21st Birthday IPA
Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown

The beer pours out into a Duvel glass a mostly clear golden yellow color with a 1" ivory head that slowly recedes to leave plenty of lacing on the sides of the glass and that persists to the end of the beer. Sipping creates a few scattered leggy patches and some speckles of lacing, many of which slide back down the glass.

The aromas include some grapefruit, a touch of pine resin, some floral notes and a light cattiness, all backed up and softened by a bit of biscuity malt.

The flavors are much as expected from the nose, with the grapefruit and pine resin up front against a background that is slightly floral, contains a bit of cattiness and some moderating malt sweetness. The bitterness is noticeably present but restrained by the malt sweetness.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied and a bit crisp with the persistent carbonation. The medium long finish begins as the grapefruit and pine resin start to fade, taking the cattiness, the floral, and the light sweetness with them, but leaving the bitterness behind to finish up the increasingly dry show. That bitterness at first seems across the whole palate but as things dry out the bitterness moves to the back of the palate

On the whole a well done, drinkable IPA that I'll probably be having again before it disappears from the shelves. That said I have to say I’m a bit bothered by Victory apparently moving back from some of the German styles that helped them get to where they are today. I’d have preferred to see them do an Altbrier or a Dopplebock for a birthday beer.

RB transfer

Draft at brewery. Bright golden with airy, bubbly head. Tart, citrusy aroma, taste too. Crisp, really crisp. Palate really tingling. Slightly dry finish, but a real wake up call for your mouth.

 

 

Poured into a nonic pint glass.
The appearance was a golden dark yellow to light pale orange color with a finger's worth of white foamy head that slid off at a moderate pace. Some light lace ran here and there.
The aroma pulled together some pine needles, spicy hop oils, semi-grassy hop tones, danky fresh scent and ended with a little bit of tropical fruit (very subtle).
The flavor was moderately sweet and pulled that dankiness in with the spicy hops a bit tighter and seemed to kick the tropical sweetness further to the back. This tropical sweetness blended with the dankiness in the aftertaste fairly nice.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a fair sessionability about it. Carbonation felt good. ABV felt on par. Nice little touch of hop oils soothe my tongue to create just a touch of acceptable stickiness. Nice mostly smooth to oily finish.
Overall, very nicely done AIPA well worthy of coming back to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a golden peach with a slight haze and a nice white head. Nose is earthy with pine needles and light tropical fruit. Taste a bit dank. Pine needles and pine bark along with grasses and pale malts. All of that is cut by some light fruityness, mangos and grapefruit pith. Lighter body than I expected and a bit of a watery feel on the mouth.