Victory Brewing (2020)

I love the love you each expressed as far as your favorite V brews! I plan to share the love with Ron and Bill and hope it will result in some positive feedback!! Thxs

 

In that interview I mentioned before in post #8, Covaleski acknowledges how funny it is that two guys went to Germany to learn how to brew and came back and made a Belgian Tripel that everyone fell in love with.

 

FWIW I am with you here but....

Cheers!

 

Well....

There was an extended period of time where Golden Monkey was not all that good...in my opinion but also other knowledgeable commercial brewers. Some brewer got hired by Ron and Bill and to his credit he did a great job 'cleaning up' Golden Monkey. For a very long time I was not a fan of Golden Monkey but in the last few years (5 years?) this beer has been improved remarkably. If Ron/Bill want to take 'credit' here well,... they did listen to their employee and permit him to make a 'silk purse out of a sow's ear'.

Cheers!

 

Back in the days you could actually find a barleywine?

 

Oh yeah, OH was a plentiful and flowed like [barley]wine.

 

Not just a barleywine but a very solid value at $45 a case. Some good memories of those times.

Give me some moonglow weizenbock, I have been waiting for the old Victory to return.

 

I'm looking forward to this one, a "new" Helles Lager. Going by untappd, the IBUs are slightly down from the original Helles Lager Victory brewed.

This could be a potential late-summer-long cooler beer


https://victorybeer.com/beers/classic/

 

Helles is still being brewed and widely available around me. But I do wonder how similar these beers will be in the end and if one (or both) will end up fading away. Price is going to be key here and the Helles is $10.49 in my area but I can get the better Sly Fox Helles (and already in a can too) for $8.99-$9.99.

Helles Lager
German-style Helles
abv: 4.8%
malt: Pilsner
hops: Tettnang Mittelfrueh
notes: Definition of drinkable. Simply crafted with German malt, hops, and yeast this beer provides balance between noble hop character, clean fermentation, and some of the best malt in the world.
https://victorybeer.com/beers/helles-lager/

Classic
Easy Drinkin' Lager
Since Back in the Day
abv: 4.8%
ibu: 18
malt: Pilsner
hops: Hallertau
https://victorybeer.com/beers/classic/

 

If I were to guess, this will be at the $9.99 price point and/or in line with Prima. Timing on this one is nice for me since Cape May (foolishly, IMO ) ceased production/canning of their Lager, which was a flavorful beer at a good price point.

 

I miss the OH vertical offerings they used to do in the late winter months. I also used to go to Toronados every year for their Barleywine fest. I love DIPAs, but I feel they killed Barleywines.

 

Victory does not list the IBU for Helles but based upon the information being presented they do appear to be quite similar beers.

The only differentiator that I can discern is packing: Helles in bottles and Classic in cans. Does Victory think there is much in the way of marketing differentiation between craft beer drinkers preferring bottles vs. cans? Perhaps you seem to be the appropriate person to direct this question to since you seem to have a strong preference for canned beer?

Cheers!

 

I would not say a strong preference and there are some pros to bottles for me personally but cans do have some advantages that bottles do not. If I had to guess, Victory is going the canning route for this beer because besides the craft community's love for cans it will be more acceptable at events and in turn more marketable. If it does sell well I will have to assume that Helles will be phased out, as Helles all but vanished for a bit when it was known as just the Lager and when it came back as Helles it did seem to sell okay but was not flying off of the shelves by any means. I do make it a point to buy it and some in my family enjoy drinking it but again, if it does disappear I do have some comparable and arguably better options (Stoudts' is no slouch either). And if this Classic is just as good...

 

That would be my guess as well.

Cheers!

 

Heard a third (or possibly fourth) hand rumor that Victory is coming to Lititz in the space formerly occupied by JoBoys on Main street across from the Bulls Head. Intriguing.

 

Oh? I like this. Given that I do like this, I will choose to take it as gospel and assume it shall be so.

 

I was told it's the same beer, just a rebranding, but this was not from an official source. I miss Brandywine Lager, which was an Export. I love Exports and wish Brewers would embrace them.

 

Have you tried the new beer of Yards Loyal Lager yet? I will be discussing this beer in New Beer Sunday soon.

Cheers!

 

Not yet, maybe I'll pick some up this weekend

 

Haven't been yet this year, but I visit the Kennett Square location several times a year. They still have many of the beers mentioned in this thread (Storm King, Helios, Old Horizontal, etc.) on tap. I guess maybe they stopped bottling a few?

They definitely resisted the hazy IPA fad for a while, which was fine because they brewed excellent classic styles. And I remember when they started brewing more IPA's as one off's, they were less than stellar. But I think they've done really well with Cloud Walker as an approachable hazy. They apparently sell a ton at that location.

As long as they keep the Braumeister Pils and Hop Devil nitro on tap, I'm happy! Although I do miss Moonglow.