From the mind and desk of Victory founder and president, Bill Covaleski…
Saturday morning, I spent some time pondering the incredible news I heard last week. Fourteen of the top 40 U.S. craft breweries have reported sales increases of 30% or more for early 2011. We here at Victory have started this year by brewing and selling at a pace of more than 40% over last year.
While I could have mused about these statistics for hours, I forced myself to tackle a more pressing matter: spring-cleaning.
My rural township has a bulk trash collection day each spring, so I loaded my Subaru with a busted metal chair and some torn-down wall paneling that was taking up precious junk space and headed to the dumpsters. As I pulled up to unload, I was greeted by a middle-aged man who was lacking some essential teeth and was dressed head-to-foot in cammo. I hate admit it, but I immediately pegged him as a Keystone Light or Busch drinker. While offering me help with my items, he noticed the Victory Is Brewing sticker on my car and surprised me with an emphatic “Oh, that Victory beer is great stuff!” He then told me, “I hear one of the brewmasters there is from Germany.”
With that, I filled him in on Ron’s family heritage and the brewing education we both received in Germany. He spoke eloquently of his fondness for our now retired Brandywine Valley Lager and demonstrated further knowledge of our process by noting, “I hear that they located here because of great water.”
Needless to say, I was blown away as my initial judgments and expectations of the man were so far from accurate. He exuded knowledge about our brews and pride in our local brewery that left me feeling confused and stupid about my early assessment.
It struck me that he represents the individuals who are contributing to the wild craft beer growth I had been pondering earlier in the day. We didn’t discuss it, but even if he does have a fondness for Keystone or Busch, the fact of the matter is that he also buys better beer. There was appreciation and pride in his voice as he spoke about Victory — two things that you don’t often hear from macro beer drinkers, for the obvious reasons.
Retelling this incredibly uplifting (to me, at least) story, I heard someone remark that this was the year that craft beer has “become mainstream.” Though I don’t think the numbers support that statement yet, I do feel that craft beer has made significant strides in American culture, and now it is appreciated for the true virtues of flavor and freshness that it delivers. Long-held beer prejudices are being reversed by the appreciation of true quality and character.
Likewise, I realize that I my own prejudices are being reversed as I broaden my view of just who is in this growing audience of craft beer lovers.
Victory founder and president, Bill Covaleski, took his first trip to the South By Southwest conference and shares his observations with you:
Innovative, flavorful beer doesn’t happen in a void.
It takes fertile thinking to envision exciting combinations of malted barley, hops yeast and water, as well as the compelling branding to wrap ‘em all up in. So, following the lead of Grace Slick’s oft-quoted rock ‘n roll call to “feed your head,” I went off to Austin, TX for my first South By Southwest experience to follow those instructions.
Drinking other folks’ beer is a sure-fire way to get the foamy wheels turning. Our friend, and former VBC brewer, Erik “Isar Krug” Ogershok’s brews from Real Ale in Blanco are always a treat. The most memorable one (of my many on this trip) was a cask ESB at Haddington’s. Can’t you just sense its full coolness in this picture beside an awesome lamb sandwich? Zach, Matt and the crew at Haddington’s played host to me twice; the lingering memory of the rare, sliced lamb with buttery, rich, softened red onion and a hint of mint lured me in for a Lamb Pie on the second visit.
Haddington’s lamb sandwich basking in the lovely glow of a cask Real Ale ESB.
That first Haddington’s visit was all the more memorable as I was joined by @MisoHungry (Jennie) and @HopSafari (John) who imparted their rich wisdom of the Austin food scene throughout the meal and by sharing some killer Austin Cake Balls. Of the selection, gingerbread edged out salted caramel as my favorite. Sorry, kids, no way these were gonna make it home.
Mmmmmm, Cake Balls
Now to throw some culture into the mix…
One of the reasons I made an appearance at SXSW was that we at Victory, along with our pals at Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, sponsored two days of live music at The Ginger Man (March 17 and 18). I spent much of my SXSW stint there but was sure to get my cultural fill at other venues as well.
