Victory

A Victory For Barrel Aging

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Well I just posted about Victory’s Red Thunder, where they age their Baltic porter in red wine barrels, but it appears that Victory isn’t stopping there. Though there’s no press releases about these additional barrel aging projects, their labels have been showing up on BeerPulse, which means that something is going on.

First up, we’ve got Victory Oak Horizontal Bourbon Barrel-aged Barleywine. The name is a play on Victory’s Old Horizontal, a barleywine they actually haven’t made in a couple years due to the large amount of production resources required to brew it. Fortunately, Victory’s opening a new facility nearby which should increase production to the point where they can play around with big beers like this again, and this Bourbon Barrel treatment sounds like a great idea:

Victory Oak Horizontal Label

Next, we’ve got Victory White Monkey White Wine Barrel-aged Tripel. Again, the name is a play on Golden Monkey, one of my longtime favorites from Victory. I’m not a huge white wine guy, but this actually does seem like a good match, and it’s nice to see that breweries are taking chances on things other than Bourbon barrels (even if they still tend to be my favorite)…

Victory White Monkey Label

In short, it’s looking like Victory is getting more adventurous these days, a trend I can certainly get behind. Of course, I have no idea when the above bottles will be released – it could very well be far off, but I’m guessing they’ll show up sometime later this year or early next year. And with the opening of their new facility, I only expect to see more of this barrel-aged stuff start to show up. Not to mention the prospect of getting more Wild Devil (which is basically Brett dosed Hop Devil). And who knows, maybe they’ll start bottling some of them Ranch Double IPA series beers… But for now, I’ll just be happy with the above (and with my cellared Dark Intrigue and Otto in Oak)

Update 12/23/12: Both Red Thunder and Oak Horizontal have been released and reviewed… Cheers!

Red Thunder Is Coming

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So I don’t normally resort to press release bloggery, but this one interests me:

Victory Brewing Company is known for melding traditional styles and unique concepts to produce the highest quality, full flavored beers. Red Thunder does just that. By aging their popular Baltic Thunder in once-used red wine barrels from Wente Vineyards, Victory Brewing Company created Red Thunder. The burnished cocoa creaminess of the Baltic-style porter is accented by the tannic dryness of the wood to produce a rich, fruity final product.

Yessss. It looks like this one will be taking the pre-Thanksgiving release-day slot that was previously owned by Dark Intrigue. That became known as “Dark Wednesday”, so I don’t know what this will be… “Red Wednesday” or “Wednesday Thunder” or perhaps just “Cattle Call”. In all seriousness, I don’t know that I’ll be attending. They say the beer will get a limited distribution in the Northeast (and, uh, Illinois), so I’m sure I’ll be able to get my hands on a few bottles in any case (at least, if other Victory rarities are any indication). But who knows. I think I’ve already established that I’m a weak, weak man when it comes to stuff like this.

Victory Red Thunder Logo

Anywho, kudos to Victory for actually announcing this, rather than just letting a few of them slip into distribution without telling anyone the way they did with Otto in Oak (though I managed to pick up a few extras of that, thankfully). I’m not all that familiar with red wine barrel aging (at least, with respect to non-sour beer, and this one doesn’t sound like it would be swimming with wild bacteria or anything), so I’m really curious to see how this turns out.

June Beer Club

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Tonight was beer club, a meeting of beer minded individuals from my work who get together for a meal and lots-o-beer (and the occasional cider or wine) once a month. A very big turnout this month, and lots of good ol’ fashioned pizza place BYOB fun (I actually had a sandwich whose description was: “It’s like a cheesesteak and an Italian hoagie had a baby… it was very good, but the most popular dish of the night were these deep fried stromboli-like things that were amazing.) Good times were had by all…

June 2012 Beer Club

(Click for bigger image)

For the sake of posterity, some thoughts on each beer are below. As usual, these were not ideal conditions, so these notes are probably not very reliable. Or rock solid. The point is that I have thoughts about these beers, and I’m going to share them, and you’re going to like it. I hope. Ok, fine, maybe not, but I’m putting them here anyway. In order of drinking (not in order of the picture above):

