REVIEW: Ballast Point Victory at Sea

Well, the saison on monday was a lovely change of pace. But today we're back to the big, roasty, hearty beers. Today I'm taking a look at Ballast Point's Victory at Sea, a 10% ABV coffee vanilla imperial porter. That sounds right up my alley. Plus, I really enjoyed the Calico Amber that I had from Ballast Point back in the summer. If you missed that one you can check it out here. To the beer!

Victory at Sea pours perhaps a shade above pitch black. The tiniest ruby colored highlights can be seen when it's held to a very bright light. That inky dark brew is capped by a thick layer of dense, rocky, mocha colored head. That head is awfully stubborn as it hangs around for a good long while and coats the walls of the glass with some great lacing.

I didn't even have to pour this beer to start enjoying the aromas. As soon as I popped the cap I was greeted by huge, potent roasty coffee notes. There's also a lovely sweet chocolate note going on here, but it's a pretty unique. It's a bit reminiscent of chocolate ice cream, sweet and creamy. The vanilla notes are also very evident in there with all of those other sweet and roasty notes. It all adds up to smell to me like the most amazing milkshake ever. Pretty lovely.

Man oh man. This is a coffee beer done big. Big bitter roasty notes become evident right off the bat. They're joined by a full creamy sweetness that creates a real iced coffee like character. It's very hearty and full bodied. The strong coffee notes permeate everything and beautifully compliment notes of burnt toffee, candied sugar, and a subtle fruitiness. Towards the end the chocolate sweetness returns along with some nice vanilla hints. A bit of a boozy warmth comes out on the finish and coffee bitterness lingers on.

This beer is awesome. Any coffee lover needs to go out tonight and find a bottle of this beer. Hell, any beer lover too, of course! The level of roasty coffee flavor in this beer is off the charts. There was no restraint shown here in the coffee additions. But somehow that heavy hand does not bring this beer down. The roasty bitterness if masterfully balanced by those sweet chocolate flavors and lovely complexity is added with those notes of toffee and vanilla. Hearty, complex, and delicious. Seek this one out.

HD