On day one of my trip, the Canadian gals of No Joy put on a sweet show at Emo’s. Their shoegaze show rocked at a steady, pounding pace making up for the hideous venue that only served canned beer.
The next day I was eager to see how Austin embraced Philly as our local friends, Hoots & Hellmouth, were set to kick up some dust at The Belmont. Earlier that day, the boys tweeted us their excitement of spotting a “@victorybeer truck sighting on south congress. Tonight: a taste of home for us weary travelers at the gingerman.”
Hoots & Hellmouth play a colorful Belmont gig on March 16.
Bathed in in the highly-unnatural-for-these-rockers magenta and phosphorescent yellow glare of a big production stage, our boys whipped the crowd into a whirl with their soulfully rendered, rowdy revival show. Few of the skinny jean hipsters could successfully resist the music’s primal charms and actually lifted their heads up from their seemingly attached-to-the-hand smartphones.
Hoots & Hellmouth’s set at The Belmont seemed more energized than the following night at The Ginger Man; but, at the second show Sean busted strings in the opener and then threw in a sweet shout-out to our Headwaters Pale Ale (which was on tap) while launching into “Roll, Brandywine, Roll” from their 2009 release, The Holy Open Secret.
Sean of Hoots & Hellmouth, busted strings and all, concealed his Headwaters Pale Ale well.
I snuck away from the music to visit the Flatstock poster show, which was a part of the official SXSW proceedings. The quality of work and humble candor of the silkscreen art and artists on display was beyond belief. As my wish list of must-have posters climbed to triple digit dollars, I wisely chose to squash my impulse and leave only with notes. The following day, I went back with a clear head, a shortened shopping list, and a sturdy mailing tube.
Four posters by the engaging James Flames of Asheville, NC made the cut. I recommend visiting his site to see more of his genius and witness how it comes together in his blog there as well. Some other inspired work can be viewed at Cricket Press and Pedal Printing
I did pay a severe penalty for my poster-shopping foray as I missed the The Fleshtonesset. In a surprising twist of fate, I caught Fleshtones drummer, Bill Milhizer, on a shady stool next to The Ginger Man taps as he was singing the praises of our Victory Lager. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to chat him up. Totally a charming dude having a blast, he offered up this video testimony to Victory Lager.
As Bill is loving our lager, I’m loving The Fleshtones’ recent release Brooklyn Sound Solution. It’s a glorious romp through a veritable garage of rock history, done with a wonderfully fresh feel. Check them out as they are touring now.
The 18th was packed with music. After missing The Fleshtones set, I made sure not to miss the following act: ’80′s guitar demigod Steve Wynn with his Miracle 3. A blistering set was delivered including gems from his days fronting The Dream Syndicate including “Tell Me When It’s Over.” Steve gave our beers a shout out from the stage and was quick to get his cup (yes, the cups had Guinness logos on them) filled with Victory after the set. Steve upped his game as his three bandmates from The Baseball Project put in a romping and ridiculously witty set.
Steve Wynn is all grin at The Ginger Man.
After that set, Project (and R.E.M.) guitarist, Peter Buck, was kind enough to permit me this photo (even fter I gave him a hard time for drinking wine, and not Victory or Dogfish Head beer)! I was humbled to shake the hand that played that sweet mandolin on “You Are The Everything” back in ’88.
Peter Buck lets Bill (right) invade his space.
Mike Watt, a founding member of The Minuteman followed as part of a trio that kept us graying punks moving and grooving with delight all within easy reach of Headwaters Pale Ale and Victory Lager, under the Texas twilight.
The Japanese instrumental quartet, LITE, expanded upon Watt’s cerebral ramblings with a dual guitar attack that blended the expansive, throbbing blast of Smashing Pumpkins with the crisp, tension of Tortoise.
With my head full of awesome music, I made a (second) stop at Iron Works BBQ to fill my stomach and to wind down my Austin experience. I still can’t believe that I’d overlooked this great town until now. Hopefully its heart and soul — and this experience — will find its way into an equally inspired brew soon. Stay tuned and don’t forget to “feed your head.”
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.
