Victory Brewing Co. :: Taste Victory

Julius Hummel looked both intently busy and relaxed. Running operations of his namesake brewery and restaurant on a sunny April weekday as lunch patrons filtered into his biergarten he exuded a focused satisfaction as he moved from brewhouse to a table where schoolchildren were lunching.

Our group left him alone, absorbed in his wonderful Kellerbier, Märzen, Räucherla and the peaceful hum of small-town Franconia. With our final beers half emptied, Ron determined that it was time to present ourselves and our gifts to the Brewmaster and he politely summoned Julius over. Suddenly, Julius transformed into a best buddy as the fact that we American brewers had brought friends to HIS place and included HIS brewery proudly on the rock concert tour style t-shirt we were presenting him with along with a bottle of Prima Pils struck him. He clutched the Prima bottle and shirt as he dashed off to proudly present us each with decorated glass mugs from Brauerei Hummel.

Similarly, two nights before, Pavel Prucha, a Brewmaster of Pilsner Urquell, beamed as we sat within his pub, 27 Americans and himself, as he shared with Ron and I his insights on beer and quite a few details of the Pilsner Urquell brewing process.

Each day for ten days we woke to new adventures and the thrill of new beer experiences in new, and often old and trusted, places. What enlivened the trip with spectacular memories were the encounters with the people, more-so than the places.

Hearing, learning and sharing insights all within reach of a great beer takes the travel experiences to a whole new level. Famous sights may be impressive, new tastes and sounds may change your perception of the world, but the real culture of any place lies in the people, so it is those contacts that make travel truly worthwhile.

Why make this simple point as a brewery? Well, though the t-shirt we dropped along the way as calling cards were appreciated, it was the beer, both ours that we presented and theirs that we were seen enjoying, that brought these new relationships into focus and provided for a calm, common ground. Beer proved itself, once gain, to be the great social lubricant that has made it important to our culture for 4,000 years.

So, if summer vacation has you set to travel to take in the sights, sounds and smells of the world around you, then pack some beer for a guaranteed good time.

This is advice comes from two seasoned beer travelers who were crazy enough to pack beer in our Germany-bound bags. Taking beer to Germany? Isn’t that as silly as taking sand to the beach? Not if you want to be surrounded by the coolest crowd on the beach.

Bill & Ron
The Brewmasters of Victory

Father's Day is Sunday June 17! Remember the guy who first taught you about beer with something cool from our gift shop like a dashing Golden Monkey silk tie or a youthfully radical, black Resist Prohibition t-shirt. Dad can display his great taste after receiving a Victory Brewing Gift Card. Of course, if you don't know his size, some of our great beer in cases, kegs and growlers is a sure winner! And, you could get real creative and set Dad up with a Victory Tap Handle!

Stop by and check out our diverse selections of gifts that will make Dad glad.

Besides great beer sippin’ weather, summer brings us a bounty of nature’s freshest fruits and vegetables to balance out our lives. Locally, we cheer the opening of the nearby Eagleview Farmers Market this week .

The primary suppliers you’ll find at farmer’s markets now are CSAs, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture. What are they? Look at that farm tucked away near all of the houses that have been built up in your area over the last 15 yrs. and that farm is most likely operating as a CSA. A CSA is an operational farm that grows seasonal produce, usually organically to minimize the environmental impact, for a local audience. This audience is primarily shareholders whose ‘shares’ in the farm nets them fresh picked produce each week. CSA will also sell to cooperatives that may take their goods to top restaurants who place a priority on freshness and flavor. Farmer’s markets become yet another retail outlet for these farmers to connect with you for healthy benefits for all. Remember, those lonely farms need your support to keep their oases green amidst the sprawl of humanity.

Most definitely, the web resource best prepared to connect you with better, locally sourced food is: www.foodroutes.org. Their LocalHarvest search engine is an extensive database of farms, farmer’s markets and CSAs, all searchable geographically.

