Picked up a case at Victory today because I was worried I wouldn't see it in the stores. Chatted a bit with the guy there who was super nice. I thoroughly enjoyed last years - best harvest ale of the year.
Couldn't agree more, flew through the three 4-packs I bought last year and when I went back for more it was no where to be found. I'm afraid it might be even more coveted this year.
Victory goes thru Verrasto up here, so I would guess Sabatini's will get about 100 cases and everyone else, maybe 1.
wegman's had a lot of it. Montco location. I picked up two 4 packs. It was great so i grabbed another 2 more. They had a good pile of it. It's been there all week, so you may want to get on it
Oh man...it's one of the best beers Victory has put out in a long time...I didn't get a chance to try last years as I was out of country but this years is drinking really nice....super fresh wet hopped Citra and Mosaic hops...IMO it's slighty better on draft but even in bottles it's just a super juicy IPA...all that tropical fruit and resinous goodness.
Funny you should ask, as I am having one right now. It tastes like last year's batch did. Now that you ask me to describe it in certain terms I find it hard to nail down. I suppose it seems like it has a kind of very slight apple/pear juice thing going on, but it is not a "juicy" IPA by any means. There is an astringent hop bitterness that is way more predominant. Maybe a little melon and pine. It's not really forward in any particular direction. It as almost perfectly balanced. I wish I could describe it for you better, but my palate is a little scorched from a heavy session yesterday I'm afraid. I hope this helps.
I would say it's like biting into a hop cone in the best way imaginable. I really love this beer. All hops in the nose, taste follows. Malt is there, but clearly knows its role. Like another poster said, not juicy. More like the raw, piney, resinous profile we all love so much. Enjoy guys! Best time of the year for me.
I bought a 4-pack earlier today and I drank one when watching a Football game. For my palate there was a lot of earthy and vegetal qualities to this beer. Maybe vegetal equates to "biting into a hop cone" to you? I grow my own hops and a month ago I homebrewed my own Wet Hopped Harvest Ale from my hop plant. The Victory Harvest Ales' vegetal quality was not appealing to my palate; I will not be buying anymore of this beer. I will drink more of my homebrewed Wet Hopped Harvest Ale and I will have a smile on my face when drinking that beer. @drtth Cheers!
It's interesting how we all perceive it differently. Thirty ought Six calls it "juicy" while I say it's not that. You get grassy erf while I detect no such presence. Perhaps the serving temperature or foods that were eaten earlier in the day can influence our perception of this beer? I'm curious, what notes are finding in your homebrew, and what hops did you use?
You can read about my homebrewed Wet Hopped Harvest Ale here: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-555.343253/#post-4143802 Cheers! P.S. I would not use the word "grassy" to describe Victory Harvest Ale; it was more of a vegetal aroma/flavor (maybe brussel sprouts?).