  • Prism Bitto Honey IPA – An offering from a relatively new, relatively local brewery called Prism (which, for whatever reason, always reminds me of the premium cable channel from way back when that eventually turned into Starz, I believe). Anywho, I actually got a taste of this stuff at the Philly Beer Week preview a couple weeks back. It is basically a very nice, sweet IPA, with a pleasant floral citrus hoppiness that is offset by a prominent honey character. I would not call it a favorite, but it’s a unique take on the style, which I certainly appreciate. B
  • Kaedrin Earl Grey Bitter – My homebrewed English Style Bitter, brewed with Earl Grey tea and bitter orange peel. The taste actually continues to evolve, though it remains a highly drinkable, light, citrusy take on the traditional English Bitter. Believe it or not, the tea-like character seems more prominent now than ever. Beer club peeps seem to enjoy it, and I’m glad I’ve got an ample supply leftover for summer drinkin… B+
  • Magic Hat Elder Betty – A wheat beer brewed with elderberries, it came off a bit on the muddled side. It didn’t particularly have a strong wheat feel to it, and the elderberry was there, but not super strong. It certainly wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t knocking my socks off either. A nice alternative to macro swill, for sure, but not something to go out of your way for… B-
  • North Coast Blue Star Great American Wheat Beer – Now this one is a little more like it, though it’s not exactly a spectacular beer either. Still, I got that nice wheat character out of this, and it was a really solid take on a standard style. Again, not something that will melt your face, but it’s pretty good! B
  • Victory Summer Love – I had this beer a few times last year and I have to say that I was not impressed. However, trying it again tonight, I was quite surprised with this one. It was much hoppier than I remember, sorta like a lighter ale version of their classic Prima Pils. We weren’t outside, but that’s what this beer is made for… B+
  • Fegley’s Brew Works Monkey Wrench – A very solid take on the Belgian Saison style, a little sweet, very spicy, but not overwhelming the palate. A relatively full mouthfeel, yet it still leaves you with a light impression, which is strange, but nice. A well crafted take on the standard sweet and spicy version of the style. B+
  • Weyerbacher Blasphemy – My other contribution for the night, this is a bourbon barrel aged version of Weyerbacher’s Quad. I must admit that I’m not a huge fan of the Quad, which I found a bit too sweet and boozy for my tastes. I mean, it’s good and all, but not among my favorite quadrupels. Unfortunately, the bourbon barrel aging treatment hasn’t improved things as much as I’d thought it would. It comes off as being extremely boozy, with that bourbon really dominating the finish and aftertaste. But I’m not getting the richness or vanilla oak flavors out of this that I normally get out of bourbon barrel aged beers. It’s still good, but I was expecting a bit more… At 11.8% ABV, we didn’t actually finish off the whole bottle, so I may take another sample of this sucker soon, so perhaps I’ll have a better idea of this then… B
  • Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA – Holy weirdness Batman! This thing was the weirdest beer of the night. Granted, we probably should have cracked this before Blasphemy, but even still, it had a very strange floral note, almost like perfume, in both the nose and taste. Presumably, that’s the Jasmine that’s dominating the beer. As I drank, I gradually got more of the floral hops, but nothing really seemed to mesh with this beer. It was sorta a mess, definitely not my thing. C+
  • MacTarnahan’s Spine Tingler – A Belgian style Tripel, and a pretty well crafted one at that. It’s perhaps not perfect, maybe a bit too sweet, but still eminently drinkable stuff. Very nice spicy, bready Belgian yeast character, lots of sweetness, a very good beer. B+
  • 5even Helles Bock – My friend Dana’s homebrewed beer wasn’t quite ready, but we tried it anyway. It was actually pretty good, nice and sweet, malt-forward beer. She things it will clear up with some more conditioning time, but it seemed quite nice to me, though I’d like to try it in another month and see where it’s at…

And that just about covers it. Good times were had by all, and as usual, I’m already looking forward to the July beer club!

The Session #64: Pale in Comparison

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session_logo.jpgOn the first Friday of every month, there’s a beer blog roundup called The Session. Someone picks a topic, and everyone blogs about it. This month, Carla Companion wants to talk about an unsung hero:

What is the one beer style usually makes up the first position in the sample flight, but yet is usually the one that we never get really excited about? The Pale Ale.

