Victory Brewing Company
 | |
| Location | Downingtown, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Opened | 1996 |
| Key people | Ron Barchet and Bill Covaleski |
| Annual production volume | 125,713 US beer barrels (147,521 hL) in 2014[1] |
| Website |
victorybeer |
Victory Brewing Company (Victory) is a brewery founded in 1996 in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, United States. The main brands are HopDevil, Prima Pils, Headwaters Pale Ale, Golden Monkey, DirtWolf, and Storm King, which are distributed in 34 states and 9 countries. Victory Brewing is located at 420 Acorn Lane Downingtown, Pennsylvania 19335.[2]
History
Founded in 1996 by Ron Barchet and Bill Covaleski in an old Pepperidge Farm bakery, Victory has grown considerably and evolved well outside the traditional small market of a beer-brewing restaurant. The brewery's first[3] three beers were Victory Festbier, Brandywine Valley Lager (now Victory Lager), and HopDevil Ale. Initially they thought that the malt forward Victory Festbier would become their most popular beer. However, they soon realized that consumers craved very hoppy beers, such as HopDevil Ale, the most.
Brewery
The brewery uses an automated, energy recovery, 50 BBL system designed and manufactured by Rolec in Chieming, OberBayern, Germany. Victory also brews using traditional methods where appropriate, such as using the energy intensive decoction process for production of certain German style lager beers. Victory uses whole hops.
The restaurant was completely remodeled in spring of 2008 with a new focus on smoked barbecue. A growler filler was installed during the renovation that allows any of 20 draft beers to be routed to the counter-pressure growler filler. This device includes a CO2 evacuation step, increasing the shelf life of the beer compared to direct spigot filling. The growlers are 68 oz., which is approximately .53 gallons or 2 liters.[4] Victory makes their own root beer, which is also served in the restaurant.[1]
Products
Victory produces over 20 brands of beer, some of which are:[5]
- Prima Pils: A 5.3% abv pale lager using 2 row German pale malt and German and Czech whole hops.[6] It has received favorable reviews in The New York Times,[7] and by "beer hunter" Michael Jackson.[8] It is double hopped with Saaz hops and then with Northern Brewer hops from Germany, giving it a "very hoppy" character.[9]
- HopDevil: An India Pale Ale at 6.7% ABV, described by the brewer as "menacingly delicious, with the powerful, aromatic punch of whole flower American hops backed up by rich, German malts."
- Headwaters Pale Ale: An American Pale Ale with citrus and fruity notes. (5.2% ABV)
- Golden Monkey: A Belgian-style Tripel ale of high alcohol content, mixed with Asian spices (9.5% ABV).
- Victory Lager: A Helles lager. 4.8% ABV.
- Storm King Stout: A US example of Russian Imperial Stout. Very hoppy and strong. 9.1% ABV.
- V Twelve: Belgian Quadrupel. 12.0% ABV. Available in 25.4 oz. corked bottles, which is approximately 750 mL.[10]
- Helios Saison: 7.5% ABV
- Baltic Thunder: Porter. 8.5% ABV
- Whirlwind Witbier: A classic Belgian 'white ale'. Available April–August 5.0% ABV
- Sunrise Weissbier: An unfiltered, Bavarian-style ale Available July–August 5.4% ABV
- Victory Festbier: An Octoberfest lager using all imported German malts and decoction brewing process. Available September–October 5.6% ABV
- Hop Wallop: Pungent punch of mint and pine aromas, a silky malt base adds complexity to this golden ale. 8.5% ABV
- Old Horizontal: A bouquet of floral, fruity aromas slides into honeyed malt depth in this amber barleywine. Available December–February 11% ABV
- Yakima Glory (formerly Yakima Twilight): A dark IPA/CDA. Available November–January 8.7% ABV