So what to do with all of this great produce you’ll be hauling home? Funny you should ask. Our website has offered a resource of cooking tips and recipes centered around beer for months now, but now we have added The Victory Garden to the site, chock full of recipes from area farmers, food writers and food entrepreneurs. (www.victorybeer.com/cooking)

Why this fascination with wholesome produce? Well, it goes real well with our wholesome beer and as parents we are committed to sustainable practices and good nutrition. And you can even say it is in our family as Ron’s sister Terra and her husband Mike founded their farm, Spiral Path Farm (www.spiralpathfarm.com), 29 years ago. Man that was a cold night, spent in a VW camper van whose doors froze over with sleet, the weekend that Ron and I were enlisted to assist their move to Perry County, PA! Ron worked there one summer in the 80’s and lead the infamous ‘zucchini revolt.’ Great memories of ‘the farm’ ever since and much pride to see their business be so successful AND sooo green.

Last but not least, we are putting both our mouths and our money where our beer is when Chef James rolls out his Local Foods Beer Dinner here at Victory in July 17. So, pay attention to our website for developing details on what promises to be an exciting menu.

Eat up! A nearby farming oasis is depending on you.

Current seasonal beers on tap at Victory Brewing Company include:

A swirling dynamo of flavor, with a steady calm of satisfaction at its heart, that's Whirlwind Witbier! Offering a tamed tempest of flavors both spicy and sublime, Whirlwind is a refreshing interpretation of the classic, Belgian 'white beer' style. Imported Belgian yeast charges Whirlwind with an energy all of its own. One sip of this inspired ale and you'll make it your spring fling and summer love!

Malts: imported, German malts & unmalted wheat
Hops: European whole flowers
Alcohol by Vol.: 5.0%
Available in bottles!

As invigorating as the morning rays of the summer sun, this unfiltered, Bavarian-style ale is true to its origins with all German malts, hops and yeast. Unfiltered, its tangy yeast and imported German malt pair up to add a crisp, citric snap that makes this beer a superb summertime refresher. Prost!

Malts: 2 row German barley and wheat malt
Hops: imported German whole flowers
Alcohol by volume: 5.7%
Available in bottles!

Noble hops from the Hallertauer region give this unfiltered gem of a lager a sharply fragrant introduction. Restrained bitterness over the quick, dry finish makes this low gravity "session" pils a remarkable summer beer. Prost!

Malts: all German malts
Hops: imported German whole flowers
Alcohol by Vol: 4.7%
Available on draft only.

On Tues., July 24 we will roll out the vintage barrels of Old Horizontal for some fun. Three vintage versions will be offered. This year we’ll be serving up the 2006 version next to 2005 and 2004. For that first day only, growler fills will be offered of any of the versions.

Join all participating Victory brewery staff here at Victory on Sunday, August 12 for the second annual Brewer's Chili Showdown. Similar to our much enjoyed Chili Challenges, this event will showcase great creative chilis, and the best will be judged by you, the guests here at Victory that day. The event begins at high noon, which is actually 1pm on Sundays for brewers. A range of chilis will be offered for sampling, and of course great beer will be flowing.

Call us paranoid if you wish, but when stories like these come across your desk each day, it’s hard to deny that there is not a neo-Prohibitionist undercurrent pressing their agenda.

Did you notice the edict issued by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on May 31? That day he issued a league wide ban barring the service of beer and all alcoholic beverages at team functions, and on buses or flights, extending a ban that had only previously applied to club locker rooms. Permitting alcoholic beverages at team functions “…imposes significant and unnecessary risks to the league, its players and others," Goodell concluded.
Good thinking. Now these 350 lb. multimillionaires will be forced to celebrate their excessive triumphs in public places with us common folk. I guess we were not those “others” whose safety Goodell was considering at the time.
Closer to home, in East Whiteland Twp. where Lancaster Ave. meets Rt. 352, a 47,180 sq. ft. retail center will be built including one licensed restaurant. That liquor license was approved in May at a public hearing under the condition that the restaurant “not have more than 6 beer taps.”

Well, as long as those taps feature local craft beers to pair with the meals we’ll enjoy there with our families, we’ll have nothing to fear but the guy next to us working his way through a bottle of whiskey before he cruises home.