Victory Wild Devil Ale

Bold, spicy, menacingly delicious HopDevil takes on an entirely new dimension when subjected to a wild yeast fermentation. A sharp, sourish edge has been added by this fermentations that plays into the caramel sweet malt deliciously and creates complex interplay with citrus accented hops.
Originally made in 2008, remade in 2014.

3.6

703 reviews

Downingtown, United States

Community reviews

4.0 750 mL bottled 6/11/14, drunk 6/4/15, 1 year old Fantastic pour as always from Victory; big fluffy white head is immensely well-retained and tops a deep golden liquid that is heavily carbonated with tiny bubbles and shows a great clarity and light sediment behind in the bottle. Fresh lilacs in the nose showcase the hop and brett acid interplay. Perfumey and aromatic as all hell, with all sorts of floral notes beyond the lilacs and a strong lime skin and lighter stone fruit playfulness. Malts reveal a seemingly well-attenuated light caramel character, with biscuit and honey notes as well. No alcohol or faults that I can find. Maybe just a touch of sharp alcohol as it warms. Glad I waited a year on this one....man, this stuff is still hoppy. In fact, my girlfriend thought it was still too hoppy, though I suspect she was mistaking some of the brett acidity for the hop acids. Certainly some residual pine can still be felt, as well as light citrus, but it blends in to the lime-like brett character pretty well, both elements sharpening each other’s flavors. Tremendously carbonated still, with no sign of oxidation. Every sip is well balanced between the moderately sweet, soft caramel malt flavors and the sharper, perfumey brett and hop notes. As it warmed, it grew, perhaps, a bit sluggish on the palate, the malt turning out to be just a tad too sweet. I imagine this must be necessary to balance the beer while young, as this thing must be a hop assault young, if it’s still this hoppy after one year. At $10 bucks a 750mL and available everywhere, you can’t argue with the delightful brett flavors here even if the beer does come off a bit messy at points (though far more refined with a year of age on it, I’m sure).

3.8 Aroma of citrus and funk. Nice. A beautiful cloudy orange amber pour with a lasting ivory foamy head and minimal lacing. The taste is grapefruit, tropical fruit combined with a tasteful sour funk. Medium body and medium carbonation. Overall, A very nicely made beer with loads of taste. Loved the combination of citrus and funk.

2.4 Bottle poured a lightly hazy orange hue w/ an enormous foamy head and minor sticky lacing. Mild earthy aroma. Initial flavor is light sweet w/ a bold bitter finish. Tastes are apricot, lemon, barnyard funk, and straw. Full bodied.

3.8 750mL corked & caged beer - Bottled 11 JUN 14 Quite a struggle to get this bad boy open. I’m rewarded with a hazy, very bright orange beer, pouring a pillowy white head. Aroma explodes from the bottle, filling the room straight away; cooked citrus, pine sap, orange sherbert, grapefruit, grass, leading onto funky notes of fermenting pineapple, hay & horse sweat, with peppery phenolic undertones. Body rather fuller than expected for strength/Brett infected (was expecting dryness!), lively carbonation, lingers for a good measure on the palate. Plenty of hops on offer here - resiny, leafy, spicy, candied orange, pine sap, theres a nice sweet pale malt note in there leading onto funky Bretty grapefruit rind, pineapple, hay & barnyard. Bitterness is relentless, lingering spicy phenolic finish. Really interesting blend of big US hops & Bretty funk - works well!

3.6 Bottle. Amber. Citrus, tropical fruit, caramel, and funky brett yeast throughout. Good stuff.

3.6 Bottle. Dark copper with thin white head. Funky with a variety of tropical fruit flavors and musk. Quite enjoyable.

3.4 [3/2/15] Draught at Brouwer’s Cafe in Seattle. Nice deep red-amber color with a beige head. Aroma of malt, caramel, funk and fruitiness. Sweetish flavor with malt, caramel, mild funk, hops, some fruitiness and a bitter finish. Medium-bodied. Decent.

3.7 citrus rind aroma with tart berry notes. taste has grassy notes with lemon and grapefruit. finish is bitter and a tad juicy. the breadyness from the yeast is subtle but present.

3.9 Bottle. Fruity funky tart aroma. Taste is soapy and citrusy, with a dry bitter finish. Very nice.

3.5 Poured as 4 ounce taster at Roanoke’s For the Love of the Brew fest. Nice Brett notes with earthiness and spice making a good presence in what otherwise would be a normal’ish IPA.

3.7 Definitely funky. There a wet hay, barn aroma with a sublte sweetness. Tropical fruits and some citrus. Tastes like an IPA with some funk. As it warms up I started to get some more complex aromas and flavors. It started to taste like a saison. Overall an interesting beer.

3.8 Poured from 750ml bottle. Hazy, orange-amber with a huge, billowing khaki head and very good lacing. Aroma of citrus, hay, barnyard, fruit and bread. Taste of funky fruit, bread, hay, caramel and pine. Medium body and medium carbonation. A rather nice interplay of funk and hops. The slight tartness is balance by the solid malt background.