Your mission – if you choose to accept it – it so seek out and taste two different pale ales. Tell us what makes them special, what makes them forgettable, what makes them the same or what makes them different. Then, share it with us.

First of all, I love the idea. One of the cornerstones of this blog is that of the Double Feature. Pick two beers of similar style, compare and contrast, all whilst taking in a filmic double feature. It’s a really helpful tactic for learning about beer, especially when used with beers that sometimes have very similar flavor profiles… like pale ales!

Pale ales have a weird rap here in the beer nerd community. You never hear people raving about pale ales the way they do for the latest hopped-up double IPA, face melting Imperial Stout, or Brett-dosed sour bombs. And yet, a lot of folks will tell you that they got into craft beer the moment they tasted something like the classic Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Indeed, a lot of breweries got their start with pales, even ones we think of as being extremist or weird. Stone’s first beer was their most excellent Pale Ale (which seems to me like Arrogant Bastard’s little brother, very flavorful). Hard as it may be to believe, Dogfish Head’s Shelter Pale Ale was their first foray into “off-centered” beer. Pale Ales are a cornerstone of the craft beer world, a stepping stone for fledgling beer geeks, and a fantastic alternative to macro light lagers for regular folks.

Indeed, it’s not like there’s a shortage of big selling pale ales. Locally, we’ve got Yards’ Philly Pale and Victory’s Headwaters, both of which apparently do gangbusters (and oh yeah, they’re excellent too). I’m no stranger to huge face-melting beers and I have to admit that sometimes the notion of checking out a “simple” pale ale seems like it might be boring, but there’s plenty of interesting stuff going on in the pale ale world right now. I didn’t go bonkers for Maine’s Peeper like most folks, but it was an intriguing change of pace, a very interesting beer. Even if it wasn’t particularly my thing, I love that they did something different with their beer, and that’s the sort of stuff I like to try.

Speaking of which, I think it’s about time to try out a few beers, as ordered. One is eminently interesting and experimental, the other is a bit more on the standard side, though it’s got some interesting aspects too…

Victory Bavarian Mandarina Pale Ale

Victory Bavarian Mandarina Pale Ale – Victory recently released a series of beers utilizing experimental German hops, including this one, which has just received it’s official name: Mandarina. Pours a golden orange with a finger of head and a ton of lacing. Smells of herbal, spicy hops, with a an orange citrus note and a little caramel malt too. Taste has a nice malt backbone, but it’s not huge – it provides a nice background to highlight these new hops. Plenty of those citrusy, herbal hop flavors coming in the middle and more spicy bitterness emerging in the finish… Mouthfeel is surprising for a pale ale, a little heavier than expected, but quite nice nonetheless. This is actually the second time I’ve had this beer in the past couple weeks, and on the second tasting, I think I got a lot more of the orange character than the first time. Overall, a very solid, interesting change of pace. B

Beer Nerd Details: 6% ABV on tap (16 oz). Drank out of a nonic pint on 5/31/12.

Alesmith X

Alesmith X – Pours a bright straw yellow color with two fingers of fluffy white head and some lacing as I drink. Smells of more grassy, citrusy hops, along with a nice bready yeast and malt character. Taste is sweet, with that bready yeast and malt really coming through, though not in a strong or overpowering way. Light grassy hops and citrus come through a bit in the taste as well. The finish is relatively dry, with a very slight bitterness. The mouthfeel is hit with a huge carbonation at the start, very effervescent, but it smooths out by the finish, which is quite nice. Despite the bite from the carbonation, it’s a light, crisp, and refreshing beer. In a lot of ways, this reminds me of a Belgian style pale ale (I bet if you were to substitute something like a saison yeast in the same recipe, you’d end up with a similar, if a bit spicier…), but it still feels like an American Pale Ale. Overall, I’m really enjoying this beer! B+

Beer Nerd Details: 5% ABV bottled (22 oz. bomber). Drank out of a tulip glass on 5/31/12.

