I enjoyed a few different things from the Victory line, the Wild Devil and Festbeir in addition to the super special Yakima. But the big surprise was a secret bomber of the Helios that the Victory rep, Pete, brought with him. Apparently it's a small rebranded re-release of a previous beer that is going to have a small release in the Philly area, so no luck getting it up here in the NYC area. A rare taste indeed. Here we go...
I had a 2 oz. taste of the helios in a 4 oz. glass.
The Pour - for only a 2 oz. pour the Helios produced a lively, stable head that stayed until the finish. Beer was a light, unfiltered gold color with slight particulates visible. It appeared to be a typical German saison by all outward appearances. Not my favorite style but it looked so cool and refreshing, I couldn't wait to jump in.
7/10
Nose - It appears that Victory has an ongoing love affair (see Wild Devil post forthcoming) with odd yeasts which I find very interesting from a beer history standpoint. The first smell of the Helios reveals the wild yeast clearly in addition to the typical citrusy witbeir malt. The hops is minimal, if noticeable, this is definitely a funky and complex beer wrapped up in a lighter than is common package. In this case the bitter yeast really supports the wheat malt and is very pleasant, a nice combination here.
8/10
Mouthfeel - Super light. Belgians have typically eluded me because they so light and whimsical I feel that I should be drinking them by the liter, but their flavor isn't my favorite so I end up having a couple of sips and moving on. Without a heavy malt or hops presence in the Helios, this too could be downed in mass quantities without too much regret, until one reads the 7.5% ABV on the side of the bottle.... oops. Quite pleasant really, somewhere in the ballpark of a light lager.
8/10
Taste - The belgian yeast and the wheat really blend together and provide a uniform taste that's hard to distinguish the subtler elements. This isn't a negative however as they work together perfectly, how is this the first Victory saison I've had? This is fantastic. Without the syrupy malt or hop-oils to coat your taste buds the flavors here are short lived in the swallow and the palate is left clean and ready for more. I could do some serious damage to a pitcher of this.
8/10
Overall the Victory Helios lands a 31/40 and is a fantastic brew. A session beer all the way, I could down this for hours sitting on the back porch in the late fall. It's a shame it's not hitting any taps in NYC anytime soon or else it would be a hit at sports bars and backyard bbqs. Next time I'm in Downington, I'll look for a few bombers...
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