Among beer geeks, it’s often debated just who has the best beer. Is it the Germans? The Belgians? The British? Hedging their bets, Downington, Pennsylvania’s Victory Brewing Company covers all the bases and brews beers based on classics from all these nations. But they don’t just brew them, they brew them extremely well, and to beer lovers, that makes all the difference.

Case in point: Victory Twelve. A special bottling of a rare and exotic brew, Victory Twelve is part of the company’s limited edition “V” series sold in elegantly packaged corked 750 ML glass bottles. Twelve is a brew very much in the Belgian style, distinctive for it’s spicy yeast flavors typical of Belgian brews. It’s also a beer of formidable strength at 12% alcohol by volume. One bottle of Twelve has about as much alcohol as five average strength ales or lagers.

That said, beers like this are most assuredly not about pounding down for a quick buzz. Rather, they are much better sipped to be best appreciated for their great complexity. They’re also best shared between friends, and the 750 ML bottle is perfect for that.

Stylistically, Victory Twelve is fashioned after a Belgian Quadrupel, a rich and potent ale made only be a handful of breweries, with perhaps La Trappe Quadrupel and St. Bernardus Abbey 12 being the best known. Victory fashions Twelve out of imported German malt, Tettnang and Styrian Golding hops and an authentic Belgian yeast strain. But let’s see how Victory’s effort fares,, shall we?

Victory Twelve pours to a deep ruby amber color with a thick cauliflower head formation and a big fruity yeasty nose. Beers like this are best enjoyed in a wide-mouthed glass and should be served cool, not cold, to best appreciate their aroma and complexity. As such, I pour mine into a tulip-shaped glass and allow to warm slightly.

A slow sip reveals a chewy caramel malt foundation that is rich and, well, luxurious as you swirl it about on your tongue. The complex flavors emerge quickly. First it’s the fruit: juicy red delicious apple and sweet pear. Then the earthy, musty, Belgian yeast notes appear. There’s a tasty cotton candy element that pokes through the rich malty sweetness, and a hint of licorice spice.

The finish is warming with alcohol, and though if you try you can get a touch of grassy hop bitterness in the finish, there’s not a lot of that here. Twelve finishes balanced, with the earthy musty Belgian yeast notes and some fruit left lingering on the tongue.

This is a wonderful beer, well worth the $8 a bottle price tag. Victory calls it “Liquid Luxury” and I concur. I found it just the thing after a hearty, filling meal and savored a bottle slowly over a few hours. It would serve equally well before dinner as an aperitif.

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