When did May get here? Where did April go? And March, for that matter! The months seem to be whizzing by as we continue to be busy over here. Sometimes we wish time would slow down so we could get more done. But when the speeding of days means that it is now time to drink some Summer Love, we gladly welcome the month of May!
So… Happy May Day and happy Summer Love Ale drinking!
We are incredibly proud of our award-winning seasonal brew. And, as you’ve heard — or read — us say time and time again, we are humbled to have fans like you who drink Summer Love and all of our brands. With that in mind, we wanted to do something special for you and in honor of of the taste of Summer. Here it is, our first-ever Find Your Summer Love Sweepstakes!
Starting today, you’ll begin seeing signage at retailers, restaurants and bars that tell you to “Find Your Summer Love.” We’re making it easy and fun to do just that. You can find your summer love in the form of free goodies that we’ll be mailing out to hundreds of winners all summer long. Simply scan the QR code that you find on the posters and coasters, complete a few pieces of information and you’ll be entered to win. The odds are in your favor. No purchase necessary to win, so what are you waiting for?
Find Your Summer Love today. We at Victory already have. See for yourself…
We’d like to thank everyone who came out to Victory to celebrate Dark Wednesday with us. The line of Dark Intrigue enthusiasts started to form at 6:30 a.m. One of our earliest liner-uppers left Richmond, Virginia at 3:00 a.m. to secure his place. One beer-loving duo stayed up all night, drove from near New York City and arrived in Downingtown at 4:30 a.m. They slept in their car until another early-riser woke them up at 6:30 a.m. and ended up second and third in line. Still others traveled from North Carolina, Oklahoma and Colorado.
Photo Credit: @JeffTincher
We had a great time talking with all of our beer-loving travelers and with the more than 400 avid beer fans who celebrated the release of Dark Intrigue with us. Despite a few scattered showers, hundreds of people joined in the Dark Wednesday festivities. Thanks to our friends at One Village, we were able to keep them warm with free coffee. And our own Victory Brewpub provided some tasty treats to enjoy as we all waited for sales to begin. The doors opened promptly at 11:30 a.m., and by 2:30 p.m. all the cases of Dark Intrigue were all gone.
If you weren’t able to make it here to get your Dark Intrigue and partake in the fun of Dark Wednesday, check out what Downingtown Dish and IDrinkGoodBeer.com had to say about the event.
The brewery allotment of Dark Intrigue sold out in just three hours, but more cases are leaving the brewery on trucks today, headed to 18 states across the country. If you’re looking to give the bourbon barrel-aged Storm King Stout a taste, contact your local wholesaler or use our beerfinder. DISCLAIMER: Beerfinder only reports on where the beer has been delivered in the past 60 days. If you see Dark Intrigue listed at your local retailer, call them to ensure they haven’t sold out yet.
And to those of you who came out and waited for Dark Intrigue, thank you again for helping us to make such a successful, fun event. Cheers!
Our Storm King Stout spent the summer in bourbon barrels from Jim Beam and Heaven Hill Distilleries, and has finally emerged as Dark Intrigue. (It’s like Clark Kent going into a phone booth and coming out as Superman, only more delicious and less crime-fighty.)
Dark Intrigue will be released here at the Downingtown retail location on Nov. 23, a day we are calling Dark Wednesday. Not only will you be able to purchase the dark and intriguing boozy beverage, but you’ll be part of Victory history. While this is our second release of Dark Intrigue we are also planning it to be our last. Get it now before it goes away forever.
Here’s what you need to know about Dark Wednesday:
• Dark Intrigue will be available by the bottle and by the case from the retail shop at our Downingtown brewery and brewpub.
• It will go on sale when our retail shop opens at 11:30 a.m. You are welcome to begin lining up earlier than that, and we anticipate that Dark Intrigue fans will start arriving around 9 a.m.
• Each person will be limited to one case of Dark Intrigue, no exceptions.
• The cost will be $15 per bottle, $180 per case. (There are 12 bottles per case.)
