Grabbing a cold 12-ounce bottle of Victory Brewing’s Hop Devil Ale out of the fridge last night, I knew I would be in for a treat: The label on this fine IPA features a smiling devil’s face, cleverly crafted from the image of a perfectly harvestable hop. Smiling, devilish and so tempting, I just had to drink it — and I did.
Poured into an unchilled pint glass, this microbrew foams a lot and leaves a billowy two-finger head in all its majesty for a good two to three minutes before settling down into something a little more manageable.
A golden rusty copper color burned bright in my glass, clear and crisp and full of bubbling carbonation. True to the name, the hop resins create a thick, sticky lacing around the glass.
This beer smells pretty darn good — spicy, piney hops and some caramel malts come through. The malts give it a nice sweetness that’s definitely not present in all IPAs. The smell is somewhat understated for an IPA, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
The taste is very big. The hops shine through in a few ways in this beer. An earthy, piney and spicy, almost peppery taste really comes through well and adds a degree of complexity not there in some of the purely hit-you-over-the-head-with-bitterness hoppy IPAs. A solid caramel malt backbone holds everything together and offsets some of the hop bitterness nicely.
Having said that, there’s a lingering bitterness that bites for just a tad too long for me. Other tastes are slightly bready and citrusy, but nothing I can outright identify. This beer also doesn’t hide its 6.7 percent ABV very well; I would’ve guessed it to be a higher ABV if I were judging on taste alone.
Try this beer if you love hops; it’ll give you a unique experience with some big spiciness on the palate. I would buy this every now and then and enjoy one to two beers at a time, but this is definitely not meant to be put back all night.
