Victory Beer Blog

Life in a growing American brewery

Cooking with Beer this Thanksgiving? 4 Amazing Recipes

Friday, November 12, 2010 at 7:49pm

About this time last year we shared with everyone our picks for pairing Thanksgiving Dinner and Victory beer, but for 2010 we wanted to take it one step further. This year we asked our acclaimed Brewpub chefs to compile their secret recipes featuring Victory beer. As soon as we saw what they put together we knew that it would make this year’s Turkey Day one for the history books. We hope you experiment with these recipes (see below) and let us know what you think. Feel free to upload pictures and thoughts to our Facebook Wall, our Flickr Account, or hit us up on Twitter. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Prima Poached Shrimp

5 lbs. 16/20 shrimp (shells on)
68oz Victory Prima Pils
2 white onions, chopped
3 lemons, quartered
10 whole peppercorns
1 bay leaf

Bring all ingredients except the shrimp to a boil. Once at a boil, add shrimp and poach at medium high heat for 6-7 minutes.

Serve hot or submerge in ice water to serve cold.

HopDevil Brussel Sprout Hash

1 lb brussel sprouts, trimmed
1 ½ cups sliced shallots
½ lb butter
1 tbsp minced garlic
12 oz. Victory HopDevil Ale
2 tbsp cider vinegar
4 tsp sugar

Melt butter in large sauté pan. Add garlic and shallots and sauté until translucent. Add the HopDevil Ale and reduce by half. Once reduced, add the cider vinegar, sugar and brussel sprouts. Continue to cook for 3-4 minutes until most of the beer is gone. Season with salt and pepper.

Pumpkin Apricot Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Crumb

2 ¼ lbs. cream cheese
¼ cup Victory Golden Monkey
¾ cup pumpkin puree
1 ½ cups sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp clove, ground
¼ tsp nutmeg
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup dried apricot puree

Recipe for graham cracker crumb
¼ cup sugar
2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
4 oz. melted butter
Combine all ingredients. Press into cheesecake pan to form crust.


Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Assemble recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumbs. Spread thin layer of pureed apricots on top on crumbs. Spread cream cheese filling evenly over apricot puree. (Tip before baking: tap pan on table surface to remove air bubbles). Bake in water bath at 350° for 20 minutes.

Rosemary and Sage Stuffing with Helios Ale

2 onions, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 large focaccia, staled one day
8 sprigs rosemary, destemmed
¼ cup sage, chopped
3 eggs
½ cup scallion, sliced
Victory Helios Ale (or chicken stock) as needed
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except Helios. Use the Helios to moisten the stuffing. Put mixture into a greased baking pan or casserole dish and bake at 325° for about 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.

A Nervous Brewer on Wine Library TV?

Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 8:00pm

 

Victory Co-Founder prepares before his appearance on Wine Library TV with Gary Vaynerchuck.

I’ve watched Gary Vaynerchuk’s Wine Library TV off and on for some time now, in an attempt to build my wine knowledge and maybe score some new flavor discoveries at a discount. I have to admit, the education is not going all that well as my scattered brain is piling wine detail upon detail, losing the proverbial forest for the trees.

But I keep coming back to the “Thundershow” for the show of it. Chock full of passion and wide-eyed exuberance, Gary ‘Vee’ literally tackles wine each day in an effort to wrestle it and it’s mysteries to the ground, for all to enjoy and learn from. His energy and enthusiasm is genuine and bordering on maniacal.
With this in mind, I sat down in his studio/office in New Jersey on Monday, to expose three of our beers to the man that is the online king of wine. Me, nervous?
As you’ll glimpse from the show, Gary represents a unique personality that can focus passion into an intelligent endeavor. A product that folks want to consume. I am not talking about consuming wine. Sure, that is one of the results of his teaching. But his real product is education. And he dishes this valuable stuff out for free.
What young man would take time each day to self produce an educational show that broadcasts free of charge?
The answer is a young man that recognizes opportunity. I realized that the beautiful multi-story wine, beer and spirits emporium that Gary oversees there in Springfield, New Jersey is pretty unique in it’s attention to detail, inventory and merchandising. Momentarily, I had difficulty envisioning the family beer and spirits shop that Gary tells me he grew this out of over the last decade. But, looking at and listening to Gary in person, it is abundantly clear that an entrepreneurial fire burns brightly in him, turning many opportunities that other souls would simply overlook, into chances to excel and set new expectations for the audience he serves. Offering a public service, I truly hope that Gary is getting rich doing this. 
Oops, there I go, cheering for capitalism. Seriously, this guy should be cheered on as he’s taking risks and harming no one.
Cheers,
Bill Covaleski

 

Episode 1:

 

Episode 2:

Who’s ready for the Brewer’s Plate 2010?

Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 3:01pm

Over 6 years ago I had an idea for a new kind of beer festival. Well, not actually a beer festival, but a food festival involving only great beer. There were plenty of beer festivals at the time, as there still are. But back then there were none where food was anything more than an after thought on the part of most festival organizers.

I envisioned a gourmet food festival, with great beer, that did not yet exist.

Like most of my ideas I was able to package it up with a name, concept and logo, but at that point I needed some capable hands to do the heavy lifting of planning and organizing to bring “” to life. I found those eager and capable hands at Fair Food, a local non-profit that helps to build markets for local farmers and producers.  Fair Food’s mission was ideally supported by an event like this that could bring small-scale producers (brewers, growers and restaurants) to the attention of a consuming audience. Bridget Croke was the one-woman dynamo there that took The Brewer’s Plate concept and enthusiastically ran with it.

Starting with nothing, we needed credibility to actually sell tickets to such an event, and we scored the quality food cred we needed when Paul Steinke of Reading Terminal Market embraced the idea and offered up his temple of tasty stuff as the event’s home for a day.

A large aspect of the role Bridget and I played that first year was as ‘matchmaker’ between brewers and chefs as the concept has been to allow brewers to sign on two beers of their choice for chefs to be inspired to pair dishes with. Though it can devolve into an ‘anything goes’ tasting experience for guests who choose to play it that way, The Brewer’s Plate remains a purposefully structured cuisine and beer paired event. Some of the best culinary minds in Philly continue to make it an inspired event each year.

Year one went well even according to the high standards that we frenzied event midwives had going into it. All tickets were sold, some beer lines got long, but everyone ate well and had a great time. We also birthed a serious fundraising baby for Fair Food. I am proud to say that The Brewer’s Plate raises about 10% of the operating budget for this worthy non-profit.

We eventually grew out of space at Reading Terminal Market. Our home is now the Penn Museum for the second year and this year’s list of participating restaurants is a who’s who of Philly’s culinary kings and queens.

Over five years I have been rewarded with the chance to conspire and collaborate with such great brewers as Garrett Oliver (Brooklyn Brewery) and Sam Calagione (DogFish Head Craftbrewery). On the food side, the experience has been equally rich, working with Chef Terence Feury of Fork, Emilio Mignucci of DiBruno Bros, Chef Jenny Harris of Tria and the brothers Kehler of Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont (http://www.jasperhillfarm.com).

Marnie Old, a nationally-renowned sommelier, author and wine educator, (http://www.marnieold.com/) has proven herself to a mountain of enthusiasm and real value to myself, other organizers and the public she has entertained over the last three events. This year she and I will be doing “old world / new world” beer tutorials in the VIP area and I am completely looking forward to that!

So even though the focus is food, I think it’s evident you can’t really enjoy the great experiences of food and drink without great people. This is really a cool event where so many come to share their passion for great food and great beer, often with surprising results.

I recall in 2006 when an attendee was more than a bit surprised to see Carol Stoudt (Stoudt’s Brewery) and I behind the same beer taps offering Victory Prima Pils and Stoudt’s Fat Dog Stout. While she was trying to convince him to try Prima with London Grill’s grilled octopus and white bean salad, I was pressing him to indulge in her Fat Dog Stout that London had done up ham and Chinese pork roll ‘Saigon Subs’ with. The poor guy stammered “but… you two are COMPETITORS!?” Carol and I got a great laugh out of that, raised our glasses in toast to one another, and encouraged him to join us for both pairings!

Come on out on March 14 to help us make more great memories at The 6th Annual Brewer’s Plate.

All the best,

Bill Covaleski

Co-Founder and Brewer

Collaboration is King: Victory Village

Friday, January 8, 2010 at 5:02pm

In case you missed it, we hosted a Tweetup here at Victory on December 28. The event was a fascinating exchange of ideas and wisdom ignited by creative souls who come to give, not take.