October 2013 Dirt Wolf Double IPA will replace Hop Wallop
Catering
Victory Brewing is a full service caterer and offers full party planning for many events. They offer a brewpub on wheels, which is a mobile catering kitchen. It has enough food and beer to serve up to 1000 people and has a cooler capacity of 16 kegs (2500 servings of cold beer).[11]
Awards
Sustainable Agriculture Business Leadership Award - 2014
Good Food Awards, Beer - 2011
Philly Beer Scene Awards:
| Year | Award | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 - 2014 | Brewery of the Year | Victory Brewing Company |
| 2013 | Brewmaster of the Year | Bill Covaleski |
| 2010, 2011 | Best Pilsner | Prima Pils |
| 2010 | Best Porter | Baltic Thunder |
| 2011 | Best Belgian Style | Golden Monkey |
| 2011 - 2013 | Best Stout | Storm King |
| 2011 | Best Fruit / Spice Beer | Saison du BUFF (shared with Dogfish Head and Stone) |
| 2012, 2014 | Best Lager | Prima Pils |
| 2014 | Best Imperial Pale Ale | DirtWolf |
Golden Icon Awards by Travolta Family Entertainment:
| Year | Award | Category | Beer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–2007 | Golden Icon | Best Specialty Beer | Victory Golden Monkey |
United States Beer Tasting Championship
| Year | Award | Beer |
|---|---|---|
| 2011, 2013 | Best of the Mid-Atlantic/Southeast region | Headwaters Pale Ale |
| 2013 | Grand Champion | Headwaters Pale Ale |
| 2001-2005, 2007, 2008, 2013 | Best of the Mid-Atlantic/Southeast region | Prima Pils |
| 2002-2005, 2013 | Grand Champion | Prima Pils |
| 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009 | Best of the Mid-Atlantic/Southeast region | HopDevil IPA |
| 2008 | Best of the Mid-Atlantic/Southeast region | Festbier |
| 2008 | Grand Champion | Festbier |
| 2000, 2004, 2006 | Best of the Mid-Atlantic/Southeast region | Victory Lager |
| 2000, 2004 | Grand Champion | Victory Lager |
| 2003-2005 | Best of the Mid-Atlantic/Southeast region | Storm King |
| 2006, 2007, 2012 | Best of the Mid-Atlantic/Southeast region | V-Twelve |
| 2012 | Grand Champion | V-Twelve |
| 2005, 2008 | Best of the Mid-Atlantic/Southeast region | Whirlwind Wit |
| 2006 | Best of the Mid-Atlantic/Southeast region | St. Boisterous |
| 2006 | Grand Champion | St. Boisterous |
| 2011, 2013 | Best of the Mid-Atlantic/Southeast region | Yakima Glory |
Gold Medal - Festbier, GABF 2007
Gold Medal - Golden Monkey, GABF 2014[12]
Silver Medal - Prima Pils, GABF 2007
References
- 1 2 "Victory by Numbers".
- ↑ Victory Brewing directions page www.victorybeer.com/directions
- ↑ "Victory Fun Facts".
- ↑ Victory Store page www.victorybeer.com/brewpub/victory-store
- ↑ "Victory Brewing Company". www.ratebeer.com. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
- ↑ "Victory Brewing Co. :: Taste Victory". www.victorybeer.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
- ↑ Asimov, Eric (April 29, 2009). "Beers of The Times - Beers of The Times - Take These Out to a Ballgame - Review - NYTimes.com". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
- ↑ "Michael Jackson's Beer Hunter - Here's my take on a Top Ten American beers". www.beerhunter.com. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
- ↑ Great Beer Guide: 500 Classic Brews, Michael Jackson, Dorling Kindersley, 2000, page 479. ISBN 0-7513-0813-7
- ↑ Victory Beers page www.victorybeer.com/beers
- ↑ Victory Catering page www.victorybeer/brewpub/catering/onwheels
- ↑ https://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/14_GABF_winners.pdf
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Victory Brewing Company. |
- Victory Brewing Company - Official company site
- Victory Brewing Blog - Official company blog
- Map: 40°00′16″N 75°41′39″W / 40.00444°N 75.69417°WCoordinates: 40°00′16″N 75°41′39″W / 40.00444°N 75.69417°W