Victory Storm King Stout

First Brewed: Between 1996 and 2001
Brewery Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania, United States
ABV: 9.1%

History & Availability: This is the only Victory beer I've ever seen, despite living only a couple states away from PA. Nevertheless that is probably a good sign for saturation of the beer. Victory's website says they distribute to 30 states so if you're in one of those, you can probably find this beer if you search around. Again, it leans a little toward the expensive end, but it's not orders of magnitude more than the average craft beer.

Appearance: Without a doubt, this beer takes its place among the darkest two or three beers I've rated yet. There's a hint of red during the pour but in the mug itself there's nothing but a pure black. The head, while thin, is the darkest and chocolatiest head I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. I couldn't tell you how the retention will be because I literally can't tell if there's tons of carbonation or none at all. The beer is simply that opaque.

Smell: This beer smells retardedly good. Slow to hit the nostrils, but once it does you get a strong sweet dark chocolate aroma with tons of malt suggestion.

Taste: Rich like chocolate, but with an ever-so-slight tartness to it that reminds me of raspberry or fresh pitted cherries. The aftertaste is malty and slightly more grainy than the initial taste, but there's also coffee and the slightest bitterness in the aftertaste that you don't otherwise see. Interestingly, despite the astonishing 9% ABV, you can't taste alcohol in the mouth, and only the slightest hint of dryness in the aftertaste reminds you that this stout has quite a kick to it. Well, that hint, and the fact that after two bottles you feel like you've drunken a full 6-pack.

Mouthfeel: Thick, but unlike a lot of beers that are thick like bread, this stout is thick like melted chocolate. I know I'm overusing the chocolate analogy in this review but I simply can't overstate how decadent this beer is. Carbonation is super thin and kind of creeps up on you, you only really notice that it's there because of what it's doing for turnover in the mouth, not because of the bubbles themselves. It's a very well-done feel.

Drinkability: This is a little burpy for a stout, but it tastes so much like mocha chocolate even in the other direction that I can't complain. The only thing holding it back here is the >9% ABV, which might actually be a benefit for some drinkers. Nevertheless it is still a stout, so you're not going to want to down the whole 6-pack simply due to volume.

Overall verdict: A, outstanding even among its peers, which make up one of my favorite types of beer.