3.5 Bottle dated 11 June 2014. This was poured into a snifter. The appearance was a nice looking hazy to bronzed and slight cloudy orange to brown color with a one finger white foamy head that became slightly foamy to an extent and died with a slight amount of bubbles glossing to the sides of the glass. Still, there’s lacing running here and there along the glass. The smell had a nice sweet to spicy to floral to sticky fresh citrus note driven into a deviously suspicious yet subtle yeasty to peppercorn combination. The taste took all of those previously mentioned flavors to combine and flavor sweet and lightly spiced. There’s a nice light spicy floral aftertaste leading to a dry finish. On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a fairly decent sessionability about it. The carbonation was there and displayed a decent amount of carbonation on my palate. Overall, I say this was a pretty good Sour/Wild ale to me because I find it to be mostly balanced and not overbearing in the sour/funky department. I’d have again.

3.9 Bottle from Mane Liquor. This one surprised me. Fairly different ot what I’m used to and I have had plenty of IPA’s. Had massive floral focus with an almost tea-like feel to it. Loaded with lavender reminiscent of Earl Grey with heavy underlying apricot and cooked orange. Sticky and resinous but all in check. Very well prices for a 750 too. Very nice drop

3.6 draft sampler a tailspin. poured a darkish yellow with white head. the nose was immediate bread, brett mild funk and malts. aroma was great and the flavor was right there. a nice balance of brett and spice and a little funk. not on thing over powering the other. like this one.

3.5 On tap at Breukelen Bier Merchants, Brooklyn. Pours hazy amberish with white head. Brett and fruit in aroma and flavor. Spicy. Dry finish.

3.5 Brownish gold, lightly clouded. Small tan head. Quite bready, some light basement funkiness, earthy. A light touch of honey. Bitterness seems to just edge out sweetness for predominance, both followed by a much lighter sour edge. Maybe even a bit of fruit on the way out as the beer warms up. Medium body, quite chewy. Bit of acidity, not a terrible amount of carbonation. Decently long finish. Pretty good.

3.7 Dark amber pour with a light beige head. Aroma is funk/sour, barnyard. Taste is funk, sour, dry, a little sweet. Nice malty base. The hoppy aftertaste blends with the sour funk. Best thing about this tasty treat is how the flavors meld together yet are distinct. Great lacing.

2.9 I'm a big fan of Hopdevil but not this. It's a well made beer if you like Belgian IPAs

2.6 This just didn’t work for me. The funk was there but not Ina good way and I immedi felt a headache coming on from this so I didn’t even finish the whole bottle.

3.7 From Bomber. Poured orange, white, big, foamy head; nice lacing all over the glass. Aroma of fruit, floral hops, malts and some yeast. Taste is slightly bitter, certainly fruity; hops and malts nicely balanced. Very interesting beer, qui enjoyable. Not bad at all.

3.8 bottle. hazy amber with two finger head. strong carbonation with interesting interplay between the brett and hops. funky and flavorful. lightly tart with a solid hoppy bite.

3.8 [Tap] Hazy amber colored pour with a small and dense white head. Aromas are very similar to juicy fruit gum. Sweet malts, citrus, floral notes and yeast in the aroma. Flavors of sweet fruits, dough, perfume, Brett, light funk and a floral bitterness. Lightly acidic. Crisp flavors blend well together. Tart lemon-lime notes in the finish. Good stuff.

3.6 Bomber into tulip glass, cloudy golden-amber color with light tan head. Aroma of musty farmhouse yeast (hay, funk), citrus, caramel, some nuttiness and light spices. Taste adds notes of lightly sour fruits (apples, berries), leather, sour dough, somewhat tart and some pine hop bitterness. Light-medium body, moderate-high carbonation, crisp with funky pine bitter finish. Could spend some time tasting this making tasting notes, complex and nicely drinkable Brett IPA.

3.7 Received in a trade. June 2014 bottle date. 750mL corked and caged bottle poured into a sleek pint glass -- First thing of note when poured is the distinct Brett character on the nose, second note is the extremely thick and lasting head, on a careless pour it was 2/3 of my glass. Beautiful translucent golden straw color. Flavor represents the description on the bottle well. The hoppy portion of the IPA is still present although subdued, not sure if due to age or the Brett. The Brett is well balanced in this beer and pleasant. Enjoyable experience one goes upon when drinking.

4.0 1/6/15. Bomber. Pours cloudy light copper with a huge fluffy sticky head. Nice mild nutty nose. Wonderful rounder mouth with spicy notes balanced with a broad but pronounced hop profile. Hints of sour and funk that only adds to its complexity.

3.8 Large corked bottle. Pours a hazy amber with a huge fluffy head. Big citrus hop flavors along with a funky sourness. A filling beer with that you can almost chew on. I like this.

3.8 Nice, wild and slightly funky. I like this... very grassy and refreshing tasting.

3.6 Pours a golden brown colour with white head and a little lacing. Aroma of Belgium yeast and some floral notes. It is a wild/Belgium with a citrus hop kick. Not bad.

3.3 750 ml bottle purchased at Julio’s about 3 months ago, maybe should have gotten to it sooner. Copper color pour with lasting head. Aroma is mango, tangerine, mild Bretty yeast and soft malt. Flavor is all about the yeast with some fruity hints and light shoe leather notes. Has a sweet aftertaste with the Bretty shoe leather lingering after the sip. Medium in body with a dry texture across the tongue. The yeast comes across really well, For me it’s only so-so.