Victory Beer Blog

Life in a growing American brewery

Curious Minds Want to Know

Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 3:22pm

Thank you to all of our blog readers, Facebook followers, Twitter friends, e-mail subscribers and beer drinkers for caring enough about what we do here to submit your questions.

Keep ‘em coming by emailing brewmaster@victorybeer.com!

Our favorite question of the month came via Facebook from Ralph Kerr. He posted the following photo and asked…

Q: Who was smarter?
A: We’re pretty sure it was the dog.

Q: Since you’re expanding the business with a new factory in Chester County, does that mean Victory will eventually bring back brewery tours to at least one facility, if not both? I really enjoy your beers and I’d relish the chance to see how it’s done.
A: That’s what we’re hoping to do! We aren’t sure when tours will be available again or which location will be best to open to the public, but we we are hoping to cater to our fans who are thirsty for knowledge as well as for beer. Stay tuned for that announcement by following our expansion section of the website.

Q: Is your Sunrise Weissbier a true-to-style Berlin Weiss? For example, can it be flavored with a woodruff or raspberry syrup to cut the tartness?
A: Our Sunrise Weissbier is a true Bavarian-style Hefe-Weizen. It is not a sour beer in the style of the Berliner Weiss. It is best enjoyed straight-up, though we suppose a wedge of lemon would be considered legitimate in the U.S. We will be releasing our first Berliner Weiss-style beer (yet to be named) on draft as soon as it is ready. We anticipate the beer to be available toward the end of the summer. That beer will do well with the syrups you mentioned.

Q: If I see a sour beer on a beer menu, I go for it! Why don’t I see this type of beer brewed at Victory? Is it all about the yeast or the time to produce?
A: Up until now, we have not made a sour beer, but we have experimented with wild yeasts (brettanomyces). A true sour beer requires lactic acid for the tart taste. The most responsible breweries use lactic acid and acetic acid bacteria to produce the acidity naturally. It does take time; and also requires careful attention to which bacteria are chosen, in what proportion they are introduced, when they are introduced and how they are coaxed to grow in their own unique way.

In Belgium, there are several different methodologies and processes used to create sour beers. There is the Lambic method of spontaneous fermentation and the Flemish way of conditioning beer with various organisms. Within the Flemish method, some breweries use wood; others use stainless steel to achieve different characteristics in the beer.

To answer your question, I can tell you that Victory has begun the process of making a sour beer. But we will not release just any sour beer. We are doing small-scale experimentation so that when we do have a sour beer for you, it will be a beautifully balanced, refreshing Flemish-style sour beer. Unfortunately, we are years away from a final product, because once we figure out how to do it, a commercial size batch will be produced and could take more than three years to be ready to blend with younger sour beer.

Q: I am trying to figure out what grains to boil to make a smooth beer. Do you have any advice?
A: Actually, for “smoothness,” I would recommend against boiling any grains. You may be considering the boiling method known as decoction mashing, to produce smoothness. However, decoction is used more to create full body and rich maltiness. For smoothness, mash the grains using an infusion mash, where the temperature never exceeds 76° Celsius (170° F). This will reduce the tannins that are released into the mash, which should help smoothness. If you want to go further in addressing smoothness, take a careful look at the pH of your mash, hot wort and cold wort. If you consult an intermediate or advanced home brewing book, you will find there are optimal values for each of these stages of brewing and tips for how to hit those proper pHs.

You Want Answers?

Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 3:16pm

VBC: You want answers?
Drinkers: We think we’re entitled to them.
VBC: You want answers?
Drinkers: We want the truth!
VBC: You can handle the truth!

To read some of the truths we’ve hit you with over the past year, be sure to read the past You Ask, We Answer posts. Or ask us a new question by emailing brewmaster@victorybeer.com.

Q: Headwaters became my new favorite beer this week and it got me thinking about how crucial the water is to the taste of the beer. Do you use only Brandywine Creek water in all of your beers or just in Headwaters Pale Ale? What process do you use to purify the water from the Brandywine before using it in the brewing process?
- Christopher
A: All of our beers are made with the pristine water from the Upper East Branch of the Brandywine Creek. The headwaters of that creek are located just 14 miles from our brewery in Downingtown. What makes this water so great for brewing, is that it tastes good. Very little purification is required. All of our water is carbon filtered to remove sediment and chorine. But the natural salts and other minerals are not affected by that process, and do indeed play a role in the flavor and mouth feel of beer.