Overall, the Alesmith was lighter in color and body than the Mandarina, and it had a more traditional, grassy citrus pine hop character, while the Mandarina hops brought a specific orange character, with lots of more herbal notes. Both are very good beers, and I’m really happy I got to try them. I also got to try one of the other Victory beers that was experimenting with new hops, this one called Polaris. It was an IPA, and thus not suitable for this post, but it was quite good, reminiscent of those New Zealand hops I’ve been digging lately. I love that Victory is playing with experimental hops, and the Pale Ale format really does provide a good platform for highlighting these new varieties. As summer goes on, I’m sure pale ales will be a staple of my beer diet…

Victory Otto In Oak

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Let’s see here: Take a Belgian style Dubbel, add smoked malt (inspired by German Rauchbiers), and then age it in American Oak formerly used to age Bourbon. Also, and this is key, don’t tell anyone that you’re doing it. Seriously, if it weren’t for the eternal vigilance of my local beermongers, I probably wouldn’t have known this even existed (heck, even they had it tucked away in the back, rather than out on display).

To be sure, I’ve had the regular Otto before, and I have to admit that I found it underwhelming. Belgian style Dubbels are one of my favorite styles, but the smoked malt in Otto overwhelmed any of that great Belgian character, making it a sorta-one-dimensional smokey affair. Of course, that tasting was at a beer club, so conditions weren’t entirely ideal, but my opinion doesn’t seem to be all that unusual. Even the guy at Pinocchio’s agreed with me on that count. I did buy a bottle of the stuff to lay down in my cellar for a while, hoping for the smoked flavors to mellow a bit and maybe harmonize with the Belgian characteristics.

Well, I’ve still got that bottle in my cellar, but when I found out that Otto in Oak existed, I knew I had to get my hands on some of the stuff. It’s not exactly a secret that I love me some barrel aged beers, and I think this treatment could give Otto some much needed balance (not something normally associated with bourbon barrel aging, but still):

Victory Otto in Oak

Victory Otto In Oak – Pours a very dark chestnut brown color with beautiful amber highlights, clear when held up to light, with just a bit of light tan colored head. Lots of bourbon in the nose, but also a bit of smoke and maybe even a hint of that musty, spicy Belgian yeast. The rich malt backbone and bourbon hit first in the taste, followed by a light, mellow smokiness, then some of that Belgian dubbel character as the bourbon reasserts itself in the finish. I really like how the bourbon has mellowed out the smokiness here. Indeed, I can even pick out the dubbel-like flavors, something I had trouble with in the regular Otto. As it warms, the flavors evolve and coalesce even more, and some additional flavors come out to play. There’s an almost nuttiness (definitely the wrong word for it, but along those lines) that I was getting towards the end of the bottle. Mouthfeel is well carbonated with a rich, full body. It’s a much better balanced beer than the regular Otto, though it is quite an odd combination. Overall, a complex, unique beer with a mountain of flavor. A-

Beer Nerd Details: No ABV listed, but original Otto is 8.1% ABV, so I’m guessing this is a little higher than that. 750 ml caged and corked bottle. Drank out of a goblet on 5/19/12. Bottled on April 26, 2012. Batch #1.

From the release dates of Otto (October 15, 2011) and the bottling date on the Otto in Oak, I gather that this has been basking in the glow of Bourbon barrels for around 6 months. I don’t know that it’s quite as successful as Victory’s Dark Intrigue (Bourbon barrel aged Storm King stout), but I do find that I really enjoyed this beer, and I’m really glad I thought to buy an extra one to keep around… And I’m actually heading over to the brewery tomorrow night to meet some friends, so maybe they’ll have some of this stuff sitting around.

Victory Donnybrook Stout

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Another day, another Victory. This low gravity Dry Irish Stout is only really available on tap (and I’m pretty sure it’s only locally available too), so it’s not one that I’ve had often, but it’s a solid beer (and though I didn’t drink this on St. Patrick’s Day, it makes a nice local alternative to the ever present Guinness, especially when it’s on nitro tap).

