Red Thunder
Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown

Red ThunderRed Thunder
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From:
Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown
 
Pennsylvania, United States
Style:
Baltic Porter
ABV:
8.5%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.88 | pDev: 11.08%
Reviews:
124
Ratings:
594
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Nov 07, 2021
Added:
Nov 23, 2012
Wants:
  18
Gots:
  76
Aged in Wente Vineyards red wine barrels.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by ThomasJ25:
Photo of ThomasJ25
Rated by ThomasJ25 from Pennsylvania

3.19/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Wow, a lot of red wine flavor. I enjoyed it but can only have this in moderation.
Feb 27, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of Mavigo
Reviewed by Mavigo from Michigan

4.05/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Found this buried in the back shelf of a local liquour store. I'm pretty sure I had this once before. Served in a snifter.

L- Pours a dark brown with a red tinge, with thin beige head that evaporates quickly. Barely any lacing.
S- Smells of chocolate, coffee, wine and sour cherries. Interesting aroma.
T- Got a classic porter start, chocolately, barleyish but then there's that tinge of red wine, grapes and a sour twist.
F- Smooth, complex mouth feel but leans toward the heavy side.
O- I definitely like this porter with a hint of sour thing going on. Got it for a deal actually, I'm going to go back to the store and buy the rest.
Nov 07, 2021
Photo of pathman
Rated by pathman from Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
05/15/20 bottle @ home (unknown bottling date; cellared > 5 years @ 53F)
May 15, 2020
 
Rated: 3.9 by sweemzander from Illinois

Sep 15, 2017
 
Rated: 3.77 by Dragginballs76 from South Carolina

Aug 15, 2017
Photo of GoBearsWalter34
Reviewed by GoBearsWalter34 from Illinois

4.62/5  rDev +19.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
L- Pours a dark cherry red, with a thin, creamy, off-white head. A decent amount of carbonation. Nice lacing.
S- Sweet cherries and grapes, wine barrel, and slight sour funk.
T- Chocolate malt and coffee up front, with the dark cherry appearing. Finishes with a red wine, dry, slight pepper. Very interesting and complex.
F- Smooth, complex mouth feel. Alcohol is well hidden with a slight warming feeling.
O- An interesting and well enjoyed offering.
Jun 29, 2017
 
Rated: 3.81 by liquorpig from Massachusetts

May 21, 2017
 
Rated: 4.29 by BEER88 from North Carolina

Mar 31, 2017
Photo of ONUMello
Reviewed by ONUMello from Ohio

3.77/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
750mL bottle poured into a pint glass, bottled 8/7/13
A: Translucent reddish brown with a one-finger tan creamy head that lingers
S: Chocolate, red wine, cream/vanilla, chocolate malt
T: Matches the nose in the same order
M: Full-bodied, a bit smooth but doesn't feel fresh
O: A good lesson to check freshness dates before taking the bottle home. I'm sure the aromas/flavors pretty much match what they were when fresh and it hasn't aged poorly, but it does taste tired
Dec 04, 2016
 
Rated: 3.65 by Huffs from New York

Sep 10, 2016
Photo of Davepoolesque
Reviewed by Davepoolesque from Massachusetts

3.72/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Chocolate, red wine, tannins and malt. Dry and oaky. Little to no sweetness. Not much flavor but it's ok. Not the worst. This is definitely past it's prime.
Aug 17, 2016
Photo of TH28
Reviewed by TH28 from Florida

4.02/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
750ml bottle. No apparent bottle date. Appearance: Dark brown and opaque with a light khaki head that dissipates. Aroma: Complex blend that starts with strong red wine and charred oak, with an underlying chocolate, roast, and vanilla. Wonderful aroma. Taste: Rich malt sweetness upfront that quickly hits a tannic red wine and light oak flavor that dominates the taste profile. Roast and chocolate show up on the back end at the swallow. Mouthfeel: Medium to heavy body with some viscosity and low carbonation. Finish: Roast and chocolate malt character linger from the swallow thru the finish. A touch of oak and toffee as well. Overall: An interesting beer here. Starts with an amazing complex aroma that blends the characters of the red wine barrel, chocolate, and roasted malt beautifully. The taste doesn’t quite back it up though. The wine barrel charter really dominates, and it’s not until the swallow and finish that the true Porter malt characteristics come thru. Perhaps a little less barrel exposure would provide better balance.
Aug 14, 2016
Photo of bushbeer75
Reviewed by bushbeer75 from Michigan

3.82/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
poured from a 25.4 fl. oz. brown bottle

Red Thunder has a very dark auburn almost black body producing a 1 1/2-finger bubbly tan head that dissipated to a collar of foam. The aroma is of roasted malt and some coffee and chocolate. The taste begins sweet, with flavors of dark fruit and a little chocolate followed by some hops. Then a good amount of malt is present helping to balance the hops. Mouth feel is smooth, with a medium body and carbonation. A nice alcohol warming at the finish.

Red Thunder is flavorful and not too filling.
Jun 16, 2016
 
Rated: 3.98 by JMS1512 from New Jersey

Jun 04, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by calcnerd from Pennsylvania

Jun 03, 2016
 
Rated: 4.06 by gobuccos from Ohio

May 22, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by StoutAtTheDevil from Alabama

May 05, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by ckollias from Maryland

Apr 30, 2016
 
Rated: 3.39 by Stillyman11 from California

Apr 07, 2016
Photo of matt_duthie
Reviewed by matt_duthie from Michigan

4.08/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Bottled Aug 07 2013, drank tonight.
A: Pours pretty thin and a little lighter brown/dark amber than expected, but in the glass it's nearly black with just hints of ruby coming through the light. Sticky webs of lacing. Pretty good.

S: Red wine just dominates here, but not in a bad way. Faint hint of roasted malt and a chocolate tone are present, but only once you get past the in-your-face grape, oak, and tannins.

T: Tart and fruity (grapes, cherries), but not overly so. Definitely reminiscent of wine, not sure if that's attributable to the ago on this one. The middle allows some of the base porter roasty malt and a bit of cocoa to come through, then it's oak on the finish, lingering slightly but basically dry. Delicious. Aftertaste of some sweet malt as well; damn, better than I remember the other bottles tasting, though I've always enjoyed this beer.

F: A little slick, but with some creamy qualities. Carbonation is pretty right-on (i.e. a little, but not spritzy) especially considering the age. No complaints.

O: This has always been a go-to for wine-barrel-aged beers for me, and as I stumbled across a 2.5 year old bottle today I figured it was time for a review. Solid as ever, maybe even better with age (not that I paid attention to how old the others were...). Maybe not representative of the baltic porter style, but it certainly fits in there and would be a treat for anyone who appreciates a good stout/porter/red wine.
Feb 22, 2016
Red Thunder from Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 594 ratings