Q: Did you ever notice that watching the carbonation in a fresh glass of Prima is a lot like watching the snow falling during a winter storm? What steps do you take to ensure this level of carbonation in a finished product?
-Big Mike
A: We have indeed noticed the beauty of Prima’s carbonation. In fact, that carbonation was carefully constructed. What you are describing is related to the amount of carbonation and also how that carbonation reacts with the Prima. Proper foam on beer is an entire field of study among brewing scientists and reflects many different beer attributes.

Do you remember learning about gas laws in high school science? The amount of carbonation is determined by those same principles. Since beer gets its natural carbonation from the fermentation process, the pressure and temperature of the beer at the end of fermentation will determine the natural CO2 level. In the case of Prima Pils, along with our other lagers, the lower temperature of fermentation allows us to capture as much CO2 in solution as we need at a pressure our tanks can tolerate. The carbonation is tested, verified, and if necessary, adjusted to our optimal carbonation level.

As far as the quality of foam and bubbles, all things will have an impact, including malt quality, hop quantity, mashing method, boiling method, trub removal, fermentation control, sanitation, microbiological control and filtration methods. Finally, very clean glassware and proper pour are the final factors that contribute to how good your Prima looks.

Q: I am on a restricted carbohydrate diet and the thing I miss most is a good beer. Do you have nutritional information for your beer that includes carb counts?
A: We are happy to hear that you want to make Victory beer part of your responsible diet. We have answered questions about calorie counts in the past, and you can find that information here. Here are the calorie and carbohydrate counts per 12 ounces of our most popular brands:
Golden Monkey: 270 calories, 19 grams of carbs.
HopDevil Ale: 215 calories, 22 grams of carbs.
Prima Pils: 165 calories, 15 grams of carbs.
Storm King Stout: 290 calories, 28 grams of carbs.
Sunrise Weiss: 175 calories, 17 grams of carbs.
Victory Lager: 145 calories, 12 grams of carbs.

Q: I haven’t been able to find cases of St. Victorious this year? What gives? I’m having favorite beer withdrawal.
- Brad
A: Unfortunately, related to the capacity issues, and production puzzle we’ve talk about in the past, we had to make the difficult decision to skip bottling the saints this year. They haven’t been martyred completely though; you can find St. Victorious now on draft in a few locations and St. Boisterous on draft in just a few weeks. See if you can track them down by using our beerfinder on the web or on your mobile device. Be sure to call the bar before you venture over there to make sure they haven’t kicked the keg!

Q: I know many other beer enthusiasts share my opinion about Yakima Glory. It is an amazing beer. What are the chances that Yakima Glory could become a year round beer?
- Mike
A: Thanks for the Yakima praise. We are constantly considering various opportunities to develop more year-round beer offerings, but sometimes we think the fun is in the wait. Recalling the flavors in anticipation of another November release is part of the excitement. For us here at Victory, we find enjoyment in the other plentiful and delicious Victory beers offered during the other seasons, but certainly celebrate on Yakima Glory day each fall.

You Ask, We Answer

Monday, December 26, 2011 at 9:29am

And now, it’s time for us to answer some of the great questions that come to us from you, our loyal fans. Keep those questions coming! E-mail brewmaster@victorybeer.com with your Victory questions, and we will answer them here on the blog. Here are the latest questions:

Q: Dark Intrigue was awesome! (I’m not a beer drinker!) Can someone help me out? My vegetarian cousin wants to know if Storm King is made using isinglass. Apparently her iPhone app “Barnivore” says it is not, but the data is from 2006. Cheers! – Bob S.
A: “Barnivore” is correct! We don’t use isinglass in our brewing process. Our beers are vegan-friendly. Cheers to you and your cousin.

Q: I noticed that two of your beers share names from “A Song of Ice and Fire” in the Game of Thrones book series – Storm King and Mad King. The books started coming out in the ’90s, so I thought maybe the characters were an inspiration or something. Is that just a coincidence? – Jeremy S.
A: It is totally coincidence. Storm King’s label explains that the name was inspired by the power of storms, “Emerging from the deepest shades of darkness, a rolling crescendo of flavors burst forth from this robust stout.” The Mad King’s Weiss is named for Bavaria’s fabled King Ludwig, who was said to be mad. It was named after madness because the brewers approached a traditionally German-styled hefeweizen with a yeast from Belgium and far more hops than normally go in the brew.