In other news, I’m pretty sure this is the lowest alcohol beer I’ve ever reviewed (unless you count that non-alcoholic swill we had that one time at Beer Club). Let’s do this:

Victory Donnybrook Stout

Victory Donnybrook Stout – Pours a very dark brown with a tiny amount of highlights and a finger of thick, light brown head. Smells strongly of roasted malts and a little coffee… Taste features that same roast and coffee character. Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy, very lightly carbonated with a nice light body. Almost quaffable. I’m pretty sure this one was on regular tap, but when it’s on nitro, it’s much smoother, though still light bodied. Overall, it’s a nice stout that’s as good as any I’ve had in the style and as previously mentioned, it makes a nice local alternative to the ever-present Guinness. B

Beer Nerd Details: 3.7% ABV on tap. Drank out of Victory’s 0.3L glass on 3/24/12.

I’d like to say that this will probably be my last Victory review for a while, but I think we all know that’s not going to happen.

Update: Nope, this is only the second lowest ABV beer I’ve reviewed. The lowest was Tetley’s English Ale, clocking in at 3.6% ABV. However, this beer was a heck of a lot better, so foo on you.

Victory Uncle Teddy’s Bitter

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One of the things I love about Victory Brewing Company is that they do everything. Huge Belgian style specialties, hop bombs, imperial stouts, bourbon barrel-aged imperial stouts, wild ales, and all the other trendy stuff are well represented in their portfolio, but the thing that really sets them apart is that they embrace things that aren’t that trendy. Smoked beers (there seems to always be one of these available in the brewpub, even if bottled distribution is rare), pilseners, heck, lagers in general. Do I love every one of these beers? Well, no, Victory has earned their fair share of B- ratings here, but I do really appreciate the depth and breadth of their lineup (and it’s worth noting that I can’t think of a beer they make that I hate).

Another thing I’ve been appreciating lately is that Victory also makes some low gravity beers, like this English style Bitter that’s only available on cask (and probably only locally, sorry west coasters!) I’ve had a few of these recently and finally remembered to take some notes whilst drinking. Apparently Uncle Teddy was not a bitter man at all, but he was Victory co-founder Ron Barchet’s Godfather and he passed on when Ron was in the UK, so he brewed this beer in memory of his uncle…

Victory Uncle Teddy Bitter

Victory Uncle Teddy’s Bitter – Pours a deep golden color with a couple fingers of white head and tons of lacing. Smells of earthy, floral, spicy hops. Taste is soft malts and that light, earthy hop character. Mouthfeel is smooth & creamy, minimum carbonation, very light bodied, all as you’d expect from a cask ale. Highly quaffable stuff. Overall, very nice, soft but flavorful… a fitting tribute. B

Beer Nerd Details: 3.9% ABV on cask. Drank out of a nonic pint glass on 3/24/12. Hops: Styrian and Kent Golding.

I enjoy this beer, but I think it would be interesting to contrast it with my homebrewed bitter, which will have additional citrus notes from the Earl Grey tea and orange peel (and possibly my use of US Fuggle bittering hops). Anyways, look for another review of a low-gravity Victory beer soon…

Victory Éclat Cocoa Lager

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Victory celebrated their 15th Anniversary last year, and to mark the occasion, they created a new flagship beer: Headwaters Pale Ale. It was a beer that goes against most “Anniversary Beer” conventions. Namely, it wasn’t a high-ABV face-melter that incorporated all sorts of weird ingredients. Instead, it’s focus was on highlighting the most unassuming of beer’s ingredients: the water. Few would call a 5.1% ABV Pale Ale a very adventurous anniversary beer, but then, this is a beer that has developed into Victory’s flagship. It’s became so popular and so ubiquitous in this area that Victory actually ran out and had to rearrange their brewing schedule to make up for the demand (so no Old Horizontal this year *sniff*).

But this year, things are a little different. In honor of their 16th year, Victory is making a limited batch of beer in collaboration with famous local chocolatier Éclat. I wouldn’t call this a typical anniversary beer, but it’s not quite the old standard that Headwaters was either. It’s actually quite an unusual beer. Heck, it’s a lager. One way to divide the beer world is to separate them into ales and lagers. Lager yeasts ferment at lower temperatures and typically feature cleaner, smoother, more stable flavor profiles. There tends to be less in the way of fruity esters or spicy phenols (which can be very prevalent in ales). There seems to be much less of a focus on lagers in the beer nerd community for some reason, though around this time of year, everyone seems to start cracking open doppelbocks.