The event brought out some heavy Twitter mavens (see below). All of this creative giving is really having a positive impact on the way some of us do business as business opportunities blossom from excited discourse. A perfect example would be our re-introduction that night to the great folks of One Village Coffee in nearby Souderton, PA.

Their coffees have truly impressed our palates since we first met them this summer, and, imagine this, they are fans of Victory beer! Now, with no disrespect for water intended, the two primary liquids of life to we brewers of Victory are beer and coffee. So, on that night a loose, but exciting plan was hatched. We’ll tell you more on this video…

Thanks again to everyone who came out, it just goes to show you what can happen when you put a bunch of smart (and good looking) people in a room. (apologies in advance if we miss your name)

@1villagecoffee, @achrome, @ChesterCo_PA, @Daruuk, @decasere, @EileenOBrien, @gloriabell
@higgimonster, @jackbilson3, @JennRuss, @JohnMcCrindle, @jrybandt, @kimwood, @kissif
@LEMills, @MARCYF, @mayaREguru, @melitami, @Movie123man, @pixelchick22, @storyspinner, @tracibrowne, @WhirlwindMJC, @bethharte, @jakrose, @jmumonty

Finally: Victory in Vermont

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 3:24pm

Vermonters have been vocal for Victory for a few years now and as we have crept north through New England we have always looked forward to this day when we could slake their thirst for Victory! We look forward to serving our friends up there over the many, many years ahead.

But, we must also admit that the great creameries of Vermont have also been a strong draw for us to the Green Mountain state. Ever since our friend Jeff Roberts, author of The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese, introduced us to a few wondrous cheeses from Vermont a few years back, we have been planning our excuses to get there more frequently. Funny what you might fill a refrigerated truck with once it’s emptied of its Victory beer…

Special thanks to our friends Tim and Amy at Forty Putney Rd B&B for helping us introduce Victory in Vermont in style!

Cheers and Cheese,
Bill Covaleski
Co-Founder/Brewmaster

P.S.
For up to the minute info on how you can get your hands on Victory in Vermont, please check out our wholesalers G.Housen

P.P.S.
Don’t miss our exclusive launch part at Forty Putney Rd on Jan 7th! Space is limited so reserve your spot today.

Thanksgiving Victory

Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 3:35pm

Yesterday we tweeted (yes, it’s officially a verb) the question that’s on everyone’s mind the week before Thanksgiving, “What Victory Beers pair best with Thanksgiving?” You didn’t disappoint with your answers. Here are a couple of our favorites:

‘Storm King Stout is better with Pumpkin Pie than whipped cream!’ – TheWhiteLilKim

‘Variety pack. I give my family members a choice.’ – chriscavallucci

‘I’m bringing a case of Lager to my Thanksgiving feast, fingers crossed that everyone doesn’t drink beer & leaves it all to me!’ – Chroma914

‘Yakima Twilight. Does it go with much on the table? No. Does it matter? Not to me!’ – whatsbilldoing

While we would never contradict someone’s taste we’ve put together a short guide to what we’ve found works at our own Thanksgiving tables. Try bringing a couple new beers to Thanksgiving and make it an event to remember (and trust us, if you bring Golden Monkey it will be).

Golden Monkey: This is Victory’s turkey beer for sure. Turkey is relatively neutral in it’s character and Golden Monkey adds enough spice and sweetness to enhance the flavor but not enough to overwhelm the T-Bird.

Yakima Twilight: Think Candied Yams with carmelized Marshmellow topping. The sweetness of the yams are a beneficial opposition to the boldness and bitterness of Yakima.

Prima Pils: It’s an aperitif perfect for watching the football game with. Goes nicely with shrimp cocktail and the accompanying horseradish and tomato sauces.

HopDevil: HopDevil always pairs nicely with cheese. Consider a fresh Cheddar in your au gratin potatoes and you’ll have people talking. Sooo good.

Lager: If you’re going to have only one Victory Beer this Thanksgiving your best bet would be Victory Lager. It’s the jack of all trades that’s just flexible enough to go with everything, but not assertive enough to clash with anything.

Storm King: If brownies are on the dessert menu you would be doing a disservice to your guests by serving anything other than Storm King. It’s rich and sweet characters make it a natural partner for anything chocolate. The jury is still out on wether or not it works with pumpkin pie, but we’d love to hear what you think.

