V-12

This is one of the only Victory beers that I can’t get locally, but thanks to Philly Mike, I had this bottle to sample. Quadruples are probably my favorite style so I’m always excited and have high expectations when I try a new one.



Style – Quadrupel
ABV - 12%
Brewed In – Downington, PA
Availability – Rotating Release

Score - 7.5/10

Appearance
Pours a dark bronze, with heavy carbonation. It’s much lighter than it appears in the pic. The light tan, 1 finger head has almost no retention. The lacing is surprisingly thick with some agitation though, especially with how quickly the head disappeared

Smell
There’s not a whole lot going on with the nose. It’s dominated by sweet malts, with some faint hints of Belgian yeast and dark fruits.

Taste
The flavors in the beer are disappointingly muted for my tastes. There are a lot of sweet malts up front along with some raisin flavor. It finishes with a very hot, almost rum flavor. There isn’t a whole lot of complexity and it lacks the typical spices like cloves I’ve come to expect from high gravity Belgian ales. The flavors are pretty unbalanced, I’d be curious what happens to it with some serious downtime though, especially with how noticeable the alcohol is.

Feel
Feels thin and heavily carbonated. The carbonation works ok for this beer, but I would definitely prefer it to be heavier. It doesn’t leave a whole lot as far as coating of the mouth.

Verdict
I definitely enjoyed this, and will probably get some more to cellar and see what happens, but it wasn’t great. As I said, I come into quads with really high expectations, and this falls a little short for me. I had a Rochefort 10 afterwards to make sure I wasn’t being too hard on it, and the Roche blew it out of the water.

Thanks for the review Justin, I have a couple and now will definetely put them to rest until the fall.

So what does that make me now...0 for 5? Can I send some Nugget Nectar to make up for it?

If you want a few to age, I do think they mature well, though not being as wise in the ways of quads as you I don't know how much more they improve. Looks like I'm going to have to send some Ichor and Incubus out.

Phlicker said:

So what does that make me now...0 for 5? Can I send some Nugget Nectar to make up for it?

If you want a few to age, I do think they mature well, though not being as wise in the ways of quads as you I don't know how much more they improve. Looks like I'm going to have to send some Ichor and Incubus out.

Click to expand...

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I'd say 5/5. There hasn't been one that I didn't enjoy, just none that have left me with an uncontrollable urge to buy a case. I'll probably pick up a couple bottles to put away when I'm in Denver for GABF.

Nice review Justin. I have to agree with your overall thoughts, good beer, nothing great, worth a shot. Its odd but I used to love V-12 but I haven't enjoyed that last couple of bottles as much as I used to.