Q: Do you have any corn or corn byproducts in your beer? - A. Maize
A: The only Victory beer that has corn added is our Throwback Lager. This is a pre-prohibition style lager that is only available on draft in the spring at our brewpub. All other Victory beers are made with barley or wheat malt. We do add dextrose, which is corn sugar, to some of our beers (Golden Monkey, Hop Wallop, Sunrise Weissbier, Yakima Glory and Storm King).  This sugar shouldn’t impact allergies because its constituents are broken down during fermentation at the brewery, but if you have an allergy we recommend checking with your doctor before drinking the beers we mentioned above.

Q: Why doesn’t Victory bottle Donnybrook Stout?
A: Donnybrook is one of those beers that is much better on draft. It’s so deliciously drinkable because of its nitrogenation, and we do not have the bottling or canning equipment to keep the nitrogen in solution in a can or bottle. So use our beerfinder and find it on draft near you.

Q: A while back I had a beer that flat-out turned my beer world upside down. Until recently, the only tripels I have really enjoyed have been the traditional Belgian tripels, but that was before I accidentally ordered a Tettnanger Tripel at Victory. Is there any plan to make this again? It completely blew me away!
A: Tettnanger Tripel was a beer brewed especially for the Craft Brewers Conference, which happens each spring. CBC beer styles are determined by Braumeister Eric Toft, a friend of Ron and Bill, working with the German Hop Growers Association.  The idea behind the CBC beers is to showcase classic and new varieties of German hops in a broad range of beer styles. We may brew Tettnanger Tripel again, but it is not on the schedule for 2012. Until then, we suggest trying Golden Monkey, which is a tripel brewed entirely with Tettnang hops, so such a beer is always available.  The recipe is different, but the style is the same.

Jeopardy, Victory Style

Wednesday, October 12, 2011 at 11:04am

It has been really fun to gather all of the questions you submit each month, consider your requests and compose our answers. It’s like Jeopardy, Victory style. Of course, we don’t have to answer in the form of a question, so that’s a bonus. But we don’t win money in the end. And Alex Trebek is nowhere to be found. So maybe, this really isn’t anything like Jeopardy…

Please keep those questions coming! Send them to brewmaster@victorybeer.com and we will address them in an upcoming blog. If we missed your question this time around, feel free to submit it again. We will do our best to address every query.

Q: Are you ever going to bottle a porter? You’re my favorite brewery, but I can’t get my favorite kind of beer from you.
A: We’ve been bottling Baltic Thunder for several years now. It is a Baltic porter, using lager yeast and colder fermentation and aging. As far as English porter goes, maybe someday… You can use our beerfinder to located Baltic Thunder near you.

Q: I just read somewhere that Victory’s brewery is an old Tastykake factory. Is this true?
A: Nope, but you’re close. The brewery is an old Pepperidge Farm factory. You can get more of the back story here.

Q: Where can I find out what events Victory has coming up?
A: We do our best to participate in festivals, tastings and beer dinners around the country and would love to meet you at our events. To see if we’ve got something going on in your area, you can visit our events page and search by state.

Q: Will you donate beer to me?
A: Maybe. That all depends on who you are and why you are asking. We get dozens of donation requests each week and review each and every one of them personally. Unfortunately, we can’t say yes to everyone, but we try to make the biggest impact possible. In order to have your request reviewed, you must complete a community stewardship form and it must be submitted at least six weeks prior to your pick-up date.

Q: I appreciate the fact that y’all date your beers. But my question is how long from bottling is the ‘best by’ date? My question pertains to the hoppy beers like HopDevil and Hop Wallop, which really benefit from the freshness. Are we talking 3, 6, 9, or 12 months? A little reference as to the time frame that y’all think your beer should still be high quality would be very helpful in my decision making process as what beer to buy tonight. I hoist a HopDevil to my waiting lips (with a best by date of Dec 29 2011).
A: Thank you for the kind words about Victory beer. We are thrilled to hear that you take the time to inspect the date codes on our bottles! The dates you find on the bottles are stamped by the following specifications.

