Day 24, 1.24.11, Victory Brewing - Yakima Glory

Yakima Glory is a beer I've never tried, or heard of, from a brewery I know nothing about.  Victory Brewing Company has been operating in Downingtown Pennsylvania since 1996.  According to their website, they make nearly a dozen styles year-round with eight more seasonals.  It also appears that Victory's beers are rather hard to come by here in California.
But I managed (even though I didn't know I was trying) to find Yakima Glory at The Page in San Francisco's Lower Haight neighborhood.  When I told the bartendress I was drinking new beers, she poured this one without even thinking twice.
It's a big red strong ale (8.7% ABV) brewed with hops from (you guessed it) the Yakima Valley.  On the nose, the beer is roasty and nutty, with not much hop aroma.  But the hops certainly come through in the bitterness department, where they are well integrated with the beer's malt body.  The malt structure makes up the first part of the palate and the big bitter punch finishes the beer.
Not a bad pint.  7 out of 10.