Victory Brewing has a warm place in my heart. I have sampled many of their beers over the years, and I've enjoyed them with friends and family alike. Today's triple ale is a bit spicy, which I normally eschew, but this particular brew carries it well.
It is a murky gold (bottle conditioned) with a thin head. That head mostly dissipates rapidly, but enough sticks around the rim to please. The aroma is potent. It's got a mix of strong alcohol and quite a bit of spice. The smell is strong enough to waft over from my reliable table beside my chair. It's certainly not unpleasant but I'd prefer less spice. It's covering up the hops - and there's definitely a goodly amount of hops.
It's been some time since I had one of these. I forgot how a sip will hit you like a hammer. They didn't lightly spice this, but the hops are so strong that they manage to power through the taste. The whole taste is rich and smooth - which is unexpected given the strong flavors competing with each other.
This beer sips well and gulps well. I'm actually surprised how good it tastes when sipped. Normally, a strong character in a beer can only be enjoyed properly when you take a deep draught, but this beer can pull it off no matter how you drink it. The complexity of the taste changes when you take a big mouthful, but that doesn't make it much better or much worse; it's just different.
The alcohol content of this beer has to be noted. I think Victory makes a beverage with more, but this one has 9.5% by volume. That's pretty dang high for a beer. The highest I ever had was at the short-lived Allegheny Brewery in the Strip District of Pittsburgh. They had a beer there that had accidentally gone over the anticipated alcohol percentage of 13%. It spiked at 18%, and they would only allow you to have two. I had three. They were delicious. This is, too.
4.5/5
Victory Golden Monkey
Monday, April 29, 2013