Try?
Life is good these days. It seems the hop shortage is over, and brewers everywhere are rolling out a veritable plethora of hop infused brews to celebrate. In America, one of the premier hop-growing areas in the country is Washington State's Yakima Valley. To celebrate the region's contribution to the American craft brew revolution, the fine folks at Downington, Pennsylvania's Victory Brewing Company have concocted another winner in Victory Yakima Twilight Ale.
Yakima Twilight Ale is a "Dark IPA", or an India Pale Ale brewed with dark malts. I think such beers are truly wonderful, and if you've never tried one, you really should. The marriage of sweet, chocolaty dark malt with spicy, floral bitter hops is absolutely sublime when done right. Fortunately, Yakima Twilight is done right.
Victory crafts Yakima Twilight Ale from imported German malts and four varieties of fresh, whole flower Yakima Valley-grown hops (per their website). As per usual with Victory, they're not saying which varieties of hops they use. But they use a lot of them, and they certainly dominate this delightfully strong, 8.7% alcohol by volume sipping brew.
Victory Yakima Twilight Ale pours to a surprisingly dark mahogany color with a thick, very creamy tan colored head formation and a lively, spicy, piney hop nose. A prodigious layer of tan Brussels lace clings to the sides of my Hop Devil pint glass as the liquid descends. I actually just got home with my six pack of this one, and as I couldn't wait to dive into a bottle (I just love Victory's beers, after all), so mine is cool, but not cold. That's my drinking preference anyway, as it allows you to more fully appreciate the beer's flavor and aroma. I needn't have hurried to pop one, though; the bottle says I have until December 10th of 2010 to drink the stuff.
This one, of course, has both in abundance. Taking a sip, I'm immediately impressed with the malt, deep and dark, a little chocolaty, slightly nutty but not as caramelly as your normal IPA or even a barleywine (which big IPAs can approach in character). The hops show up quickly and increase into the finish where they become very piney and resiny in aroma and flavor. A long, dry bitter hop buzz develops on the tongue and lingers there, too. Not to be outdone, a very warming alcohol burn is apparent too.
I've always loved the combination of dark malts and bitter hops, and this is one of the best of them. I've always been surprised the pairing doesn't happen more often, but I'm glad Victory has unleashed one upon beer lovers as they have here. It ranks right up there with Barell House Boss Cox Double Dark IPA as one of my favorites. A bit pricey at $10.49 a six-pack, but a bargain at the price in the final analysis, I think.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
