Victory Wild Devil
If you are a fan of Victory, then is looks like 2009 is a good year for you. I’m sure by now you have seen Victory releases such as Hop Devil, or Golden Monkey. Well now you have another Victory to add to your list — Victory Wild Devil.
Name sound slightly familiar? Well, it actually has a lot in common with Hop Devil. Hop Devil is a great IPA from Victory sold year round. Hop Devil contains American Hops and German malts to finish as a great standard refrigerator stock beer.
So on to Wild Devil. What’s different?
Well, the same American Hops and German Malts are used. However, the yeast strain is different. In this case — Brettanomyces yeast.
Brettanomyces Yeast? What the hell is that?
Here is a short science lesson. Brettanomyces yeast is a genus of yeast that doesn’t form spores. It was discovered in 1904 by the Carlsberg Group — directly related to the Carlsberg Brewery in Denmark. The Carlsberg Group studied the genetics of three ingredients important to beer — barley, hops, and yeast.
Brettanomyces yeast — is a little different from traditional brewers yeasts used in lagers and ales. While brewers yeasts top and bottom ferment over time to create a lager, or an ale – Brett yeast is a “wild yeast” that will spontaneously ferment the beer (Lambic use this all the time —Lindeman’s Framboise/Kriek/ Peche.) You will also see Brett yeast used in a lot of Belgian Ales (Allagash, Ommegang.)
Why is this unique?
For starters, the list of beers you will see with Brettanomyces yeast is a short one. Brett yeast can be viewed as a contaminating organism that can give the beer an “off flavor.” Don’t let this turn you off from it. Brettanomyces gives beer a unique taste, with a whole new characteristic for your palette.
Bottom line, Victory has taken Hop Devil, and introduced Brettanomyces to create a whole new spin on its flagship IPA. In Atlanta, it can be found at Hop City, Jax (in Cumming), and Tower. Wild Devil comes corked in 22 oz bottles for around 10.00. There are rumors that it will soon appear in Taco Macs, and Brickstore Pub. If you try and like Wild Devil, definitely, head over to Brickstore in Decatur and look through their Belgian offerings for more beers using Brettanomyces yeast. It’s nothing short of an adventure every time.