Hop Devil – 5 months
Prima Pils – 5 months
Victory Lager – 5 months
Hop Wallop – 1 year (this beer is bottle conditioned)
Headwaters Pale Ale – 5 months
Summer Love – 5 months
Golden Monkey – 3 years
Storm King – 5 years
Old Horizontal – 5 years

For example, your HopDevil stamped Dec. 29, 2011 was bottled on July 29, 2011.

Q: I filled my growler back on 9/1, still have not opened it. How long will it last?
A: A growler with the porcelain top lid and gasket should stay carbonated for at least 7 days. We’ve seen them last as long as 14 days, but haven’t gone longer than that (although we hear that they could technically store for a month). If your growler has a screw top, drink within 5-7 days maximum, as they are more prone to leaking through the threads.

Q: Have you ever considered an ESB or English Special Bitter? Whitbread was the best I’ve ever had, but all I drink now is Fullers. Both are delicious.
A: We usually brew a batch or two of our Victory ESB each year as a draft-only brand. It isn’t on a standardized repeating schedule, but typically we brew it in the fall or winter. As of right now, we don’t have an ESB on our schedule but it is possible we will brew one in February or March of 2012.

Q: Dark Lager is my favorite of your beers, with Headwaters a close second. When is it going to be available again? Any chance that it gets a bigger push anytime soon? Could it be as simple as a name change? Because it sure isn’t the fault of the flavor!
A: We love the Dark Lager as well and look forward to sipping the malty brew each year. As in the past years, Dark Lager will be available on draft in the winter. Right now, the craft beer world doesn’t demand malty beers the way it demands hops. Some day, when malt appreciation grows, we’ll consider giving Dark Lager a bigger push. At that time, we’ll give it a new Victory-like name and character.

Q: Are any of your beers Kosher?
A: Not yet. We have not yet gone through the steps to attain kosher certification.

Read This: We continue to receive many questions about our beer recipes. At Victory, we thoroughly believe that great beer is inspirational and classic beers inspired our own homebrews over 20 years ago. This said, we do believe that the creative scientific mind should remain free of tutorials (from us at least) to create the beer they envision. Clone books are great training and some authors have reverse engineered quite well, which we certainly applaud, but have decided to leave it in their inspired hands.

- K.N.

You Ask, We Answer (Part 2)

Monday, July 25, 2011 at 5:06pm

After last month’s question and answer blog post, you all seemed inspired to send in more questions than ever. It was great to hear from so many Victory beer drinkers and brewpub visitors. We did our best to compile and answer as many of your questions as possible. Keep reading to see if your inquiring mind can be put to rest.

Keep those questions coming! Send them to brewmaster@victorybeer.com and we will address them in an upcoming blog. If we missed your question this time around, feel free to submit it again. We will do our best to address every query.

Q: Will Dark Intrigue be coming back this year?

A: Yes! In fact, Storm King Stout has already been poured into the bourbon barrels and begun the barrel-aging process. We were thrilled by the popularity of this brew last year, so this year we’re more than doubling our batch. You can get yours at in the retail store at the brewpub on “Dark Wednesday,” the day before Thanksgiving. Fun fact: Last year, we sold 80 cases in just 43 minutes!

Q: Does it truly matter what glass I use (assuming I’m not talking about a coffee mug or sippy cup)? How do I know which kind of glass to use for different styles of beer?

A: We firmly believe that the glassware you use when enjoying beer does make a difference. The experience can be entirely different based on the shape and size of your glass. The shape of the glass directly impacts the amount of aroma you can capture, the color you see and the size of the gulp you can take. Using the coordinating glassware for a specific beer style will allow you to enjoy the full experience as the brewmaster intended. For a good reference to match your beer style and glass, check out this guide from Beeradvocate.

Q: Have you considered canning your flagships?

A: Per CEO and Brewmaster, Ron Barchet: “We already package in cans: 5.16 and 15.5 gallon returnables.” Joking aside, it is something we have considered and it is a possibility down the road. However, at this time, we do not have the space in our tight facility to add another packaging line.

Q: I love all your brews! The 1st one that I tried was V-12. Will this ever be available in 6 Packs?

A: We are glad to hear you enjoyed it! V-12 is a special beer that deserves the regal, 750 ml corked package in which it currently lives. We bottle condition V-12 within the large bottle, which adds to its complexity over the long term. It is also important to note V-12 has a pricey production cost, which makes it hard to price competitively for a 6-pack market.

