Top
Search

 

@Victorybeer
Victory on Flickr

Entries in Victory Brewing (5)

Wednesday
Aug182010

Victory Releases The Most Recent Version of Saison du Buff or How I Discovered The Joy of Discomfort

DateWednesday, August 18, 2010 at 10:44AM

Collaboration beers are a new thing to us at Victory. But when we jumped into the fray, we were in with both feet and all parts. Saison du BUFF was our first collaborative effort in a season (this spring) that witnessed three collaborations, all different and all totally rewarding. I say 'both feet and all parts' because our virginity-vanquishing brew was conducted with two of the biggest names in craft brewing, Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Greg Koch of Stone Brewing Company. Nothing you do with these guys is under the proverbial radar.

Look for Victory's version of Saison du Buff on shelves in late August 2010

But we happen to know a Sam and Greg that your average beer aficionado may not. We've hoisted one another's cases onto transport trucks and rolled one another's kegs into festivals, all in the name of getting the job done, in a time when craft beers garnered far less attention and when we related to one another with the giddy, excited enthusiasm of working on a dream that may not actually work out.

But time has marched on nicely for our dreams as a hungry audience has joined our battle for full flavored beer. And now that audience looks on critically as the spotlight swings toward our brew. Would it be worthy? Would it achieve the beer forum scores that our collective beers had? Did we freakin' care?
Yes, we did care. Deeply. And a as much as we trusted one another and one another's sensibilities, I may be the first to suggest that there was some discomfort in tossing our hat into a collective ring with such a bright spotlight on it.

So there we were in January, talking bier de garde, then professing our love of sage, then talking protest poetry, all to arrive at Saison du BUFF, a brew that astounded all of us when we popped the first Stone-brewed bottles.

We stepped away from the bomb of being the strongest, hoppiest, wackiest beer, and we transported ourselves to summer and breathed deeply of the herbal bounty and thirst and hunger that summer bestows upon us beer drinkers. And from that point we created a beer that would be both novel and comfortable. Comfortable, in the way it pulled together flavors that attracted us in foods and drink. I swear that on my third sip of Saison du BUFF, my mind and stomach screamed 'MUST GET ROAST CHICKEN' at me as the savory broth of herbs and malty delight conjured up real desires. So, lesson learned is that a little discomfort can be a good thing and can be rewarded with real soul-satisfying experiences if you choose the right pals to jump into those dark waters with.

The process brought us all closer, to realize that the more things change, the more things stay the same. Especially in terms of common dreams and drive. Searching for the baby ospreys on the Lewes Rehoboth Canal from the SS Dogfish nearing midnight on a June night with a glow stick and a few 90 Minute IPAs will have that affect.

I hope you can taste the love (of this wonderful opportunity we have to create new flavors in the name of brewing) and respect (in terms of the allied minds and hearts doing the creative heavy lifting) in this collaboration. Cheers to all us who can appreciate such gifts.

Cheers,
Bill Covaleski

Head Brewer and Co-Founder

Victory Brewing Co.

AuthorTeam Victory | Comment2 Comments |
tagged , , , , , , , , , | in , ,
Friday
Jul162010

How Victory, Dogfish Head, Yards, Flying Fish, and Iron Hill Breweries ignored common sense and changed Craft Beer.

DateFriday, July 16, 2010 at 9:45AM

Bill Covaleski of Victory Brewing, Sam Calgione of Dogfish Head, Gene Muller of Flying Fish, Tom Kehoe of Yards, Mark Edelson of Iron Hill and Greg Koch of Stone brewing reminisce about the early days of Craft Brewing in the mid 90's when there was no market, no distribution and no money. Thank god we were smart enough to get this historical reunion on tape! Like their beers they'll make you laugh, they'll make you cry, but rest-assured, you'll always come back for more.

If you're a fan of craft beer, brewing or just good old fashioned American entrepreneurism then you'll want to save this in the archives and share it with all the other beer lovers you know.

Highlight: Keep an ear open for Sam's only HR policy for the first decade of Dogfish Head's existence (6:00).

Bonus:

Don't miss the Class of '96's 'If I we're not a brewer' sketch.

