Victory Beer Blog

When Bill and Ron first met in 1973 as 5^th graders, their biggest concern was finding a good spot to get into trouble after school. Over their 39 years of friendship (so far), those stresses changed: Who to take to the prom? Where to go to college? How to secure a real job? And then, in 1996 how to make their dream of brewery ownership a reality.

So far, the duo has managed all of life’s choices honorably and successfully. Beginning in 2011 and continuing into 2012, Bill and Ron faced yet another daunting conundrum – this time more significant than choosing a prom date. How should they solve the challenge of operating a brewery functioning at capacity in order to feed the needs of their devoted fans?

After many sleepless nights, countless hours of research, dozens of meetings with financial institutions and a few solid drinking sessions, Bill and Ron have decided to take another leap of faith, with their fingers crossed that the Victory name holds true. Victory Brewing Company is opening a second brewery!

We officially signed papers this week to take over an existing building in Parkesburg, PA to build our additional brewing facility. We now take on the task of turning that building into another Victory Brewing Company. It will take some serious growing pains to get the new facility up-and-running. But once we’re at that point (fingers crossed for Summer 2013), it will allow us endless opportunities to experiment with new flavors and re-create old favorites.

In keeping with our “locally brewed, locally loved” motto, the choice to expand was not made lightly. The Parkesburg location will allow Victory to produce even more locally brewed and locally loved beer.

We can’t imagine considering anywhere other than Downingtown as our home. And, while there’s no place like home, the new location was chosen because of its similarities to our Downingtown location. Just as our home brewery recycled an old Pepperidge Farm factory, the expansion brewery is being built within an existing complex in Parkesburg. And just like our Downingtown location is situated a mere 14 miles from the headwaters of the east branch of the Brandywine Creek, the new brewery will be just 17 miles from the headwaters of the west branch.

Environmental impact has always been of utmost importance to us, and it continues to be as we expand. Water quality was a major consideration for this expansion. Nearly eight months of water-quality research found that the mineral composition of the west branch water is nearly identical to the east branch. And just as we have awarded our Headwaters Grant to a watershed stewardship group who is protecting the east branch, we will be announcing our new recipient as an advocate for the west branch.

With this expansion will come plenty of other great news. Over the next five years, we expect to add more than 50 full time jobs to our workforce. As we increase our brewing capacity, we’ll be able to bring back some of our brands that went on a brief hiatus: Old Horizontal, St. Victorious and maybe even WildDevil. Ultimately, we plan to move most of our flagship brewing to Parkesburg, which will allow us to make the Downingtown brewery into a limited-edition draft brewery for more experimentation. By shuffling some of our brewing around, we will eventually be able to bring tours back to the public!

Making the choice to expand has been a big decision for Bill and Ron. But, just as they always have, they focus their commitment on the beer. Their mission has always been to create the highest quality products, and that will continue to be the heart of Victory Brewing Company. We believe that victory comes with dedication to flavor and that belief is propelling us to expand.

Two childhood friends are once again taking a risk together. By taking this bold move forward, Bill and Ron are looking forward to celebrating the next 16 years in business, and 16 years after that, and so on, as we continue to Taste Victory^TM together.

Cheers!

*You can follow us on our journey toward Victory in Parkesburg as we share photos, plans, news and more over the next few months at www.victorybeer.com/expansion.

- K.N.

Back in 1978, Bill and Ron attended their very first concert together at Philadelphia’s premier concert venue: the Spectrum. As they rocked out to Ted Nugent, Bill and Ron became part of Philadelphia’s entertainment history. Little did they know, 33 years later the Spectrum would be just a memory. And they certainly had no idea that 34 years later they would have the opportunity to put their own stamp on Philadelphia’s social scene.

Philadelphia is an incredible, thirsty, beer-loving city with craft beer enthusiasts who demand variety and quality. In two weeks, when Victory Beer Hall opens, those discerning beer-lovers will be treated to a variety of Victorys, including many of the specialty beers we serve in Downingtown.

It is our hope, that by partnering with XFINITY Live! Philadelphia to open Victory Beer Hall, we can share our Locally Brewed, Locally Loved philosophy with a larger audience than we can reach in Downingtown. And it’s not just about us. Visitors to Victory Beer Hall will find our Philadelphia-area craft beer friends on tap too.

