Beer Blogging - Victory Hop Devil India Pale Ale
After that lager I need something a little more bitter, and I think I've got just the thing: the Hop Devil IPA from Victory Brewing.
Mmmmm, IPA. As you can see from the picture above, this beer looks just like a typical IPA: orange-golden in color, a little cloudy, and a big tan head. It smells like a typical IPA, too, with a big wallop of citrus and floral hops flooding into my nose when I get anywhere near the glass. Promising indeed.
Maybe it's just the contrast with the lager I just had, but this beer packs a lot of flavor. As you might expect, the defining characteristic is the hops, which provide both floral and citrus flavors. The taste starts out with the citrus hops, with flavors of lemon peel and grapefruit predominating. After the bitter hops come some surprisingly light floral hops and some sweet, bready malt. The aftertaste goes back to the grapefruit and lemon rind, and some alcohol (6.7% ABV) also peeks its head in here. It's a nice progression of flavors, complex without being overwhelming.
Rating: 8/10. If you like IPAs, you will like this beer. It's hoppy, to be sure, but it's not just hoppy, and there's enough variety within the hops to make it very interesting. If you're not into bitter beers, though, you should not buy this one, because you will not like it. Oh, and even thought Victory is located in Pennsylvania, I bought this 6-pack just down the street at my local Beverages & More, so I assume that you can get it most places in the country. Go pick some up!
Mmmmm, IPA. As you can see from the picture above, this beer looks just like a typical IPA: orange-golden in color, a little cloudy, and a big tan head. It smells like a typical IPA, too, with a big wallop of citrus and floral hops flooding into my nose when I get anywhere near the glass. Promising indeed.
Maybe it's just the contrast with the lager I just had, but this beer packs a lot of flavor. As you might expect, the defining characteristic is the hops, which provide both floral and citrus flavors. The taste starts out with the citrus hops, with flavors of lemon peel and grapefruit predominating. After the bitter hops come some surprisingly light floral hops and some sweet, bready malt. The aftertaste goes back to the grapefruit and lemon rind, and some alcohol (6.7% ABV) also peeks its head in here. It's a nice progression of flavors, complex without being overwhelming.
Rating: 8/10. If you like IPAs, you will like this beer. It's hoppy, to be sure, but it's not just hoppy, and there's enough variety within the hops to make it very interesting. If you're not into bitter beers, though, you should not buy this one, because you will not like it. Oh, and even thought Victory is located in Pennsylvania, I bought this 6-pack just down the street at my local Beverages & More, so I assume that you can get it most places in the country. Go pick some up!
Labels: beer
posted by The Disgruntled Chemist at
1:52 PM
