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Headwaters Pale Ale
Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown


Beer Geek Stats
| Print Shelf Talker
- From:
- Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown
- Pennsylvania, United States
- Style:
- American Pale Ale
Ranked #527 - ABV:
- 5.2%
- Score:
- 87
Ranked #16,176 - Avg:
- 3.9 | pDev: 11.28%
- Reviews:
- 625
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jan 19, 2022
- Added:
- Feb 14, 2011
- Wants:
- 91
- Gots:
- 519
SCORE
87
Very Good
87
Very Good


Notes:
Crisp and aromatic, this boldly-hopped American ale balances notes of citrus and tea-like earthiness from American hops with a subtle German malt base.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Rated by 2market from Pennsylvania
3.99/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.99/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Very good easy drinking brew
Jan 13, 2022Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway
3.38/5 rDev -13.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
3.38/5 rDev -13.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
355 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 5.1%. Clear golden colour, moderate to low white head. Sweetish aroma with hints of orange marmalade, notes of earthy hops and wood, even a hint of smoke. Fairly hoppy and peppery flavour, with a distinct bitterness in the aftertaste.
May 10, 2021Reviewed by GarrettB from Colorado
3.56/5 rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
3.56/5 rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
November 1st, 2015 - After rounds of excellent beers it is always nice to get back to some basic brews, and the Headwater Pale Ale is a nice entry back to the more terrestrial world of reliable and stolid beers. The scent is as generic as can be, with a nice ping of bitterness advertising its style, and absent any off-aromas. And the flavor is much the same. A mild hops up front, a long sweet aftertaste, and the impression that this is a solid beer for a local brewery. After discovering it is from Victory I am a little surprised since I find their beers to be on the stronger and bolder side, but it does explain why this Pale Ale is clean and free from anything untoward.
Jan 06, 2020Reviewed by JA_26 from Pennsylvania
3.79/5 rDev -2.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.79/5 rDev -2.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Really good pale ale. Well-balanced, fruity and bready at the same time without being overwhelming. A nice Victory alternative to HopDevil and HopWallop, which are outstanding, but sometimes more than you want for an ale drinking session.
Jun 24, 2019Reviewed by good_to_sea from Pennsylvania
3.94/5 rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.94/5 rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Look: Clear, golden amber with a rapidly receding white head.
Smell: Sweet malt and piney, citrusy, earthy hop aroma.
Taste: Lemon citrus. Fruit and malt sweetness up front, blended with a great hop bitterness.
Feel: Medium-bodied and crisp, with effervescent carbonation.
Overall: Really nice, solid beer.
Jun 01, 2019Smell: Sweet malt and piney, citrusy, earthy hop aroma.
Taste: Lemon citrus. Fruit and malt sweetness up front, blended with a great hop bitterness.
Feel: Medium-bodied and crisp, with effervescent carbonation.
Overall: Really nice, solid beer.
Reviewed by ordybill from Georgia
3.94/5 rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.94/5 rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 12 OZ bottle into a pint glass. The appearance is a clear ruby color with a small white head. The aroma is mostly hops with a bit of lemon tossed in. Nice flavor.
Apr 20, 2018Reviewed by Spike from England
2.67/5 rDev -31.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75
2.67/5 rDev -31.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75
355ml can.
L: Amber, hazy, thin head, lots of lacing.
S: Earthy, old grass, compost.
T: Stewed tea, woody, earthy, dank, zero lemon notes, mouth-puckering bitterness.
F: Light body, hint of carbonation, very dry.
O: Lots of tea-like earthiness...but not my cup of tea.
Mar 17, 2018L: Amber, hazy, thin head, lots of lacing.
S: Earthy, old grass, compost.
T: Stewed tea, woody, earthy, dank, zero lemon notes, mouth-puckering bitterness.
F: Light body, hint of carbonation, very dry.
O: Lots of tea-like earthiness...but not my cup of tea.
Rated by mrovka from England
3.12/5 rDev -20%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
3.12/5 rDev -20%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Depp amber colour. Nice fruity aroma, lemon, orange. Quite bitter, earthy, hoppy taste. Gentle finish.
Jan 23, 2018Reviewed by Vader444 from Scotland
3.39/5 rDev -13.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.39/5 rDev -13.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Can poured into Spiegelau IPA glass.
A well made pale ale. Smells lovely and tastes.........like most other American pale ales. Very drinkable and perfectly pleasant but I’m unable to apply any superlatives to this one. Enjoyable but in no way memorable. Cheers!
Dec 29, 2017A well made pale ale. Smells lovely and tastes.........like most other American pale ales. Very drinkable and perfectly pleasant but I’m unable to apply any superlatives to this one. Enjoyable but in no way memorable. Cheers!
Reviewed by BsRblu from Pennsylvania
4.28/5 rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.28/5 rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Absolutely solid, crisp, refreshing, flavorful, delightful, just-right malt with hearty hop, go-to, keep-em-comin', staple brew. For bonus points, great policy giving back to help preserve and protect the watershed that provides the excellent water to make this brew.
Nov 08, 2017Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont
3.96/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.96/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Poured into an English pint glass, the appearance was a semi-clear golden amber color and leaves the same color body. A one centimeter white head forms and lasts for a half a minute. Some spider web lacing is left around the sides of the glass.
The smell has the hops up front, somewhat spicy yet earthy with some faint citrusy sweet to semi-bitter hop particles flowing into a quaint biscuit malt backbone.
The flavor brought a bit more bitterness from the hops to subtly play with the malts. Aftertaste had a decent blend of citrus bitterness and a firm malt level.
The mouthfeel was between light and medium bodied with a fair sessionability about it. Carbonation felt fine. ABV felt appropriate. Semi-dry sort of finish.
Overall, pretty nice APA all around and goes nicely with it's suggested food.
Jun 30, 2017The smell has the hops up front, somewhat spicy yet earthy with some faint citrusy sweet to semi-bitter hop particles flowing into a quaint biscuit malt backbone.
The flavor brought a bit more bitterness from the hops to subtly play with the malts. Aftertaste had a decent blend of citrus bitterness and a firm malt level.
The mouthfeel was between light and medium bodied with a fair sessionability about it. Carbonation felt fine. ABV felt appropriate. Semi-dry sort of finish.
Overall, pretty nice APA all around and goes nicely with it's suggested food.
Reviewed by flyingpig from Scotland
2.83/5 rDev -27.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
2.83/5 rDev -27.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
355ml Bottle from Asda, Glasgow (£1.82):
Disappointing stuff here from Victory, the beer opened well with nice tropical fruits & a lot of pine with some citrus in there as well but in both the nose & the taste these all passed quickly & left little more than a bland, basic beer that was more lager than pale ale. There was the odd touch of earthy bitterness, a faint hint of floral & some biscuit malts but none of these was overly pronounced & the beer just seemed boring & weak throughout; I'd expected much better.
Jun 09, 2017Disappointing stuff here from Victory, the beer opened well with nice tropical fruits & a lot of pine with some citrus in there as well but in both the nose & the taste these all passed quickly & left little more than a bland, basic beer that was more lager than pale ale. There was the odd touch of earthy bitterness, a faint hint of floral & some biscuit malts but none of these was overly pronounced & the beer just seemed boring & weak throughout; I'd expected much better.
Headwaters Pale Ale from Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown
Beer rating:
87 out of
100 with
2636 ratings
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