Victory
Hop Wallop
Review Date
Never let it be said that Victory Brewing Company ever
did anything by half measures. If you’ve tasted their Old Horizontal
Barleywine, Storm King Imperial Stout, or even the legendary Hop Devil, you
know what I mean. And such, too, is the case with their Hop Wallop Ale,
Victory’s attempt at an Imperial IPA. Imperial IPAs, by the way, are an
American invention, an attempt at a bigger badder IPA with more malt and
hops than your average IPA. Everything is bigger in Texas, as they say, and
sometimes in Downington, PA, too. Victory, located in Downington, may well be one of the
hardest to find breweries in America, well ensconced as it is in the rear of
an old industrial park. You won’t have nay trouble finding the hops in Hop
Wallop, though. They truly permeate the beer. One of my criticisms of
Imperial IPAs is that they tend to almost become barleywines, but Victory
avoids that by toning down slightly on the malt. In my opinion, they may
have held back a bit too much; I think a little more malt body is in order
here. Am I seeming impossible to please? At 8.5% alcohol by volume the hops aren’t the only
thing that can wallop you here. A few too many of these bad boys and your
head might feel like it got walloped the next day, so be careful. The price
might well wallop your wallet, as well: I paid $9.99 for a six pack here in
Atlanta. Victory Hop Wallop pours to a coppery golden amber
color with a light creamy head formation and a spicy citric hop nose. A sip
reveals a beer surprisingly light in palate, or at least lighter than what I
expected anyway. You can taste the chewy caramel malt up front though again
it’s lighter than I expected, but it’s soon overwhelmed by the brightly
citric and floral hops. They suggest fresh squeezed orange and bitter
grapefruit, the latter more so than the former. If you close your eyes, in
fact, it’s not hard to imagine you’re drinking a glass of grapefruit juice. The Earthy, floral nature of the hops is hard to miss
too. And in the finish, the intense bitterness is peppery, long and drying.
You might even get a little alcohol warmth, too. But overall, Hop Wallop is
just that, a wallop of hops that hits you like a brick.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
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