• We know you’re excited to drink your newly purchased Dark Intrigue, and we’re excited to have you try it, but under no circumstances can you open a bottle of Dark Intrigue in the parking lot. Pennsylvania has very strict open container laws, and drinking beer in our parking lot is illegal. If you open it in the parking lot, it will be confiscated. We don’t want to do that, but we have to follow the law of the land. So please, wait until you get home to open it so we can all avoid any issues. • Like all beer purchased at our retail shop, it is not permitted to be opened in the restaurant. We welcome and encourage you to stay for lunch after you purchase your Dark Intrigue, but you will not be able to drink the Dark Intrigue that you bought in retail with your lunch. We will have limited quantities of Dark Intrigue available on draft for you to enjoy with your meal. (Dark Intrigue is not available for growler fills.)
• Update: All barrels have been reserved. To get on the waiting list for barrels left unclaimed, email barrel@victorybeer.com. In addition to the beer, you will also be able to buy the bourbon barrels where Dark Intrigue was aged. The barrels will cost $40 each, cash only, and you can buy as many barrels as you can fit in your vehicle. You cannot pay for the barrels at the same time you pay for your Dark Intrigue. We will have a separate station for barrel purchases set up outside. If you want to purchase a barrel on Dark Wednesday, please e-mail barrel@victorybeer.com to reserve yours. You will have to pay and pick up the barrel on Dark Wednesday prior to 3:00 p.m. Any reserved barrels left unclaimed after that time will be sold at a later date.
*BONUS* You may win some fun Victory swag while attending the Dark Wednesday release. We will be drawing numbers every 10 minutes between 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to the enthusiasts in line. If your number is called, you’ll be going home with extra Victory goodies!
What’s so special about Dark Intrigue? Brewer Jordan Sunseri tells you:
Snow made an early appearance this year when our first wintry storm of the season hit us this past Saturday. Clearing downed tree limbs at home the day after the storm, my freezing fingers yearned for a warming winter brew. As I endured the elements, I began to wish I could simply hibernate through the winter and wake up when it is warm again.
Of course, life won’t allow me to sleep through the season and worse yet, a Victory beer will be doing the hibernating on my behalf: Old Horizontal Barleywine.
Just as the moon catches its Z’s on the Old Ho label, our beloved barleywine will be sleeping its way through 2012.
Here’s why…
As we explained earlier in the year, Victory is experiencing incredible growth and impressive demand for our products. While this surge is mostly good news, it has forced us to make some tough decisions. In order to keep up with the demand for our core brands like HopDevil, Prima Pils, Golden Monkey and Headwaters Pale Ale, we have to take a pass on brewing our dear Old Horizontal.
If you’ve been lucky enough to taste the luxurious brew, you know that it is rich with hop aroma and dense with sweet malt character. These flavors come from the ridiculous amount of hops and malt we use when brewing Old Horizontal. “Luxurious” is an appropriate term for this brew, as it is pricey in both ingredients and time. In order to get the candied fruit flavors we know and love, Old Horizontal requires an incredibly time-consuming brewing process. With most of our beers, we can use the second-runnings of sugar-rich wort (the pre-fermentation liquid from the brew) in the recipe. That is not the case with Old Horizontal, so we have to brew twice as much in order to make half the yield of a “regular” Victory beer. With our brewhouse running at peak capacity, we literally can’t afford the time for our precious Old Horizontal. For this reason, we’re saying “Goodnight Moon” as the brew takes an extra long nap this year.
Skipping Old Horizontal this year is as sad for me as it is for many of you. Even though I am the one making this decision, I still lament the choice. In fact, I’m ruining my own collection – I’ve hoarded a bottle or two of each vintage beginning in 1996, and now the chain will be broken. Yet another reason I’d like to cuddle up with Old Horizontal during its winter hibernation.
But there is some good news to keep me (and you) from too many depressed Old Ho woes. We’ve got a few kegs of vintage Old Horizontal still hanging out in our warehouse. Over the course of the year, Old Ho will wake up and make an appearance on draft here at the brewpub. Keep an eye on our draft list, like our Facebook page or join our mobile mailing list to be sure you know when it will be available.
When I was growing up we always had one neighbor who pulled a wagon with him as he took his children trick-or-treating. As a youngin’ I was too preoccupied with my quest for candy to pay much attention to what was he was lugging. I just assumed he might need to tote some candy when the haul got too heavy. Now, as an adult, I recognize his brilliance. The Radio Flyer was his very own Brew Pub on Wheels.
As the kids were amassing goodies, the adults were enjoying a few treats of their own. Genius!
Today I’m expanding on my old neighbor’s ingenuity by offering suggestions to turn your kids’ treats into adult indulgences. Trick out your treats with these beer pairing suggestions.
