Ranch S IPA
Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown

 

 

 

I had this on tap at Federal Taphouse in Harrisburg, served chilled in a tulip.

The color is deeply hazed amber with thick off white cap with ultra fine bead and sticky lace clings. The smell has lots of fruity hop esters with tropical notes like pineapple and grapefruit odors that accent the tinge of candy from the malt with mild alcohol ester. The feel is great with very lush hop presence, bitter but more oily and juicy with medium carbonation and very dry finish without much in the way of alcohol apparent.

The taste is great, lots of Simcoe citrus rind and grapefruit without a bit of cattiness you may sometimes associate with the hop, It tastes better than it smells if you can believe it it just brings more of that dank, juicy and fruity tropical taste of ruby red grapefruit with light yeast influence and malt is pretty mild well covered by the lush hop which is fresh and tangy butt only slightly astringent with mild alcohol as it finishes with only a very small smidge of celery-like vegetal taste. Overall this is a please to drink and I wish the enjoyment didn't have to end -it is one of the most juicy tropical IPA's I have had lately which is saying a lot for a single hop IPA much better than others of its ilk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This beer was served from the tap at The Blind Tiger in New York, NY. It arrived in a generic tulip, glowing a solid golden orange. It held a two finger head of cream colored bubbles, leaving spots of lacing as it fizzed away at a rather quick pace. There was a chill haze throughout, with active carbonation. No sediment was noted. The aroma gave bright and juicy hops of grapefruit, big earthiness, and a sweet leafiness reminiscent of marijuana. Pale malts balanced, along with light vanilla woodiness, sweet honeycomb, and fresh lemon juiciness. Our first impression was that the flavoring was very bold, with fresh earthiness and that sweet honey to mix on the back. As we sipped, sweet floral hops, herbal bitters, passion fruit, black pepper bite, basil, and pine cone started things off. The middle came to a peak with spicy lemon zest, bittered citric hops, and pale malts that only partially cut the bitterness of the hops. The finish came with more big herbal hop bitterness, with a more soapy hop to mix, sweet nectarine fruitiness, massive black pepper, and warming booze. The aftertaste breathed of bitter herbal hops, spicy alcohol, coiny coppers, green plant bitterness, and a massive herbal blast. The body was medium, and the carbonation was medium. There was nice slurp, froth, and glug, with pop and eventual pucker on the dregs of the sip. The mouth was coated with oily slickness that eventually dried with crispness. The abv was appropriate, and the beer drank easily.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this beer was the hearty boldness and freshness of flavoring. When compared to the Ranch R, this beer has what that one was missing, especially in translating those rich aromatics into flavor. From the first whiff to the last drop of the sip, everything is extremely fresh, spicy, and earthy, as if it was drawn out of a well deep in the forest.

 

 

 

 

On tap at The Common Tale. This was simply listed as Victory Ranch, so I have no idea if it was the R or the S. However, since other people who had it at the same bar have reviewed it as the S, I am going with that.

The beer pours an orange-amber color with a white head. The aroma is definitely that of a Double IPA. I get a lot of pine and resin notes, as well as a hint of biscuit malt. The flavor is more of the same. The dank pine and resin notes stand out initially, but the pineapple and grapefruit eventually comes through as well. There is a hint of biscuit and toffee but the bitterness is about medium. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.