Generally when one is perusing the beer isle of a grocery store, you wouldn’t expect to find too many beers you haven’t heard of already. I know there are a few exceptions out there, but for the most part, they are few and far between. I found this beer while picking up some lump crab and filet from Whole Foods and I encourage you to do the same. I was impressed to see a number of beers I haven’t had before including beers from both the left and right coasts, including Belgian styles and Northwest Ales, all placed on a shelf mingling amongst one another. I was in the mood to try a Belgian ale from an East coast brewery I have never heard of before. I tend to always support my local breweries, but thought I would support the great state of PA this time and one of its local craft breweries, Victory Brewing Company.
THE BEER:
A little bit about Victory Brewing Co…
“Having trained in Germany, we appreciate the artistic freedom we have here in the US. Here creativity is embraced by a fervent core of consumers and we are happy to serve that audience with our experience in traditional methods, selection of choice, often imported ingredients, and the best processing that technology can offer us. We relish the opportunity to please both ourselves and our audience with our flavorful creations. We’ve invested more than our lives in this. Take a look.” Bill Covaleski, Brewmaster & President
Bump City Brews thoughts…
Pour: Pale Amber with a slight tint of burnt orange in color, picture perfect. Good, lasting, frothy, white head that surprisingly left no evidence of lacing on my pint glass. The body was a little hazy with tiny bits of particles present, not really noticeable unless you are specifically looking for them.
Aroma: My senses detected a sweet, passion fruit aroma to this beer. Fruity combined with underlying floral tones gave this beer a nice edge to it. At first the malt aroma present was light, but as it warmed, I noticed aromas comparable to bubble gum were present on top of the fruity and floral scents already giving way.
Taste: This medium bodied belgian ale offered a complex combination of flavors. It started with a short-lived caramel like sweetness, followed by a medium bitterness, and nicely finishing on my palate dry with a spicy and tart banana/clove combination. For my palate it was quite complex, but the bitterness was just at the right mark to make it a nice balance. The flavors became more intense as the beer came closer to room temperature and was a nice representation of a Belgian Strong Ale in my humble opinion.
Overall: I don’t have much experience drinking as many Belgian ales, but this beer did inspire me to do so. The components of sweet, bitter, spicy and sour all balanced very nicely together. There wasn’t one aspect of the beer that was the most forthcoming, each one played off each other to help one another be represented in the beer. The bitterness mellowed out the sweetness, while the spicy accentuated the tartness, and vice versa…
Will I buy more of it?: Yes, it was a good Belgian Strong ale. As I said earlier, I do intend to drink more Belgium beers and then I will probably buy another bottle of V-Twelve to analyze the flavor profiles again.
Vintage: ??
BEER FACTS:
Name: V-Twelve
Style: Belgian-Style Specialty Ale
Brewery: Victory Brewing Company
City: Downingtown, PA
Country: USA
Container: 25.4 oz Corked Bottle
Malts: Imported German Malts
Hops: Styrian Goldings & Tettnanger whole flowers
ABV: “Above” 12%
IBUs: ??
Date: 3.06.2010
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