Festbier + Peanut Butter Cup
Back in 1990, the good folks at Hershey told us “there’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s.” We agree with that sentiment entirely! Here’s our suggestion for one right way to eat one: pair it with Festbier. The malt used in our Festbier has a sweetness and roastiness that gives it a peanut character which pairs perfectly with the delectable treat from Reese’s.
Storm King Stout + Tootsie Roll
I remember scoffing at Tootsie Rolls on Halloween as a kid. The little midgees were weak in comparison to the coveted Reese’s mentioned above. But, in my adulthood, I’ve come to appreciate the goodness packed in that little wrapper. Pair the chocolatey taffy treat with a big beer like Storm King Stout and you’ve got a powerful pairing. Like our Russian Imperial Stout, Tootsie’s got a toasted edge to it. There’s more at play here than just sweetness. The burnt chocolatey undertones of the midgee paired with the roasted malt in our Storm King make for a dark and intriguing tempest of flavor.
HopDevil IPA + Candy Corn
Pairing the most widely available Halloween candy with our most popular beer makes perfect sense. Not only can you track down both of these goodies with ease, but the complementary flavors are a no-brainer. The caramel sweetness evident in both the sugary kernels and the devilish ale meld wonderfully when enjoyed together.
Golden Monkey + Almond Joy
Almond Joy’s got nuts, Monkey’s don’t because, sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t! Actually, this pairing has nothing to do with the almonds. It’s the coconut in the candy and the banana notes in the Golden Monkey that make this a joyful duo. Both boast tropical fruit flavors that work well together. (If you aren’t feeling nutty, Mounds is a simple substitute for this pairing suggestion.)
V-Twelve + Sweet Tarts
Pucker up for a brilliant combination of sweet and sour. The fruitiness and sweetness found in our V-Twelve balance perfectly with the aptly named candies.
With these suggestions in mind, I encourage you to load up your wagon, snag some of your kiddos’ candy and Taste Victory!
Water is easily taken for granted. When you want it you turn a handle and it flows from your spigot, refreshing and sustaining.
With the My Creek photo competition in mind, I tossed my camera in the car on my way to pick my daughter up from a nearby friend’s slumber party, intent on spending a few moments communing with my creek.
Just 10 minutes after parking at a trailhead, I was back with these photos and a serene sensibility that the water, sound, light and motion of the few minutes of autumnal splendor had instilled in me.
That was too easy.
You should try it. You should enter the My Creek photo competition if you are anywhere near our brewery. To enter, take photographs anywhere along the Brandywine Creek, then go to www.mycreek.org and submit them.
If you are not near, breathe a comforted sigh while gazing at the pristine beauty of My Creek, the East Branch of the Brandywine. And next time you drink a Headwaters Pale Ale, know that you are helping to keep these waters clean.
After following along with us during our Headwaters Pale Ale revitalization efforts by reading the Behind the Scenes: Watch Headwaters Flow blog series, you know all about what it takes to brew this great beer. But would you like to know where the idea for Headwaters originated? Bill and Ron tell you:
It’s that ghoulish time of year when it becomes perfectly acceptable to stuff your face with candy, dress in crazy costumes and throw wicked parties. There’s no better way to celebrate Halloween than to sneak away to your own Frankensteinian laboratory and mix mysterious concoctions.
Our favorite monster mash? DarkDevil. It’s a 50-50 blend of HopDevil Ale and Storm King Stout.
October 17
While we’ve been silent on this blog series over the past few weeks, our brewers and account reps have been busily refilling the pipeline with Headwaters Pale Ale. In fact, as of today, Headwaters is flowing at full force. Pallets of the delicious brew have been shipped to retailers near you. It’s time to get your drink on!
Look for it in bottles, cases and on draft at your local watering hole.
We will continue to keep the tide high in order to drench our thirsty fans with a fountain of Pale Ale. And we promise to do our best to avoid any Headwaters drought in the future.
Cheers to the end of this blog series and the conclusion of watery puns. I was running dry and my vocabulary was being soaked with synonyms.
September 28
Our brewers are still busily brewing Headwaters in order to replenish the market with the delicious pale ale come mid-October. As you anxiously wait for Headwaters to flow from your local tap, we want to fill you in on some great Headwaters Grant news.
