying down a big time bitterness and a sharp bite (pine). The roasted flavors meld perfectly with the hops. Lightly toasted malt that leaves the palate dry and looking for more. Zesty hops are there with all due spicyness.

A quite rediculous mouthfeel, spritzy carbonation that had a smoothness to it. Bubbly with a dry champagne like finish.

Overall I was left pretty impressed with this one. A dark double IPA ? Unique and delicious.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2009 15:29:05 | More by Stinkypuss

avalon07

South Carolina

4.18/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a reddish color and a somewhat clear consistency. There was a half inch of foamy, long-lasting head and very good lacing.

S: A strong aroma of hops, sweet malt and rye. Very potent.

T: Tasted of rye, sweet malt, hops and a little hint of citrus. Well balanced, strongly flavored and bold.

M: A very high rate of carbonation with a dry finish. Medium-bodied.

D: An extremely drinkable American Strong Ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2010 16:43:35 | More by avalon07

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a clean deep amber to orange-ish color with an off white head. In the aroma, fresh citrus like hops. In the taste, fresh pine hops, and a mellow citrus hop, with a nice malty backing. A small hop bite and medium bodied mouthfeel, with a dry, fresh hop aftertaste. Nice balance with a mixture of hops.

Serving type: on-tap

11-16-2010 16:04:45 | More by OWSLEY069

gford217

Georgia

4.18/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle from Hop City poured into a tulip.

Pours a deep amber brown with an absolutely massive creamy off-white head that shows exceptional retention and lingers as a big creamy cap and leaves good lacing.

The aroma starts with a big dose of fresh green hops along with some sweet citrus. There is a solid doughy malt aroma in the background.

The taste is bitter with floral hops up front with the hefty malt bill coming in after that to form a healthy backbone underneath. The finish is big and bitter with the pine lingering after each sip.

The mouthfeel is very creamy and bitter with the green hops and citrus. It's slightly dry in the finish with some oily hops on the palate.

A very hoppy, resinous IPA with enough malts to balance things out. I really enjoyed this one.

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2009 04:29:29 | More by gford217

scruffwhor

Illinois

3.48/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

The pour unveisl a medium cola and light garnet colored beer. Nice light tan head that recedes a few minutes after the pour with no sipping. The aroma is a sweet orange and grapefruit thats candied from the fruity yeast and sugary malt aromas. Makes me think of a Northwestern IPA and a Belgian dark ale in aroma. The taste starts bitter upfront, but the citrus peels the hops impart sweeten with some coaxing. Medium toasted, faintly roasted malts help give the hops a more marmalade and melba toast flavor. While some Belgian like yeast impart some bitter dried peaches. This is a bitter beer with a gristy feel, especially on the the very back of my palate. As if I'm swallowing some of the grains down after each sip.

Interesting beer, but the difference between bitter and sweet has no harmony in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2009 06:53:55 | More by scruffwhor

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I had this on cask @ O'Reilly's Tap room served in a shaker pint.

The beer arrives with a dark bronze appearance and crimson highlighted with light tan cap that settles to thin crust, The bead is fine and lace sticks in a sheet. The smell is good
but the cask accentuates the malt with a slight cocoa and toast aroma with some floral and citrus from the hops with hint of brown sugar and alcohol. The feel is decent with som strong roast and moderate bitterness with subtle hop acidity and mild carbonation giving the feel a smoother oily finish with a sharp bite.

The taste is slightly roasted malt with piney hop backing in the swallow, there is a slight citrus edge, not quite what I would call grapefruit in the middle with the resinous element bringing out more spice with slight sweet nutty tinge from the malt with subtle dark toast and mild alcohol in the taste. There is more heat in the finish with sharpness from the hops lingering. Overall I feel this is good, but it straddles the fence between a hoppy Imperial brown and the black IPA which doesn't fit to me. There is a lot of roasted character which seems to cover some of the hops, but overall a nice American strong ale.

Serving type: cask

09-29-2011 13:45:37 | More by Slatetank

dirtylou

Washington

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

12oz single, scooped at brawleys in charlotte - consumed on xmas eve

cellphone notes

appearance: served in a standard pint, dark garnet-mahogany body

smell: stong hop presence, festive christmas tree, sap, bitter grapefruit peel

taste: hoppy - sappy pine, bitter grapefruit, boozy caramel and brown sugar. nice beer, but we've seen it before

mouthfeel: strong hop bitterness, chewy caramel, booze comes through

drinkability: fine

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2009 17:39:38 | More by dirtylou

cokes

Wisconsin

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

Dark and generally clear mahogany brown with a tight beige cap that sags somewhat quickly towards the surface leaving spotty cloaks of lacework.
Mild roast coffee, cocoa nibs, burnt toast, black cherry, plum, toffee, all combined into a simpler, lesser aroma, and countered with grapefruit pith, bitter dried weeds, acrid metalics, and pine cones.
The malt is more layered and distinct in the mouth. Though it covers the same bases. Bitter cocoa, mild roast coffee beans, toast. It expands towards cherry and plum, with a toffee glaze. There's a template for a stock ale or an English-styled Barleywine through it's initial revolutions. Hops hail down, electrically bitter, but lacking a bit in clarity. Piney, floral, grapefruit, metallic, but never definitively so. Pulpy, weedy, oxidized bronze carries the day. It actually works in counter-harmony with the wooly malt blanket, but if you were here for a hop experience, you'll leave disappointed. Yeah, it's bitter and hoppy, but it's not specific, and it's maltier than most. There a twitch of alcoholic warmth, but it really a nonfactor given the actual strength. The swallow is continually roasty, a bit boozy, with some woody cedar and generalized green bitterness.
The full mouthfeel is buffered by the trickling carbonation that stays the duration. It's a big malty beer and drinks that way, but the hops give a masking gulp of confusion.
This is one I'd actually age and expect improvement. The hops, while large, lack a defined statement on their own, and the textured maltiness is certainly up to the task. It seems confused right now.
Everything I've written above is basically a longer version of: I like the malts here, but don't particularly enjoy the hops and the sooner they fade away, the better.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2010 09:01:24 | More by cokes

