I had a couple of pours of this last night at the Abbey in Worcester. Absolutely blew me away. My most recent O Face beer. My favorite coffee laced beer to date.....by far....though that might only be due to Hill Farmstead's Twilight of the Idols getting kicked 5 min before I got there. Either way, V@S is simply delicious, sublime, I loved it
I had Victory at Sea for the first time a few weeks ago. It was one of the best beers I had all year. I'm putting another one in my cellar to see what a year does to it.
Not a fan..it's just a bit too much. I like a lot of Ballast Point stuff but this one doesn't do it for me. Maybe one to split of a bomber of with a friend to re-visit..it has been a couple years..
An amazing beer indeed. Better fresh IMHO. The coffee, vanilla and dark chocolate flavors seem much more vibrant.
Just had my first a week or so ago. A lot of beers claim to have certain flavors, Victory at Sea delivers those flavors and then some, with a perfect mouthfeel to boot. Nice to see a great beer than I do not have to camp out for.
Big fan of this beer. Have been for a long time. I like it both fresh and with some age. Actually drank a two year old one a while back. Held up fairly well. Always grab some when I see it. Try to keep a bottle at all times in the cellar, but unfortunatly none in there now.
Had it on draft several times and absolutely loved it. Just recently bought a few bombers and I actually think its better from the bottle. Amazing vanilla and roasted coffee notes. Truly one of my favorite beers of 2012. I definitely plan on sitting on a bottle to see what a year will do. Can't imagine too much because it's already close to perfect! Well done Ballast Point.
I did a side by side recently with '12 & '10. Aging softened the coffee bitterness which allowed the vanilla to shine thru a little more. Aging was favorable IMO. I have one more '10 that I will let go another year or two. And a bunch of 12 to drink now and cellar. Cheers
Had my first bottle last night and I agree 100%. It was fantastic and if I see anymore this year I will definitely pick some more up.
I have a bottle of this beer in the fridge and the Whole Foods near me has a bunch more... I guess I should try it soon and buy some more (if I like it) now that the hype train has been started!
I've had the fortune to have this many times and after having had a few dozen of these I still love it and seek it out. A fantastic beer.
Couldnt agree more. Ballast Point just made it to Maryland and this is one I've been waiting for for sometime. Boy did it not disappoint. Drank the first one by myself and have since shared 4 more with friends who were all in agreement to its quality. Time to head back to the store and grab a few more.
wasnt trying to start a fanboy hype train.....just advocating, heartily. It's a really fine beer. I enjoyed it a lot. You don't have to like it if you dont want to
Just picked up and drank a 2011 vintage of the stuff. It was their last one so they sold it to me for 6 bucks. Major score and drank amazing. Love the coffee aspect of it.
Great thread. Drinking one now as I type. One of the best mouthfeels in any beer. Drinks more like a stout than a porter. The vanilla in this year's version is a bit stronger than I ever recall having experienced in prior vintages, but it's not offputting at all. Damn fine brew.
Opening a fresh bottle tonight. I love this beer and like others said it is still great with some age but I think I prefer it fresh.
I was lucky enough to have it on cask and nitro the same night at a local (great) pub. I also have a bottle that I'm going to be opening soon. Yeah, it's nice to have a stout/porter imperial that actually has a flavor profile that really stands out from the crowd and wows.
One of my favorite beers! It has everything I love in a beer. Have had a 10' 11' and 12' and all were amazing, but nothing like having it fresh where all the coffee and vanilla flavors are present!
I am always a little heartbroken when this beer isn't on the shelf. I add an extra bottle of V@S to pretty much every beer purchase I make if given the opportunity. Heads up, if you're close to San Diego, BP still has variants on tap as of last night and still has a few of the V@S snifters!
I had the same beer at the same restaurant last night (the 29th). It was excellent. I was wicked disappointed that Twilight was gone though :/
seems like there's an awful lot of it out there this year. I grabbed a couple of cases of it the day it was released thinking it would dry up quickly like previous years. doh...
At least you ended up with a few good cases of beer! Aging improved it a little imo too, so there's always that.