Q: I was wondering if you could give a status update on WildDevil?  It is hands-down my favorite beer.  Is there any chance of seeing it again?

While we can’t give you exact release dates for the next batch of WildDevil, we can tell you that it will make an appearance again some day. We consider WildDevil to be so wild that we never know when it’s going to be peeking its head back out. There is no specific date for release, but Bill and Ron have heard your request (and the request of others) for the return of WildDevil and it will likely be brewed again sooner than later. Rest assured; WildDevil will live again.

Q: I was wondering, what are Bill and Ron’s favorite mash-ups of their own beers?

Ron occasionally likes to combine Victory Lager with Bockbier, or he enjoys Festbier with a splash of Prima on top. For some of Bill’s favorites, check out this video.

Q: Would you consider doing a year-round Dunkel similar to say a hofbrau or ayinger? You seem to tackle the German style well and there are so few good American dunkels.

Thank you for the compliment. We enjoy our Dunkles here in the winter, when we do a single, draft-only batch. Sadly, our love of the style hasn’t translated to the masses. We bottled it for several years in the late nineties and early 2000s, but the sales couldn’t sustain the brand. With the ever-evolving tastes of craft beer consumers, we are hopeful that the demand and appreciation of the style will grow and someday allow for us to package it again. For now, look for it in our brewpub every winter.

- K.N.

You Ask, We Answer

Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 12:32pm

We get so much feedback and so many ideas by listening to our consumers and fans. You all make recommendations, provide constructive criticism and even give us some much-appreciated praise. In the interest of reciprocating, we plan to share our thought process with you.

Beginning with this post, we will compile and answer your questions about our brewery, beers, business decisions and more on a monthly basis. Send your burning questions to brewmaster@victorybeer.com and we will address them in an upcoming blog.

Without further ado, you asked and we answered…

Q: Where can I find your beers?

A: Please use our nifty Beerfinder page to search for our beers in your area. If you have any trouble locating us in your region, wholesaler information is also available on the web here.

Q: How many calories are in a 12 oz. bottle of HopDevil?

A: Some of our beers are more calorie-friendly than others. Here are the calorie counts per 12 ounces of our most popular brands:
Golden Monkey: 270 calories
Headwaters: 160 calories
HopDevil Ale: 215 calories
Prima Pils: 165 calories
Storm King Stout: 290 calories
Summer Love: 160 calories
Sunrise Weiss: 175 calories
Victory Lager: 145 calories

Q: Have you ever considered making a gluten-free beer?

A: We have yet to taste one we liked, but we have not given up on the idea. We are always searching for ways to create a gluten-free beer worthy of the Victory name.

Q: I have been a big fan of Victory almost since the day you began marketing your wonderful beers. I lived in Germany for four years, and I have a built-in preference for your brews. In particular, I adore the Saints (St. Victorious and St. Boisterous). In fact, the main purpose of sending this email is to plead for St. Boisterous to become a year-round offering. I must say I consider St. Boisterous to be the absolute best beer available in the USA! I would appreciate anything you could do to make this happen!
~ Dave

A: Thank you for praising the saints (couldn’t resist). Victory seasonals do sometimes make the leap to being a year-round product. In fact, Hop Wallop and Storm King Stout both started as fall seasonals. In both cases, we noticed that our wholesalers continued to order them even after the last batch had been brewed and sold. And in those cases, there is no reason not to have a strong hoppy beer year round. Unfortunately for our friendly bock lovers, the popularity of St. Boisterous has not warranted going year round. Also, because the beer style is a Maibock, the reference to May almost ensures it staying a spring seasonal.

Q: I’m a home brewer and smoked beer lover. I smoke my own malt. I’m very interested in smoking wheat malt. Can you share any advice, tips or recipes for a homebrewed smoked wheat beer?
~Adam

A: We actually do not smoke our own malt, so we cannot offer you much information regarding its crafting. We purchase our smoked malt from a maltster in Bamberg, Germany called Weyermann. They smoke the finished malt using beechwood.

Note: We receive many questions about our beer recipes. At Victory, we thoroughly believe that great beer is inspirational and classic beers inspired our own homebrews over 20 years ago. This said, we do believe that the creative scientific mind should remain free of tutorials (from us at least) to create the beer they envision. Clone books are great training and some authors have reverse engineered quite well, which we certainly applaud, but have decided to leave it in their inspired hands.

- K.N.