Storm King
Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown

Single can from Party Source

 

RB transfer

Good beer I love stouts especially in the wintertime I wish t his beer was a little less dry. Even by stout standards I feel like the finish is too dry. However Nice aroma, lacing and mouth feel.

12oz canned on 10-6-25, opened 1-2-26.
2 finger tan head with great staying power and a full sheet of lace left behind as it recedes on top of a pitch black body.
Fresh, grassy hops, charred malt, cocoa powder, and espresso all in the nose.
Big bold combo of grassy, grapefruity hops and rich, roasty malts. Delicious. Triple Imperial Black IPA?
Medium-plus body and full mouthfeel. Long roasty finish with an impressive hop punch - flavor lingers and lingers.
Drinkability is fantastic. When I see this, I buy this.
Outstanding to World Class.

The pour is very dark brown and essentially black (SRM 33-36) when in the glass. A one inch, beige cream slowly turns rocky while coating an Antiek goblet with a dense curtain of lace. The head eventually becomes a thick quilt after more than five minutes.

Strong baker's chocolate and dark roasted malt greet the nose. Light sweetness creeps in with cappuccino and licorice. Pine resin becomes distinctive after a few minutes. Alcohol fumes are a nice touch that fall short of Kahlua. The alcohol is much stronger than expected.

The flavor opens with dark roasted and charred malt against licorice and dark demi-tasse. The roasted combination is spectacular and set off by pine resin as a counterpoint. Cocoa powder shows up with warmth. The bitterness is quite nice, with no hint of sweetness. The finish is long, powerful, and filled with charred malt.

The texture is creamy and smooth within a full body. The alcohol influence is as expected, although there is no heat.. Carbonation is soft and creamy.

Coffee notes keep changing throughout the session, making for a pleasant progression that is seemingly rare these days. This beer goes well with casual conversation. I am enjoying it with an intense Grueyere, even though the beer is a bit too strong for the pairing.

 

 

This 2025 version popped into my favorite bottle shop unexpectedly, as it's been several years since I've seen it. So of course I grabbed that 6-pack of cans. At around 50-55 degrees F, a medium-aggressive half way to then a gentle pour into a pint glass resulted in a 2-3 finger thick, creamy medium-brown head topping a very deep brown/nearly black beautiful looking ale. Lacing hugs tight as the head very slowly recedes. This looks absolutely terrific.

On the aroma, it's hoppy as I remember. Piney, wood chips, faint citrus, some booziness. A hop bomb for sure. Doesn't smell like a stout.

The taste, oh my gosh. There's the stout. I knew it would be there. This is one of the best imperial stouts ever brewed, the flavor depth is just wonderful. Up front there's roasty, charred pine bark with a touch of vanilla sweetness. Just a touch. Then it goes full on bitter. The pine is prevalent bringing on that bitterness mid-palate through the aftertaste. There's faint citrus, just like in the aroma, light smokiness, espresso, plenty of pine and oaky woodiness on the semi-dry finish. Very rich and complex in its own way. This is a delight to drink. I love a good bitter stout and this one delivers in a special way for me. Just love it. What a sipper this is. The mouthfeel is soft and velvety yet has a lightness and drinkability to it, and the dryness of it makes you want to take another sip. If you've never had it, it's one you have to try before you die. Cheers y'all!

 

Poured from 12 oz can purchased from Washington, Pa Beer Store.

For one who loves IPAs and adores stouts, this bold and bitter stout is a big win!

Super roasty espresso combined with prunes and dark chocolate are the first tastes that come through. And then the bitter! Bold, almost harrowing, as it finishes, the hops just linger on the tongue. You've got to have a strong palette for this one.

The mouthfeel is silky smooth. The color opaque black gold!

The only drawback was a slight wince at the aroma. It has the aroma of the dry hop leaves crushed in hand, a little skunky, a little off-putting. But it's not going to keep me from enjoying this one.

It's a winner in my book

 

 

 

 

Pours from the can dark brown, collecting in the glass nearer to black, but not quite all the way there. The creamy foam atop the body is a couple fingers tall and is a mix of medium large bubbles in a more dense meringue. Nose isn't popping at first, but as it comes it is the piney - almost wood piney - notes that come first. Medium roast coffee comes out next, but it is almost like it has to force itself the long way around the American hops. Combined, this has as much a black IPA vibe as a stout, though the lightness of the aromas overall counter that a bit.

Bakers chocolate-tinged dark roast coffee hits the sides of my tongue on the first sip. The piney notes rush in afterwards and all but overpower these. A bit of dark toast char trickles into the finish. The beer leaves my mouth quite dry after each sip. The beer has a medium-plus thickness, with a boldness of flavors to boost the impression. A just below medium carbonation is noted. This stout does seem from a different age, one where bitterness (and not sweetness or additions) drove many craft beer American stouts. I could use a little more malt sweetness to balance the bitterness, but only to balance the aggressive hopping a little better.

Poured from a can at fridge temp. Pours pitch black with an abundance of fluffy tan head. Good retention.

The nose is really nice. Mocha, roasted malts, bitter hops, dark German bread, charred wood, and a touch of coffee grounds.

The taste is fantastic. Mostly bitter with a slight sweetness in there. Super burnt wood, dark chocolate, French roast coffee grounds, dark roasted malts, slight nuttiness, and an ever-so-slight note of dark fruit. Overall, it's a classic bitter RIS.

Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with an aftertaste of dark roasted malts and dark chocolate. Great stout!

Black with a nice light brown head, excellent retention, rings of lace
Orange, grapefruit, and pine resin hop aromas over espresso and dark chocolate
Tastes a 90% cacao dark chocolate bar melted into a burnt espresso with a few drops of orange flower water with some pine needles steeped in it. Not for the faint of heart, but I love it
Heavy bodied, not sticky, clean finish, appropriate carbonation
We could have more impy stouts like this, but millennials had to ruin it.

The original hopped up Imp Stout. I thought I rated this back in the day, but no sir.

Tons of piney bitter hop notes intertwine with dark roast coffee, anise, unsweetened dark chocolate, and molasses. The sweet stout lovers will undoubtedly rate this lower, but take heed. This is a worthy stout. There is a pleasant creaminess to the experience with a nice carbonation delivering all its flavors evenly. It can be sipped or crushed depending on mood. It seems lacking on the nose, but no matter. This was once a top beer for a reason. It may have fallen out of favor to current trends, but overall this is still one of the kings.

This is a beautiful beer. It's a shame this style of beer is out of fashion, and subjected to being brewed only as a seasonal--and even then, only when enough beer lovers complain to Victory to bring it back. Beers like this, Prima, Braumeister, Homegrown, any wet hopped lager you are lucky enough to try on tap, Donnybrook, and Classic make you peeved that Victory chases the monkey dollars (with the exception of Golden) vs focusing on their better beers. Victory has amazing brewers on staff, and world class facilities. If only they would let their brewers loose....