When we named Headwaters Pale Ale last February, we did so to pay homage to the pure water we receive from the East Branch of the Brandywine Creek that begins its journey to us just under 14 miles from where we brew with it. Because of the important role water plays in the production of quality beer, we initiated The Headwaters Grant as a way to give back to the groups working hard to protect the natural resource.
Back in May, we awarded our very first Headwaters Grant to The Guardians of the Brandywine to fund their “My Creek” initiative. This outreach program aims to educate individuals and to encourage them to take ownership of clean water issues.
Now, with help from Victory Brewing Company (and from you for buying our beer), The Guardians are inspiring citizens to start making a difference in their own backyards through their “My Creek – The Beauty of the Brandywine” photography contest. You could win $300 for your work!
You can support The Guardians of the Brandywine in two ways:
Buy and enjoy Headwaters Pale Ale. (We are donating 1 cent for every bottle sold in the region).
The Guardians point out on their mycreek.org site:
You live near it. You benefit from it. Even when you do not notice it, it is there nourishing and caring for you. It asks for nothing, and in return, it gives our region vitality. The waters of the Brandywine Creek are our lifeblood. We drink its waters, it feeds our economy, and it offers itself up as protection from damaging storms.
We encourage you to take ownership of the Brandywine Creek and your local bodies of water. You have the right and the ability to protect your local watershed in the future.
September 27
Last week you watched as we received the citra hops that Scott selected while he was in Yakima. Now our hop supply is looking incredibly robust. Our hop cooler is stacked high with bushels of the aromatic cones and our brew house is busy brewing with the new arrivals.
Those Yakima-grown hops won’t be our only shipment. In fact, another of our hop suppliers sent us samples of citra and simcoe last week. The samples come from different lots. Our brewers get together and review the samples to decide which selections to purchase.
Watch as the Victory team chooses from the samples:
September 24
We started brewing with our newly-received citra hops. Headwaters is now flowing through the brewery.
We’re about to be overflowing with Headwaters Pale Ale. Grab an oar.
September 23
After a long ride, our hops are here!
Here are the hops in the truck:
And here they are being unloaded. In case you were wondering how we get them off the truck, the answer is . . . manpower.
September 20
Looks like mechanical failure set our hop delivery back a few days. We were expecting our citra to arrive today, but now Friday looks to be the day. In the meantime, the hops were being stored in one of the world’s largest cold storage facilities.
We’re anxiously awaiting their arrival…
September 16, 2011
Our hand-selected citra hops are in transit. We’re slated for a big hop drop on Tuesday. Then, our brewery will be flooded with the flowers.
September 14, 2011
During his visit to Yakima, Scott visited four family-owned hop farms. The Carpenters, Perraults, Roys, and Segals all welcomed him as he toured their operations and selected our hop lots for the upcoming year. In addition to rubbing a handful of hop varieties, Scott got to see these farms in action during their busiest time of the year.
Now it’s your turn.
Here’s a closer look at hop harvesting. The following photos and videos take you from the hop fields, through the facility, an off to storage. Get a sense of what Scott saw below.
Reminder: Scott is Victory’s Director of Brewery Operations. Camera handling skills are not part of his job description.
Note: These photos and videos are a collaboration from the four farms that Scott visited. All of the farms operated differently, but the gist is the same.
The hops grow on vines in the field:
Once they are fully grown, the vines are harvested and loaded into the trucks:
The trucks bring the vines to the facility and they are unloaded and hooked to a conveyor:
The vines travel on the conveyor from the truck to the feeder:
The vines are fed into automated machines where the hops will begin being cleaned and separated from the vines:
The hops travel through a series of machines that clean and separate the hops from the vine:
Then the separated hops are loaded into the drying beds. Here the fresh cones will be dried for preservation. This video specfically shows our chosen citra hops being loaded for drying (yay!):
The entire bed is filled with fresh hops. Underneath all of the hops is a mesh-like floor that opens to a heat source which dries the flowers:
Check out the massive dryer that burns below the fresh hops. This flame produces the heat that dries the hops to preserve their oils:
Once the hop flowers are dry, they are baled for shipping:
Then, off they go to cold storage:
And here’s what’s left behind:
September 13, 2011
Scott is now back in Downingtown, PA busying himself with brewing operations. As he sifts through the piles of work he left behind while in Yakima, he’s uploading even more photos and some videos from his trip west. Tomorrow, we will share some nifty video clips of the hops, the harvest equipment, and the incredible processes that he wrote home about (see below).
