Victory Brewing: V Twelve

Before I get started, I would first like to apologize to the two of you out there who actually noticed that I forgot to post this Wednesday morning. I won't let it happen again...

Now on to the beer. Have you had this one before? I'm a fan of Victory but I've never had the V-Twelve and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised .

First off, it took me a good solid ten minutes to get the cork out of the bottle. Obviously, it had expanded too much, which made it quite difficult to remove. This is good because it means no air got into the bottle, but bad because it kept me from drinking the beer. Once opened and poured, a slight head rose in the glass, but didn't last long at all. It poured an amber color which thru me off, as I was expecting a lighter yellow. The first sips presented a high amount of spice to the taste buds, but not in an overpowering way. It went down quite smooth actually. However at the bottom of the bottle, I found the flavor to be dominated by fruits, with the spices taking a back seat. Odd, but still tasty. Other than shaking the bottle before opening (which is a very bad idea), I'm not entirely sure how to get the flavor to even out though.

At 12%abv, the buzz hits you immediately, which is great for a Friday, and even better after a long day at work. I'm going to give it a solid 3.5 rating. It was very good, but I've had better, and I'm trying not to let the 12% cloud my judgement. And if you do buy it, I promise you won't be disappointed.