AuthorTeam Victory | Comment1 Comment |
tagged , , , , , , , , , , | in , ,
Tuesday
Apr132010

What does it take to be a part of Victory?

DateTuesday, April 13, 2010 at 9:49AM

Our latest hire, who will be serving as our Mid Atlantic region Area Sales Manager, is a great example of what it takes. Quite simply, it takes passion for great beer.

Joe Gold embodies a passion for great beer. Any one who has hoisted a pint of quality beer in the . . .

Click to read more ...

AuthorTeam Victory | CommentPost a Comment |
tagged , , , , , , , , | in , ,
Friday
Jan222010

Victory over Juvenile Leukemia

DateFriday, January 22, 2010 at 10:11AM

Fortunately, none of us here at Victory have a personal leukemia story to tell. But we certainly know of them, and therefore, how close this disease has gotten to us, while truly impacting the lives of other friends.

When presented with the opportunity to support fundraising efforts of the JMML Foundation and make a difference in the lives of youngsters affected by Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia, we jumped at the chance. JMML is a rare form of leukemia which affects children generally under the age of five. The only curative treatment is a bone marrow transplant and overall survival rate is only about 60%. The JMML Foundation exists to find a cure for JMML, and to improve the quality of life of JMML patients and families through research, education, advocacy, and charity.

The great local bands The Swimmers, Audible and East Hundred are committed to the cause as well. Come on out to Johnny Brenda’s on January 29 and hoist a draft Victory beer or two, and in doing so, contribute to the cause of Victory Over Leukemia.

AuthorTeam Victory | CommentPost a Comment |
tagged , , , , , , | in , ,
Friday
Dec182009

Respect The Monkey, Mr. Grinch

DateFriday, December 18, 2009 at 1:30AM

Respect The Monkey, Mr. Grinch

Many of us realize that the Golden Monkey has been known to incite silliness. But nothing acts sillier than kids with Christmas approaching. So playing around with one of our more favorite Christmas toys at home, Mr. Grinch, I was inspired to engage his acting talents for a silly scene. My girls willingly filmed my goofy vision for you, adding their own emphasis at the end, which was not on my script but they nailed the idea. How proud that makes me!

As silly as this may be, the notion of ‘Respect The Monkey’ is a wise one.

Which leads me to an announcement. With respect for the life of strong ale in a bottle, we kept a number of cases of Golden Monkey bottled in June of 2002 around for analysis purposes. These were some of the first 750 ml bottles off of our ‘new’ bottling line at the time. Since they had been primed and dosed with yeast at bottling, a bottle fermentation was initiated at that point. We were anxious to assure that that ‘bottle conditioning’ would yield great results. It did in the short term, and the beer was happily enjoyed by us and our audience. But, a fair stash of cases were kept by us for over 7 years now and we’d draw bottles out every so often to see how the flavor was progressing. Having been kept refrigerated for the past 5 years, we feel that the flavor progression has reached a standstill now.

So, time to release the vintage Monkey!

Granny Golden Monkey Gone Wild!?

No, actually, it’s mellower than fresh Golden Monkey, with a very round character full of Golden Monkey vigor, but overall softer with a decidedly honeyed finish. What we have of this is now for sale, only at our retail shop here at Victory.

Why only here in Downingtown, you dear friends from further-flung places ask? Certainly, we are not trying to frustrate anyone, but the reality is that after this long at controlled temperatures, we are not willing to take the risk to roll this out into the brutal world of temperature abuse that can occur on trucks, in warehouses and in brightly-lit retailers. Besides, there really is too little stock to democratically divide over 30 states even if we were willing to take the risk.

So, if you are near to the brewery, come by and treat yourself to a bottle. It’s a available for only a 50% upcharge over our very reasonable standard price. Lots of extra energy cost and TLC in these bottles, you know.

If you are further removed from Downingtown, maybe it’s time you made a friend there who might score you a bottle and wrap it safely in that happenin’ new ‘Respect The Monkey” hoodies I so amply sport in the video.

Cheers and Respect,

Bill C.

AuthorTeam Victory | Comment1 Comment |
tagged , , , , | in , , , ,