Scott also reported that the hop lots he selected while in Yakima are being shipped out on Friday. We’ve got space reserved for them in our hop freezer.
September 10, 2011
Yesterday was Scott’s final day in Yakima before heading back to Victory where we will soon see the Headwaters flowing. Thanks to Scott’s citra selection, It’s only a matter of time before Headwaters will pour from Victory Brewing Company onto store shelves and bar taps near you.
I spent yesterday with the Roy and Carpenter families at their family farms. Both the Roys and the Carpenters have been in the hop-growing business for several generations.
The Roys have the distinction of being the largest privately-owned hop farm in the world — with close to 3200 acres of hop crop. They have multiple processing facilities. In these facilities, the hop cones are separated from the vines and leaves. The Roys have a very modern and technologically-advanced facility and are constantly re-investing in new technologies and methods. Their interest in the latest and greatest allows them to increase their efficiency and increase the quality and consistency of their harvests.
I also went to their experimental yard where they had more than 30 different varieties growing. I was able to bring some samples back for the crew to rub.
In the afternoon, I went to the Carpenters ranch and met Brad, Greg, and their father Tom who have been growing hops for their entire lives. It is truly a family company. The Carpenter’s offices are located in the house they grew up in. And both of their wives as well as some of Tom’s grandkids are part of the business now.
If anybody embodies the spirit of American entrepreneurism and self-sufficient independence, it is the Carpenters. For a guy like me who is into nut, bolts, and machinery I was in awe of to see that the majority of their picking, cleaning and separating equipment is designed, engineered, and built in-house. They are constantly reworking the hardware for better results.
I was able to see our simcoe being finished picking and the last of it in drying, and the start of the citra. The Carpenters worked very hard to increase their acreage of simcoe and citra specifically to accommodate our growth.
Sounds like Scott had a great visit. We just hope it wasn’t so fun that he “forgot” to catch his flight home.
September 9, 2011
Yesterday Scott got down to business and visited two hop farms.
I spent most of the day at the Segal Hop Ranch. The ranch is currently being run by the third generation of Segals to operate it since it opened. Back in 1968, the Segals were the first hop farmers to commercially grow cascade hops, and they deserve credit for giving rise to one of the most dominant hop varieties being used in craft brewing.
High-oil cascade hops
The Segals are known for the high oil content in their cascade hops. And it is those oils that contribute to the aroma we get from hops in our beer. At the ranch, I selected the cascades that we will be using for some of our brands over the course of the next year. After evaluating the lots they harvested prior to my arrival, I chose Lot #10. The aroma from that lot was perfect for HopDevil.
Hops being harvested
During the visit, the Segals showed me an unnamed experimental hop they are growing that had a fruity aroma with notes of banana and vanilla. John Segal and his farm manager, Martin Ramos hosted me during my visit and spoiled me with homemade tortillas and awesome Mexican food made by Martin’s mother.
Right: Citra
Left: Experimental
Later I visted the Perrault Farm where I met Jason Perrault (4th generation). The Perraults have been insturmental in helping the growth of simcoe and citra hop varieties. There, I was able to rub some citra’s which were not quite ready to pick. I was told they were going to “let them hang” until they were ready. I was amazed how much the aroma will change over the last few weeks before harvest.
Hanging hops.
After that it was off for a bite to eat at the Sports Center, which has a great beer selection and nice Rueben.
September 8, 2011
The interwebs decided to hold Scott’s latest update hostage until just now. The photos he sent along caused the email update he wrote on Tuesday to be held in Victory mail purgatory. But never fear, he did arrive safely in Yakima and is currently busy hand-selecting our precious hops.
Here’s what Scott had to say about his day ‘o travel:
I spent the entire day on Tuesday traveling. The booming metropolis [read: itty bitty town] of Yakima is located off the beaten path so it took three flights to get here.
I left my house at 7:15 a.m. and arrived here at 5:15 p.m. PST. Despite the heavy rain in Philly, my flight left on time and the flights were fairly smooth. The best part was the incredible view as we flew over the mountains and landed in Seattle (which I enjoyed after making a connection in Chicago). The peaks of Mount Rainier and Mount McKinley were higher than the aircraft as we descended, which, while awesome in some respects was a bit unnerving for a guy like me who hates to fly. I had a two-hour layover before the final leg of my travel from Seattle to Yakima, so I was able to enjoy the first beer of my trip and relax my nerves from the first two flights. I started with a Pike Place IPA and finished with a few others.