Smells like Beervana

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 3:44pm

Dan Keating interviews Bill Covaleski during the Beervan Fest at The Roger Williams Botanical Garden on October 2nd 2009. More on Beervana:

Our mission: To enlighten and educate the community for the responsible appreciation of craft beer.
Join us in turning the beautiful Roger Williams Botanical Garden into “the ultimate beer garden” with tastings in conjunction with educational seminars by nationally renowned craft beer luminaries . . .

Yakima Twilight from those who know it best.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 2:10pm

Developing and launching a new beer takes months and months of trial and production, and during that time the Brewer’s of Victory spend many an intimate moment with the emerging product; tasting it over and over and over again (rough job but someone has to do it). So we thought we would sit them all down and tell you what they love about Yakima Twilight in their own words. It’s not something they get to do very often, but hopefully, that will change :-)  

The Nectar Trainwreck You Don’t Want To Miss

Friday, October 2, 2009 at 5:00pm

Sometimes you view an item on a menu and a train wreck of ingredients and influences rolls in your mind as your stomach turns in empathetic reflex. I had a much milder reaction when I read “Maine Sea Urchin and Toasted Nori Risotto, Bonito Yuzu Emulsion” on the Victory beer pairing menu devised by Nectar’s (Berwyn, PA) Executive Chef, Patrick Feury. But like a wreck, my fascination drew me in to want to experience this dish that our award winning Moonglow Weizenbock had inspired.

Let me define these ingredients for you so you understand the complexity of what Chef is attempting here.

Sea urchin, well, after the spines are removed, the soft body is mostly prized for the part you see as ‘uni’ on many sushi menus. Often window dressed as the roe, this part is actually the creature’s sex glands. I am not certain what parts of the East Coast urchin that Chef Feury put into action, sorry to say, but he did so to sublime effect as the fats and proteins of this addition negated the use of any cheese to make the cooked rise (‘risotto’) amazingly creamy.

Nori is the onionskin thin sheets of deep green seaweed that rolled sushi is often contained in. For me it has a flavor between leafy green vegetables and toasted almonds and the sea is just a salty whisper. It was subdued in the dish but surely played a supporting role like trombones in a symphony orchestra.

Bonito is crispy-thin flakes of smoked bonito tuna. This element was key, as I’ll explain later, but the smoke character was evident and the fish oils were luxurious as they opened up in your mouth.

Yuzu. Well, this is a citrus fruit. A rather sharp and tart fruit full of lively flavor most reminiscent of fresh lemon.

Wow, all of the above flavors floating in a frothy emulsion of tart citrus fruit? Ding, ding. Ding… train wreck comin’!

Not so. Without even a sip of Moonglow, the disparate flavors all hummed in tempered control and then blossomed in sublime harmony as they combined in the mouth. Dried tuna became earthy in the presence of bright citrus and urchin simply played the low, rich bass notes supporting it all. Moonglow accentuated the yuzu tang initially, until the caramel aspect of the ale began to resonate with the deeper urchin/smoke flavors. Of course, all of these impressions came after the fantastic visual display as the dried bonito curled and uncurled like live tentacles above the steaming rice that rehydrated the long slivers into writhing dancers.

So, the adage of not judging a book by its cover certainly rings true when the creation comes from an infinitely talented and well versed chef like Patrick, who was inspired by Victory beers. We are entering the final week (ends October 9) of his Victory beer paired menu so if you are near Victory you owe it to yourself to experience Maine Sea Urchin and Toasted Nori Risotto, Bonito Yuzu Emulsion or any of the equally grand (I have had them all) items below.

Cheers,

Bill

Also on the menu:

  • Smoked then Grilled Herbed Shrimp and Scallop Sausage
  • Black Truffle Celery Root Salad
  • Roasted Organic Oyler’s Eden Farm Apples with Victory Lager
  • Seared Viking Village Day Boat Scallops
  • Braised Pork
  • Baked Fingerling Potatoes with Victory Festbier
  • Pan Roasted Striped Bass
  • Caramelized Fennel with Saffron
  • PEI Mussels with Victory Moonglow Weizenbock
  • Sea Salt Crusted Lobster Sushi Roll
  • Toasted Corn and Chile Puree with Victory Braumeister Pils Cinderella Pumpkin Soup
  • Warm Goat Cheese Gougère with Victory Prima Pils

« Older Entries