We are thrilled to be able to make our beer more readily available in Philadelphia through this venue. But we want our fans to know that Victory Beer Hall is not another Victory Brewing Company. In fact, the beer hall is a joint venture between Victory, Comcast-Spectacor and Entertainment Consulting International. That’s the legalese to tell you that what you will experience in South Philadelphia will be a wholly different atmosphere than what you get from us in Chester County.

What’s Different?
Victory Brewing Company operates and manages the restaurant in Downingtown. It is the very-best spot to drink the freshest Victory beer. While the brewery is a travel destination for many beer aficionados, the atmosphere at the Victory Brewpub feels familiar, like a neighborhood bar.

Victory Beer Hall is operated by XFINITY Live! Philadelphia and will be a Philadelphia craft beer destination and social experience. Victory Beer Hall allows Philadelphians to enjoy an eclectic mix of beer styles in a high-energy, party atmosphere. Guests will sit at elongated beer hall-style tables, enjoy live music and share toasts with one another.

What’s the Same?
Both the restaurant at Victory Brewing Company and Victory Beer Hall are dedicated to the beer. The VBC mission is instilled in every employee at both venues. In fact, Victory is directly involved in the training and education of Victory Beer Hall employees to ensure a similar first-class experience to the one that visitors now find at Victory Brewing Company’s brewpub in Downingtown. No matter what differences exist in the atmosphere, both venues were built to showcase and celebrate craft beer.

We have an incredible amount of pride when it comes to our beers and our city. We couldn’t be more excited to have the opportunity to share that local beer and local love in a venue so near and dear to us. Who knows, maybe we’ll even convince Mr. Ted Nugent to make an appearance on the Victory Beer Hall Stage, right where the Spectrum once stood.

- K.N.

It’s the time of year when many of us take some time away from the hustle and bustle of daily life to step back and really examine all that we have to be thankful for.

We here at Victory are lucky. Not many people get to spend their days in a brewery, surrounded by imported malts and whole flower hops and enthusiastic beer-lovers, with the freshest beer around just a few steps away.

We are lucky enough to be based in Downingtown, a town that embraced us since we were a company with just two guys who liked beer, and who thought they could make a pretty good version themselves.

Most of all, we are lucky that there are people who go out of their way to buy Victory beer from their local retailer, will travel to the brewpub and sometimes spend their Saturday night waiting a little bit longer for a table than they wanted to.

We may never be able to fully put into words how thankful we are for our fans, both near and far, but we do our best throughout the course of the year to support the community that has been so supportive of us.

One of the ways we were able to do that this year was by donating more than $45,000 worth of beer, merchandise and money to charities that benefit the communities surrounding our brewery in Chester County.

We were a major sponsor of our very own Berry Woodrow McLaughlin’s quest to become the Woman of the Year, raising a significant amount of money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in the process.

The water that goes in Victory beer comes from the east branch of the Brandywine Creek. Keeping that water clean is important to us, (and to everyone who drinks Victory beer), so this year we created the first ever Headwaters Grant. The grant will be awarded annually, to watershed protection groups. We awarded the first-ever Headwaters Grant in May to The Guardians of the Brandywine. Since then, they’ve been working hard to encourage residents to take personal responsibility for the creek through their My Creek program.

Over the course of the year we brought our beer to events like Bike Fresh, Bike Local, Maysie’s Farm Fest, Honey Fest, and the SPCA’s BrewBQ and Forget Me Not Gala. Then, we shared the proceeds from these events with these groups.

But the bulk of that money went to non-profit organizations that submitted requests through our online Community Stewardship Form. We were able to donate more to non-profit organizations in Chester County than ever before, and though we weren’t able to donate to every organization that put in a request, we did our best to accommodate as many as possible.

As Victory grows in the coming years, we will continue to grow our charitable giving, expanding beyond just non-profit groups in Chester County to charities everywhere there are Victory fans.

It is just a small way that we can say thanks and support the community that has supported us.

Christmas of 1985 I gave Ron a homebrewing kit. Eight years later, on New Years Eve, we convinced our wives to let us write a brewery business plan. So I guess the Holidays will always be tied to big adventures and big ambitions for us.

But ambition and adventure also need a quiet place to be contemplated and appreciated. That place is called ‘home.’

We wish for you to enjoy this time with your loved ones and their gifts to you of support, faith and maybe even BEER.

Bill Covaleski