The final flight to Yakima gave me even more views of incredible mountains, which gave way to smaller desert hills. Then, finally, I saw the green, fertile plain of the Yakima Valley.
To give an idea of the size of Yakima, I took this photo of the airport…
I celebrated my arrival by talking hops and beer with Jim Boyd of Roy Farms at the Sports Center in Yakima. Jim grows much of the cascade and centennial hops that we use at Victory.
For my final photo from day one, here’s the stunning view from penthouse suite:
Check back tomorrow for more fun and sarcasm from Scott’s trip.
September 7, 2011
A few weeks back we told you about our hoppy conundrum and gave you a little insight into the incredibly tricky business of brewing predictions.
We still haven’t gotten our hands on that magic crystal ball to tell us exactly what hop orders to place, but we are about to get our hands on our 2011 hop crop. And that means we’ll have plenty of the citra variety to go around. So get ready — the floodgates are about to be lifted and Headwaters Pale Ale will be making waves at a retailer near you very soon.
We expect Headwaters to flow from Victory Brewing Company no later than October 17. In the meantime, we’ll be updating this blog every step of the way. You get to see the daily tasks that ultimately make Headwaters possible — starting today.
Remember meeting Scott in last week’s post? As our Director of Brewery Operations he keeps all of the various Victories brewing. Yesterday, he boarded a plane headed for Yakima, Washington to secure the American whole-flower hops we use in our beers, including the citra we need for our forthcoming batch of Headwaters Pale Ale.
Stay tuned for photos and stories from Scott’s trip and more behind-the-scenes of our Headwaters production. Oh, and of course, even more water-related puns to pour from this blog as the Headwaters begin to trickle again.
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, whichwe certainlyapplaud, but have decided to leave it in their inspired hands.
When did May get here? Where did April go? And March, for that matter! The months seem to be whizzing by as we continue to be busy over here. Sometimes we wish time would slow down so we could get more done. But when the speeding of days means that it is now time to drink some Summer Love, we gladly welcome the month of May!
Photo Credit: @JeffTincher
It’s time.
• Like all beer purchased at our retail shop, it is not permitted to be opened in the restaurant. We welcome and encourage you to stay for lunch after you purchase your Dark Intrigue, but you will not be able to drink the Dark Intrigue that you bought in retail with your lunch. We will have limited quantities of Dark Intrigue available on draft for you to enjoy with your meal. (Dark Intrigue is not available for growler fills.)
Snow made an early appearance this year when our first wintry storm of the season hit us this past Saturday. Clearing downed tree limbs at home the day after the storm, my freezing fingers yearned for a warming winter brew. As I endured the elements, I began to wish I could simply hibernate through the winter and wake up when it is warm again.
I remember scoffing at Tootsie Rolls on Halloween as a kid. The little midgees were weak in comparison to the coveted Reese’s mentioned above. But, in my adulthood, I’ve come to appreciate the goodness packed in that little wrapper. Pair the chocolatey taffy treat with a big beer like Storm King Stout and you’ve got a powerful pairing. Like our Russian Imperial Stout, Tootsie’s got a toasted edge to it. There’s more at play here than just sweetness. The burnt chocolatey undertones of the midgee paired with the roasted malt in our Storm King make for a 
Pairing the most widely available Halloween candy with our most popular beer makes perfect sense. Not only can you track down both of these goodies with ease, but the complementary flavors are a no-brainer. The caramel sweetness evident in both the sugary kernels and the devilish ale meld wonderfully when enjoyed together.
Almond Joy’s got nuts, Monkey’s don’t because, sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t! Actually, this pairing has nothing to do with the almonds. It’s the coconut in the candy and the banana notes in the Golden Monkey that make this a joyful duo. Both boast tropical fruit flavors that work well together. (If you aren’t feeling nutty, Mounds is a simple substitute for this pairing suggestion.) 
Pucker up for a brilliant combination of sweet and sour. The fruitiness and sweetness found in our V-Twelve balance perfectly with the aptly named candies.
September 28
High-oil cascade hops
Hops being harvested
Right: Citra
Hanging hops.
A few weeks back we told you about our 
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.
Q: I filled my growler back on 9/1, still have not opened it. How long will it last?