Victory Vital IPA

I thought it was a solid IPA. More of a light summer IPA, but also a great price and...cans.

 

Finally picked up a six of this. I've only had 2 of 'em so far.
1st one I had I thought that it was definitely not malty. Fairly light and crisp, with a predominantly herbal, spicy hop bite, but pretty balanced for the most part.
2nd one I had, for some reason I thought was reeaally bitter and piney, with a really persistent bitterness in the aftertaste. Not sure why that happened, as I'm quite accustomed to hoppy beers. It's weird how different the same beer can taste on a different day.

 

Had a few last night and I'm def not getting any malt like I thought I got the first time trying it. I enjoyed it much more this time around. Nice crisp beer.

 

Why is there a thread for this beer? Why not just rate it? It's not like it's really different or anything, it's just another IPA.

 

Reminded me a lot of old school west coast IPAs. And I was perfectly fine with that.

 

Agreed, Kölsch yeast is different than an English or American strain but it's still an ale yeast. I don't feel the Kölsch strain makes an unusual contribution, or even a noticeable difference in the finished product. If it did, that would be something, but it doesn't.

 

I loved this one. It had a great mix of stank, lemon and orange rind, and a nice malt balance. Not your typical hop bomb, and, to me, way more enjoyable than the "juicy fruit" IPAs that seem so popular this minute.

 

Seems like this brew is splitting the difference between a garden variety IPA and Prima Pils. I like it.

 

Not bad at all, although I am a sucker for the juicier IPAs these days. It tasted like a session IPA. Not much malt and a very crisp, citrusy, piney taste. I'm surprised this had Citra and Simcoe in it; tasted more like Cascade or something.

 

Did something about this remind anyone else of Hop Wallop? It could just be a Victory house flavor thing going on, but it definitely brought that beer to mind.

Anyway- great price/really nice beer. I can see myself buying it again and again. (I'm also pretty much 'over' those saturated fruity hop bombs these days).

 

It would appear to me that this whole subforum is dedicated to discussing newly released beer. Am I missing something or are you missing the point?

 

It tastes like a slightly more bitter pilsner. I don't care for it.

 

Had my 3rd one, and I really enjoyed it. The pilsner malt allows it to be pretty light, dry and crisp so the prickly hops come through in full force. Don't get too much in the way of fruit or citrus like their description says, mostly lots of pine, grass and herbs. It definitely reminds me of an old-school kinda IPA, like a Torpedo or something, but with a much lighter body, which makes it really drinkable. Almost like they wanted to make a session IPA, but didn't care about the abv.

 

Agreed. Menu says "Beer Releases".

It doesn't taste like a pilsner to me, not even close. Maybe you are picking up the pilsner malt and that's why you say that. It's much to fruity and dank for a pils. I also think it's not near as bitter as Prima.

That being said, the more I drink it the more I like it. It's an IPA that has the fruity notes, but also has the piney dank notes but drinks clean and crisp with the pilsner malt. I really like it.

 

My point was that this seems like a throwaway beer of little importance, simply made to put another IPA on the shelf to maintain market share - although I'm apparently in the minority on that. But I say that for 2 reasons: There are just so many better IPAs coming out everyday now that it seems to pale in comparison, or at least blend in; and coming from Victory who's known for their hoppy beers (Storm King? Hoppy Imperial Stout) and IPAs it's a let down. Just my opinion, but I'm far from impressed. I'll give them credit for the malt and kind of trying something new, but this one falls below the radar for me. (I'll expect some backlash, and based on that I'll give it another shot but I doubt my opinion will be swayed).

 

I need to know more about this "stank" flavor you speak of. I can't decide whether I'm intrigued or disgusted...

 

Just goes to show how far the market has come that Vital is called a throwaway beer of little importance!

I really like it but hey, Im of little importance too.

 

To me it was an IPA that drank like a pilsner by the time I got to the end of the glass.

 

Agree!