Victory Amber Lager
Fordham & Dominion Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like Matt, below me, I had this at the OD pub in Hyattsville. Unlike Matt, however, I really enjoyed this. This was advertised as a kellerbier

Amber with a dense, off-white head with great retention and nice lacing, this looks great. The nose really did impress me. Deliberately understated and very well-balanced, there's plenty going on here. I light bready aroma, a light floral and herbal hop character, an aroma I hesitate to label yeasty, and a light caramel sweetness. The palate is similar, opening with a rather rich malt character with a blend of bread and Vienna/Munich malts (still can't bring myself to remember which is which) with a light sweetness, this beer has quite an excellent palate. Medium in body, a little chewy almost but still quite dry and enjoyable, this beer is moderately carbonated. The only detraction on the mouthfeel is the finish, it has a little more sweetness than I'd like, an almost sugary character. Still, my 20oz pour disappeared in no time. I will drink this again.

Had this beer at the Old Dominion Pub in Hyattsville, MD.

Boring. This beer is plain and boring. Clear, almost no head, low carbonation, no aroma at all.

There is no aftertaste, but there isn't really a taste at all. Beer is bland and uninteresting.

The saving grace of this beer is the body. For as unappetizing and uninteresting this beer appeared to be, I loved how much it filled my mouth. Shocked me really. I was expecting a rather thin, watery feel. You nearly had to chew it. That was excellent.

a rich amber color with a nice white head, good retention, and leaves a little lacing.

very clean to the nose, not much smell at all.

not much malt character, a little caramel can be found that is overwhelmed by a fruity note that was difficult for me to describe. a little bit of plain hop bitterness as well. medium bodied brew with a good moderate carbonation that was good for the taste.

a nice selection from dominion, that can serve as a good session beer as well.

Poured a lighter than usual marzen red, more of a dark auburn gold. Light malt smell of caramel and hints of roasted malts and hops. The malts are more pronounced in the taste for a sweet sensation that maintains fullness and dryness from roasted (or toasted, whichever) and bread malts. Hops are kept to a minimum but do balance the beer and give some citricy tastes on the backend. Not a bad marzen, but I've had better.

On-tap into pint glass.

Cloudy orange yellow color with a one finger tan head. The aroma is very bready with a little bit of earthy yeast: as light fruit. The warmer fermenting of the lager yeast brings out the fruitiness in an otherwise plain yeast strain. The flavor is about the same: bready grains with a touch of fruit flavor. Medium bodied with a little higher than average amount of carbonation. The finish is pretty clean, with a bit of fruit left over.

This is a California Common that could easily rival Anchor Steam. Fantastic beer.

Served as a medium amber colored beer with modest off-white head.
Smell is malt with rich caramel notes present.
Taste shows more of the caramel with a rich malt character.
Finishes with a nice refreshing fruity sweetness.
A very well-made beer with nice session qualities.

I picked up a sixtel of this from the Old Dominion brewery in Ashburn upon returning another keg. Poured a thick, hazy amber color. It's an unfiltered lager, which explains the opaque quality to it. Nice head which lasted a short while. No significant lace, though. The aroma wasn't much to speak of. A dense maltiness to it, but very faint otherwise. Tasted a bit harsh at first. Perhaps I just wasn't sure what to expect. After the fist glass, however, my taste buds settled down a bit and I was able to appreciate this beer a bit more. Very much like the few alt beers I've tasted before, it seemed. Nice smooth malty flavor with hints of woody citrus. Chewy, even. All in all it was a solid beer. Not sure how often I'd return to this one, but I wouldn't turn my nose up at it either.

Had this one at the OD Brewpub. Nice little malt lager. Reminded me a lot of the Victory Brewing Co. All Malt Lager. Was a kind of hazy pale color with a white fizzy head to it. The head died out fairly quickly. I did like the color though. The taste was very malty, almost a little skunk was detectable, but nothing too bad. I did find it rather drinkable, as it was very refreshing. I think it would be a great beer to use as a "crossover" beer for macro drinkers.

Slightly hazy copper hue. Creamy, well retained off white head leaves intricate lace. Woody, earthy hop nose, w/ light caramel and toasty Munich malt in aroma. Assertive hop bitterness upfront leads into a light caramel malt profile, w/ hints of toast. Clean, understated malt character is secondary to the prominent hop profile. Woody hop flavor melds with the slight esters to lend an oaky mid palate impression. Light to moderate in body, w/ an agreeably smooth mouthfeel. Finishes bready and bitter. Victory Amber Lager is a flavorful brew, that is highly reminescent of well travelled Anchor Steam, albeit more earthy and assertive in hop profile.

Presentation: A big, most impressive, 2L growler -- full with ceramic lock-top and metal handle.

Appearance: Semi-hazy light pale golden beer with a thin creamy white lace.

Smell: Fusel, grain and light sulfur aromas. Overall, very clean.

Taste: A very rich and malty brew with a nice smooth, full-bodied texture on the palate. Malt sweetness is even with toasted and biscuity flavours. Fruity esters follow with a light citrus rind-like bitterness, traces of salt, cooked veggie and light husk tannin flavours. Finishes a bit dry with some fusel alcohol as the beer warms.

Notes: Brewed as an ale, but fermented as a lager, Victory Amber Lager is an extremely flavourful and highly drinkable lager. Sold in kegs and take-out growlers only.