beertunes

Washington

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

Enjoy by date of Dec. 10,2010. Poured into balloon goblet. Poured a reddish mahogany color with a tall, thick, medium tan head that had great retention and good lacing.

A semi-sweet malt scent is the first thing across the nose. A slight fruit scent is barely apparent, and some hops at the back, along with a bit of an alcohol scent. The flavors were very similar, The alcohol was much more noticeable, a slight bit of tobacco was present and there wasn't the hoppy taste I expected.

The body was good, full and coating, although a bit sticky. Drinkability was very good for a beer of this strength, I'll certainly have it again.

Overall, a very nice beer. Worth trying when you see it.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2010 00:22:17 | More by beertunes

kylehay2004

Florida

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

Single finger head, not much lacing on a clear amber body. Aroma is Toasty, nutty and malty. Hazelnut in particular. Pine and coffee. Some roasted malt in the taste. Has a burnt element and decent piney hops. Medium body and moderate carbonation. It is a very complex beer and hardto appreciate all of its elements. May be a little too complex.

Serving type: on-tap

01-19-2012 01:55:31 | More by kylehay2004

DefenCorps

Oregon

3.4/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Grabbed a bottle at State Line a while back. I'm always excited by new Victory beers, let's see how this one is.

Is this an IPA? Seriously? Deep crimson in color, there's nothing pale about this, but in this age of black IPAs, I have to let this slide. A dense light brown head caps the beer, receding to a disk, leaving some lace. Quite attractive.

This is not very IPA-like, but is still very good. Strong pine and grapefruit bitterness, along with a delicate herbal, minty character stand toe to toe with a burnt caramel sweetness, with a touch of buckwheat honey, and a tobacco character. While wholly unconventional, this is still great stuff. Fruity, with the combination of hops and caramel reminding me of poached pears. There's also a mild rye-like character present.

The palate isn't half as good, though. This is an explosion of pine up front, with nowhere near as much malt complexity as I got on the nose. Some dark caramel is apparent, but the pine bitterness is quite overpowering, along with grapefruit pith. The pine resin really takes over the finish, leaving a mildly astringent character. A rye-like spiciness is noticeable mid-palate. Whiffs of alcohol are also present. Medium in body with medium carbonation, the palate is OK, but the excessively bitter character of the finish really makes this difficult to appreciate, and enjoy in large amounts. An interesting beer, nonetheless

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2009 00:44:47 | More by DefenCorps

nickfl

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - As it pours, the beer foams up into a two finger head of light brown bubbles resting on top of a dark brown body with some clear, amber highlights. The head settles slowly and leaves nice lace on the glass.

S - A rich, brown malt profile with notes of brown sugar and molasses. Some spicy hops with a hint of mustard and some red apple yeast.

T - Toasted malt and moderately sweet caramel flavors dominate the initial impression of the beer. The sugary malt is joined by sharp, spicy hops with notes of pine and mustard as well as a hint of blue veined cheese. The finish is moderately sweet with lots of toast and caramel as well as a moderate roasted character with balancing bitterness.

M - Medium body, moderate carbonation, and a slightly sweet finish.

D - This is a very nice black IPA, it achieves a balance between the dark malt character and the hops that most don't manage while it also avoids any chocolate or coffee flavor that would confuse it with a stout. The hops are significant, but with the thick malt profile, they are really just barely enough to balance the beer. Very nice, this is definitely a beer that is worth seeking out.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2010 06:55:46 | More by nickfl

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

4.03/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle poured into a Unibroue tulip. Best by Oct 14 2010, 8.7% ABV.

Thanks to johnmichaelson for this bottle in a trade!

A - Pours with a giant pillow of tan, dense head that rises up to three fingers and has great retention with some good lace. The color is a mahogany amber red color that's totally clear.

S - Wow. The aroma is very different from the first whiff. There is a lot of fruitiness here; mango, peach, and a bit of crisp apple. The fruitiness may be derived from the hops. Aside from that there really aren't any hop notes. A funky un-bathed dog aroma slips in between the fruity notes and the sweet, brown sugar like malts.

T - The fruitiness on the nose goes to the back-burner a bit in the flavor. Lots of grapefruit citrus and some pine across the tongue. The malts are toasty like a golden slice of bread and somewhat sweet behind the mountain of hops.

M - Medium-bodied and crisp with a well-balanced carbonation level, the finish is dry and bitter but not tongue-shreddingly so.

D - A different take on the style for me. I like it a lot but wouldn't partake in its uniqueness all that often if given the chance.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2009 22:49:49 | More by BeerFMAndy