58 Minutes to Nirvana (at 70 mph)
Written: Feb 13 '01 (Updated Feb 13 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Stellar beer, great food, clean, all folks welcome.
Cons: Hard to find, service is improving.
The Bottom Line: People come from the West Coast just to drink this beer. Don't you think it's time you came?
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| beerfly's Full Review: Victory Brewing Company |
"Your directions sucked!"
I can't tell you how many times I've heard that from people I tried to help find Victory Brewing Company. It is not easy to find. It's all the way out on the east end of Downingtown, tucked back in a maze of residential streets that conceal an old Pepperidge Farms complex. Then there's the challenge of finding the place within the complex; it's all the way back in the far corner.
I've got it down now, it's on tape: 58 minutes from my driveway to the big NO PARKING area outside of Victory ("If enough cars park over it, you can't see the NO PARKING sign," says partner Bill Covaleski.)
The first time I had to find it was during the sudden thaw after the big Philadelphia snowstorm of 1996. The streets back to the complex were closed, blocked off. I got out my big map, and spotted a back way in (this is the road that now goes past the new Bishop Shannahan High School, and I recommend it as a superior route to the brewery; follow it through the right angle to the T, turn right and then make a quick left on Acorn, and Victory is all the way back, ahead and to your left). The road was flooded but still open because of the truck terminal further back.
I eased my Jetta through the flood, turned onto Acorn Lane, and was confronted with a parking lot running two feet deep with churning brown water. By edging around the high spots I managed to get back to the brewery door without stalling.
Brewers Ron Barchet and Bill Covaleski were busily at work, brewing up a batch of HopDevil, the brawny IPA that would be their best-selling, flagship beer. They hadn't opened yet, and couldn't even offer me a sample; their first beer, the Fest, was still lagering in the tanks. We drank coffee.
Since then, I've been back... well, a lot. Here's why. The food's been good, at times really good. Victory is right in the middle of PA's mushroom growing area, and the mushroom pizza usually has crimini, porcini, shiitake, and portabellos; me like! The pizza is baked in a big wood-fired oven and just tastes great; never drowned in sauce, and somewhat European in that there's not a ton of cheese on it so you can actually taste the other ingredients. The calzones and grilled sandwiches are good too, as is the baked brats, but I almost always get the pizza. The fries, forgot those: they're the only ones my dad the dietary fiend will eat... because they're so damned good they make him break down.
It's my parent's favorite place. My dad loves the Brandywine Valley Lager (see my review at http://www.epinions.com/fddk-review-D99-8EC8DAA-39419F0E-prod6), my mom's more a Festbier (http://www.epinions.com/fddk-review-4A74-7D020C4-39B9B0AA-prod1) kind of gal. We celebrated their 45th anniversary here, set up in the corner and had a little party. They plan to have their 50th here next year.
The space is more than adequate, so much more so that it's a bit of a problem. The ceiling is hugely high, and the sound tended to echo a bit before sound-deadening malt-sacks and partial dropped ceilings were put in. It's still kind of an odd look, but you won't notice it for long. Besides, it leaves room for Victory's very long bar, built from the wooden shipping crates the brewing vessels came in.
Yes, the bar. That means beer, and that's why we're here, right? You damn betcha! Because Victory is one of the best breweries in North America, in my fairly experienced opinion. The beauty of Victory is that they excel at brewing a wide range of lagers (Pilsner, Dunkles, Hellerbock, Doublebock, Export, Märzen), British-type ales (IPA, ESB, Porter, barleywine, Imperial Stout), Bavarian-type weissbiers (hefeweizen, weizenbock, dunkelweizen), and Belgian-type ales (witbier, dubbel, tripel). Note that they don't excel at brewing a range, they excel at all these beers.
Pshaw, you say. Drink some, I reply. First, all their beer is clean as a whistle. I've only ever had two Victory beers that were wrong in any way; one was a bottling problem they fixed right away and exchanged the affected beer, the other was a glass from a "tired" cask of ESB at the brewpub that was happily exchanged for some of the turbocharged Whirlwind Wit. Victory beer is never sour or infected.
Second, these boys been to school. Ron trained at Weihenstephan, Bill at Doemens, two renowned German brewing schools. They also had experience brewing at two of the best Mid-Atlantic breweries: Baltimore Brewing and Old Dominion. They know what they're doing, and they're never satisfied with less than excellence. Ron is still tweaking the Festbier.
Finally, they answer only to themselves, not stockholders or bean-counters. They've never made it a secret that they're brewing beer that they like, not beer that they think will sell well. They happen to think that there are a lot of people out there who have the same tastes in beer that they do--and they're evidently right. I've always said the most important ingredient in great beer is the will to make it, and Victory has it in bushel baskets.
Who should go here? Good Lord, everyone. There is a beer for everyone here, from the restrained balance of the Brandywine Valley Lager to the cannon-shot power of the Old Horizontal, the smooth refreshment of the Sunrise Weiss to the silky power of St. Victorious Doublebock, and the mysteriously captivating taste of the devastatingly drinkable--but watch out, it's 9%ABV!--Golden Monkey. There's also bottled beer for takeout and very reasonable growler prices.
It's a family-friendly place, my little guys love it (and Victory makes an outstanding root beer, too) but no one's ever forced to put up with kids, either. There's cigar smoking at the bar, but it's a long way from the dining room, and that high ceiling's good for something. There are two pool tables and a dart board. Bathrooms are big and usually clean.
On the down side... Service has been a sore point; lackadaisical to downright rude. I'm very happy to say that this has improved greatly over the past six months (Bill and Ron have made it a priority) and I look for the trend to continue. That--and finding the place!--would be about the only negatives to the experience. Don't expect white linen, and it's not what I'd call cozy... but it's friendly.
I brought a bunch of people from my church choir here after a big joint choir rehearsal at Bishop Shannahan. Their reaction was similar to most people's.
"This place is great!" a tenor said.
"Yeah, the beer's really good!" an alto chimed in.
"But I'll never find it again," wailed a soprano.
Look, leave a trail of bread crumbs if you have to. I'll close with the inscription from over the bar at Victory, the inspiration for their name:
"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered with failure, than to take rank with those poor souls that neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows not VICTORY nor defeat"
-- Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt
Recommended:
Yes
Brewery Name: Victory Brewing Company
Date Visited: About twice a month
Tours Offered: Yes
Tasting cost, per person: NA
Brewery Rating: Plan your trip around this!
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Epinions.com ID:
beerfly
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Member: Lew Bryson
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Reviews written: 88
Trusted by: 82 members
About Me:
One bourbon, one Scotch, one beer, eh? I'll take Kentucky Spirit, Scapa, and HopDevil.
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