Okay, I know I already reviewed a Victory beer, but I've had this one laying around and had to try it. But unlike the year-round Storm King, Yakima Glory is a winter seasonal and in the style of Black IPA. Black would not be a word that I would describe it, however. It's actually more brownish-reddish and not very dense. I can't quite see through it but it's not totally opaque either. There was actually no head to speak of, just a very small section of bubbles for the tiny amount of carbonation (can kind of see it in the picture at the front of the glass). The aroma reminds me of a typical IPA, hoppy but not overwhelmingly so. It smells piney, floral and gets my taste buds ready for something gloriously more bitter than your garden-variety macro brew. The first taste is as expected - nice hop character and a pleasant bitterness. But before long, it gives way and shares the spotlight with a nice malt profile that makes it taste darker than it looks. The malt sweetness, if I can call it that, blends beautifully with the bitter hops to give a nice, rounded taste that doesn't leave a bad taste in the mouth. The finish is relatively long with some sweetness melded nicely with some bitterness, the bitterness showing a little bit more. The alcohol seems quite hidden despite coming in at 8.7% but as I continue to drink it and write on the fly, there is some alcohol in the aftertaste but it isn't all that unpleasant. It's actually rather warming, which is kind of expected for a winter style brew. In my opinion, it is a very nice beer with some great characteristics but falls a little short for the style compared to a few other Black IPAs that I have sampled. Regardless, it still earned a respectable 3.5 pints out of 5, the lighter color playing tricks on me when I expected something a lot darker. Definitely worth a try, though, and definitely one that I will try again in the future.
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