Victory Brewing Company: “Philadelphia’s version of Sam Adams…”

It dawned on me as I wandered around Victory Brewing Company, going alone on brewery tours is not that enjoyable. In planning my visit to Downingtown, Pennsylvania to tour Victory, I realized the only time I could fit it into my schedule was while driving home one Sunday afternoon from a trip to the Poconos. Unfortunately this would mean I would be touring solo as my wife would be on dog-sitting duty for our nine month old Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy. I was dropped off at the facility as she headed to a park down the road giving me one final instruction, “Moderation Please!”

As I entered Victory I was sure I went into the wrong door. What I thought to be a brewery was actually a large crowded brew pub. (To the non-brewery-going-types, a brew pub is a bar and restaurant owned and operated by the brewery.) Like a lost child I tapped a waitress on the shoulder and asked her to point me in the direction of the brewery tours. I was directed to the gift shop located past the bathrooms and down a long narrow hallway.

When I arrived, I was told I would be attending the last brewery tour ever given at Victory. The company decided to stop giving tours due to the increase in business and the time the tours took away from the brewing process. I was given a bottle cap, which would serve as my ticket into the bowels of the brewery, told to go to the bar grab a beer and report back in a half hour.

This was going to be a tough choice. Victory has a staggering 20 beers on tap. I had already tried some of Victory’s catalog prior to that day, so I decided on something new. I ordered a V12, a name derived from the 12 percent apv content it possesses. As I have mentioned before, being as large as I am, beers with small alcohol contents have little effect on me. I always go big-time.

The bartender arrived with an extremely small glass, which looked ridiculous in my large hands. Not what I was expecting for five bucks. I began to realize that in order to sample what this brewery is all about, it would be costly. I decided to skip the expensive and possibly incapacitating tour in favor of a Victory sampler from my local beer distributor a few days later.

(I later found out that Victory has $1 samplings of all their beers. Unfortunately while I was there, due to the crowd and noise level, I never was able to talk to the bartender and get more information. I may revisit Victory in the fall with a $20 bill and a designated driver.)

I proceeded back down the long hallway to begin the tour.

Our tour guide began by giving us all protective glasses, and sterile foot protectors for those who wore sandals…i.e. me. We then paraded ourselves through the busy pub while onlookers stared at the blue slippers stretched awkwardly around my size 17 feet.

The actual tour was similar to those I’ve experienced before. Grain, barley, water…mix, boil, ferment…bottle, distribute, drink. Victory was much larger than previous breweries, with several warehouse sized rooms housing all the equipment.

Now let me make one thing clear. Victory is an amazing beer. They combine a rare blend of taste and pop. Their 12 percent apv V12 was still amazingly smooth. They have many different beers to choose from, all of which are worth trying. They are like Philadelphia’s version of Sam Adams, only without the historical significance and funny accents.

I have been developing a rating system for my tours. Several criterions are weighed to determine the quality of my overall experience. The first is the amount of knowledge I gain outside of the typical nuances of brewing beer. The second is the taste of the brewery’s exports and third is the friendliness and courtesy of the staff.

Although I do enjoy the taste of Victory’s beers, I did not love my experience at the brewery. Maybe it was because of the size and success Victory Brewing Company has achieved, but the tour seemed rushed and impersonal. It is a shame considering this was the last public tour given at Victory. You would think there would be a little more enthusiasm and nostalgia.

It may have also stemmed from the fact I was on the tour with a bunch of strangers, most of whom were extremely intoxicated. I was behind two rather “robust” women, who felt the need to cheer every time the guide mentioned the words “alcohol” or “beer.”  As you can imagine those words came up quite a bit.

Overall this beer ranks high on my list, but the brewery tour/brew pub received lower scores. Maybe it is better that they are discontinuing the tours and focusing more on the beers. It’s obvious that is their strong suit.

Know, run or own a brewery that I just need to check out? Email me!

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