In any case Victory Éclat Cocoa Lager is a Euro Dark Lager brewed with Peruvian Pure Nacional cacao beans (apparently quite rare) and is served on nitro tap:

Victory Eclat Cocoa Lager

Victory Éclat Cocoa Lager – Dark brown color, beautiful amber highlights, creamy tan head. Smells like chocolate with a hint of roasted barley. Taste has some light chocolate with just a hint of well balanced roastiness emerging in the finish. Lots of flavor, but very well matched and not overpowering at all. Mouthfeel is a dream. Nitro pour makes it incredibly smooth, but this is the perfect mouthfeel for the flavor profile. Medium bodied, clean and smooth, very easy to put down. The muted flavor profile of the lager matches perfectly with the nitro pour. A really fantastic beer… A

Beer Nerd Details: 5.6% ABV on tap (nitro pour). Drank out of Victory’s .3L Bar Glass.

I really hope I can get me some more of this before it’s gone. Or that it becomes a regular brewpub/local tap akin to their (also pretty good) Donnybrook Stout. Given how well the nitro pour accentuates the beer’s flavors, I’m not sure a bottling would work so well (and I doubt the expense of those nitrogen cans would be attractive to Victory at this point).

The Session #60: Growlers Galore

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session_logo.jpgOn the first Friday of every month, there’s a beer blog roundup called The Session. Someone picks a topic, and everyone blogs about it. This month, Kendall from the Washington Beer Blog wants to talk about growlers:

Tell us about your growler collection. Tell us why you love growlers or why you hate them. What is the most ridiculous growler you’ve ever seen? Tell us about your local growler filling station. Ever suffer a messy growler mishap? Anything related to growlers is acceptable.

I have to admit that I’m not a big growler guy. They have their uses and I’ve certainly availed myself of the growler’s services, but it’s an elusive creature – not something I frequently use. I don’t really have any crazy objections to it, nor do I have a strong opinion about tap versus bottle (I like some beers better on tap, and others from the bottle). To me, they’re just another tool in the beer nerd’s arsenal.

But I can still point you towards something interesting and growler related for this Session. So I’d like to introduce you to the growler-filler at Victory Brewing Company:

I mentioned this thing before in a previous post about a growler of Victory’s Ranch S IPA, but damn, isn’t that thing badass? When I go to Victory, I love watching it in action. Their fancy growlers themselves are pretty cool looking too, and the way they pressurize with CO2 seems to keep it fresh longer (at least, until you pour your first!)

Alas, I don’t find myself taking advantage of it all that often. Oh well, there are worse things in the world. Like, perhaps, the fact that I have way too much great beer sitting, undrunk, in my cellar. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I should probably go drink some of that stuff…

Victory Smokin’ Oats

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I know, it’s unfair. This beer is only available at the Victory brewpub (and maybe a few local beer bars). I promise, tomorrow I’ll review a beer that’s more widely available*. Anyways, Victory seems to like smoked beer. They’ve got their roots in German brewing, so perhaps that’s not a surprise, but they do a lot of smoked beers at their brewpub (though mostly not for wide release – one exception to this is Otto, a smoked Belgian Dubbel). But if they wanted to, I think this smoked porter (presumably brewed with oats) would actually work pretty well:

Victory Smokin Oats

Victory Smokin’ Oats – Pours a very dark brown color with amber highlights and finger of tan head. Smell is smoky with a solid amount of roasted malt character. Those roasted malts take on more prominence in the taste, along with some coffee flavors and a rather well matched smokiness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with solid carbonation and a nice crisp finish. It actually went really well with the brisket taco things I was eating at the time. A very good beer! B+

Beer Nerd Details: 5.8% ABV on tap. Drank out of a 0.3L glass on 1/7/11.

* Technically, the next beer on my list is Trappist Westvleteren 8, which is one of the least accessible beers in existence, but I’ll skip it for a day or two, I think.