Yesterday evening Victory Brewery and Restaurant of Downingtown, Pa. marked its fifteenth year of business with a celebration that included the first tapping of a new handcrafted beer, the release of new novelty merchandise, and a video dedicated to its loyal fans.
Amongst the crowd, one could find founders Bill Covaleski and Ron Barchet signing commemorative posters and enjoying the success of the company they began over a decade ago. With a full line of acclaimed unique beers that have become a source of local pride, they certainly have a lot to celebrate.
The short film entitled “15 Years of Character(s)” started screening at 6:30 p.m. It served as a video homage to Victory fans all over and depicted a variety of customers and friends enjoying the products and sharing their experiences.
Victory has a dynamic atmosphere that welcomes families, beer connoisseurs and college bar-hoppers alike. With a menu of beer-friendly food from pizza and wings to zesty nachos, anyone that stops in is sure to find something tasty to enjoy. Their new February menu also brought back customer favorites from the past 15 years to celebrate Victory capturing imaginations and titillating the palate. Restaurant regular Julia Szafranski said “The food here is always so fresh. I love it!”
Victory’s long line of accomplishments in beer crafting and distribution has both a huge local following and an international reach. The business was founded by the childhood friends when they discovered a mutual interest in the art of brewing beer. Covaleski’s father passed down his personal beer-brewing device to his son and from there the journey began.
The two explored their passion in the late 1980’s by taking trips to Belgium and Germany to learn about both the craft and culture of beer and to discover how it fit into society in places other than Pennsylvania. What they found both surprised and inspired them. "In America at the time, Nancy Reagan's 'Just Say No' campaign against drugs and alcohol was in vogue," said Covaleski. "The national attitude about drinking was pretty negative. Bars were seen as dark places, lit by neon lights and occupied by people of questionable character. In the places we visited in Europe, beer was taken by families. Husbands and wives were enjoying it in the company of their children in the open sunshine at lunch and on picnics.”
In 1995, the two put their dreams into action when they leased the space on Acorn Lane and opened what is now Victory Brewery and Restaurant. They have since unveiled several successful handcrafted beers sold both nationally and internationally, including HopDevil, Golden Monkey, and St. Victorious.
Several of their beers have won awards in prestigious competitions. HopDevil took one of only 12 top spots in the Good Food Awards in 2011 and won the silver medal at the Australian International Beer Awards in 2008. In addition, their Prima Pils took home silver medals at both the European BeerStar fest and the Great American Beer Festival in 2007.
With the celebration came the first tapping and public sampling of their new beer, Victory Headwaters Pale Ale, which like all of the others is crafted and brewed locally. Employee John Mackay described the new creation as “similar to HopDevil, but infused with a summery, lemon twist.” What sets this one apart is that it was named to raise awareness among Chester County residents about the importance fresh water supply and being ecologically friendly. Covaleski said “Stewardship of our water supply becomes a community affair. We hope Headwaters Pale Ale will bring some awareness to county conservation efforts regarding our water supply.”
In addition to the release of Headwaters, Victory will also be symbolizing their 15 years of success by releasing a new t-shirt in their gift shop on the 15th of every month. Starting yesterday, one new shirt will be designed and released monthly for the next year.
Victory’s head chefs were present at the event as well with an impressive display of baking artistry as they unveiled a huge cake designed specifically for the event. Employee Sean Flanagan said “They’ve been preparing this cake for weeks! Our head chefs both designed and crafted the cake, which is pretty amazing.” The cake was enough to feed the hundreds of patrons present for the celebration and included a life-like brewing arsenal atop the triple flavored masterpiece.
Starting the business was initially difficult for Covaleski and Barchet when building the restaurant addition to the brewery. Covaleski said on his Victory Beer Blog “I remember when they didn't get it. When a host of future neighbors filled the municipal hall of Downingtown to protest…. It was April of 1995 and as we cheaped out on a real attorney for the proceedings, I had to put a suit on and pay a wholly unprepared stooge to frame our side in simpleton terms. And then get attacked…. What Ron and I knew was that brewpubs could be great magnets for community culture and family entertainment and mirth. We just hoped to prove that our brewpub could be these things.”
Flashing forward, the struggle was well worth it for the two, who have now become respected businessmen and have been called ‘pillars of the community’. “These 'pillars' are made of chicken wings and beer, oddly enough” jokes Covaleski, who explained the joy he feels every time he sees an empty bottle of his beer in a recycling bin. Covaleski and Barchet plan on continuing to build their business and perfect their craft, for both themselves and the local community, for many years to come.
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