Victory Brewing Co. :: Taste Victory

"It smells like home!" Brewmaster Fred Ehmann exclaimed. While wrist deep in hops, the 92 yr. old former Schmidt's Brewery Brewmaster breathed in the spicy, earthy freshness of our hop freezer and smiled blissfully. The memories of his years in the beer business flowed across his face as he alternately spoke in an animated rush, and then paused and closed his eyes to breathe it all in again.

The Christian Schmidt Brewing Company closed in 1987 after 127 years of operating in Philadelphia. At it's height of operations it employed over 1,200 people and produced 3.5 million barrels of beer in the early 1980s, and distributed in 20 states. The family-run business made hay with their solid and clean Schmidt's Beer, but then were baited into battle with national brewers who wanted their home turf of Philly. It was a short and ugly war of attrition as Schmidt's was forced to fight on the attackers' terms as the nationals made actual beer quality a secondary issue behind image, through advertising.

Doors closed, brewing careers ended, and memories of the "good old days" withered like the flavor of a fashionable light beer.

But just as a memory can fade, so can it be revived. The touchstone that Victory provided in August for seven former Schmidt's employees was as powerful and important to us here on the brewing staff of Victory as it was for them.

For them, the jovial lunch and tour provided reassurance that there were still young men like they were, full of joy, passion and off-color stories for the industry that brings pleasure to so many people. It was clear that they felt a certain renewal in seeing what they thought had passed, very much alive at Victory. And there was a further sense of fulfillment for them as they recognized that even though national giants had triumphed over their valiant efforts to champion quality and local freshness, the war was far from over as young upstarts, like Victory, had taken up the challenge and were winning stunning battles.

"Whole flower hops? We thought they would never be seen in a brewery again!"

"A decoction kettle? Which brews are you decocting?"

"You use how many yeasts? We had only two!"

All of these and many more questions gave us perspective on how fortunate we were that the technical and creative risks we took in building both our brewery and our brands has all been enthusiastically embraced by a growing audience. Bill Moeller, whose post-Schmidt's career included the development and formulation of a number of pioneering craft beers, pointed this out. He observed that where their generation was tasked to brew beers closely linked to the past along the path of a slowly evolving continuum, our generation had the opportunity to radically depart from the depressing doldrums of light beer. "You gentlemen have championed creativity over continuity, to great results" he remarked as we were saying our goodbyes to a wonderful afternoon.

Expect us to continue to innovate and create, with a heightened respect for the traditions and noble efforts that built beer's socially significant past. Cheers,

Much admiration and thanks go out to Philadelphia beer historian, Rich Wagner, for his efforts in keeping the Schmidt's brewers, and brewers of many generations, in contact. Rich will present "The Rise and Fall of Schmidt's of Phila." at Yards Brewing at 2 pm on Sat. Nov. 18, 2006.

You can read the Modern Brewery Age article of January 1960, chronicling 100 yrs. Of Schmidt’s Brewing here:
http://www.mbaa.com/Districts/Philadelphia/historySchmidts100th.htm

Our Throwback Lager was first brewed in Feb. of 2005. This pre-Prohibition style lager featured such “old school” elements as a small portion of corn grits and the Schmidt’s yeast itself! Look for this mild but flavorful lager to return to life this coming April as we’ll celebrate Victory Over Prohibition Day on April 6!

Our brew crew were all smiles as the hop harvest arrived here the night of Sept. 7. It was nearly midnight at that point and these hops had been delivered in our refrigerated truck by our driver, Buddy LeSage. Harvested that day up in Seneca Castle, New York, these fresh-off-the-vine hops went right into our 2006 batches of Braumeister Harvest Pils.

Already the topic of discussion in the Aug. 25 Wall Street Journal, our Braumeister Harvest Pils remains the only wet-hopped pilsner produced in the United States. Wet-hopping differs from standard brewing in that, typically, the hops used have been dried to improve their storageability. As with most fresh products, unless used within 24 hrs. from picking, hops will molder and rot, losing their sublime flavors and aromas. Dried whole flowers, as we use throughout the year here, are still the most flavorful and natural form of hops. But, a new grower in New York and a responsive crew here have acted to allow you to soon try a limited, harvest-fresh pilsner!

Current seasonal beers on tap at Victory Brewing Company include:

Dr. Decibels Brown Ale
Calm character and deep flavors...
A Northern England version of dark ale, you will
marvel at the depth of cocoa and chocolate flavors that lie under the smooth and calm character of this contemplative ale. Yeast from a venerable British brewer lends just the right amount of plum-flavored fruit edge to this cask-conditioned ale.

Malts: imported German and British malts
Hops: two varieties of British whole flowers
Alcohol by Vol.: 5.7%

Moonglow Weizenbock
Richly flavored dark wheat ale...
This dark amber wheat beer features fruity and spicy aromas galore. Significant strength underlies the pleasant citric appeal of this bock beer. Full of the flavors of harvest fruit, Moonglow is the perfect Autumnal elixir.

Malts: imported, German barley and wheat malts
Hops: imported whole flowers
Alcohol by Vol.: 8.7%
Available in bottles starting Sept. 21!

Praise for St. Victorious!
St. Victorious has extended our streak of 3 consecutive years in which we have been featured in Men's Journal Magazine's annual summary of the world's best beers. This year St. Vic made their top 25 list!
The knowledgeable writers praised St. Victorious as "caramely, chocolaty, slightly smoky, mahogany in color and bursting with roasted malt." Sounds like they truly discovered the sublime character of the good St. V!
In past years we have scored very highly with Prima Pils ("top lager, worldwide") in their review and so it was interesting to note that this year that though Prima had "blown us away," they "set aside Prima Pils to make way for something new."
Prima retired? Sounds like more Prima for us to enjoy in these 'golden years' then!

Benefiting the Brandywine Valley Association (www.brandywinewatershed.org) and their efforts to protect Chester County’s rivers and streams, Victory Brewing Company has developed a new fine food, beer, and wine event, named OctoberFeast, OctoberFeast will take place Saturday, September 23, from 3 – 8PM at the Brandywine Valley Association’s Myrick Center just outside of West Chester, Pennsylvania.

With live bluegrass music and live music by Lukens German Band, five top area restaurants will present dished to savor alongside great Victory beers and Stargazers wines.

Join us and Nectar, Restaurant Alba, The Drafting Room, The Inn at St. Peter's Village, and Sovana Bistro for this great day and the noble cause it supports of protecting Chester County’s natural beauty.
http://www.victorybeer.com/feast.html

Victory Brewing Fall Fest will take place on Saturday, September 30, from 2-9PM. There will be lots going on with the Philadelphia Bluegrass Band playing during both the 2-4PM and 7-9PM time slots and the Lukens German Band from 4-7PM. Other festivities include kids games, a moonbounce, for car lovers the Riesentöter Region Porsche Club of America will not disappoint, Victory founder Ron Barchet will host a hops presentation from 3-4PM, and, of course there will be plenty of Victory beer in the Victory Beer Garden. See you there!!!
http://www.victorybeer.com/victory_event.html

The 2006 version of this new classic will include a Kegs & Eggs breakfast complete with Sunrise Weissbier, a full round of gold at Honeybrook Golf Club, and a great post event meal back here at Victory. Best of all, this tournament will be the inaugural event to benefit the new St. Victorious Foundation, a foundation begun by Victory to expand our already generous community efforts.
http://www.victorybeer.com/events.html

To be held here at Victory on November 2nd @ 6:00 PM. Chef James and Restaurant General Manager Matt have risen from the Coliseum turf, triumphant with this winning menu.

Gamberetto Grande alla polenta
Big shrimp over seared polenta with Victory Lager