The Road to Victory
Possessing common interests can be advantageous when it comes to going into business with someone, especially when the goal is to create a world-class craft brewery. In the case of Victory Brewing Company’s co-owners Bill Covaleski and Ron Barchet, the similarities they share are uncanny, if sometimes also serendipitous.
The lifelong friends both studied brewing abroad in Germany, later honing their craft working for the same brewery. They each married their wives in September of 1992 and share the same title of Founder/Brewmaster. This series of commonalities goes all the way back to fifth grade, where the two friends took the same bus to their elementary school. You could say those bus rides, where the two struck up a friendship, are where the story of Victory Brewing Company began.
Humble Beginnings
Both kids came from families that enjoyed good beer, making it part of the family fabric. Ron’s family had lived in Munich, Germany for three years, giving him an awareness of the culture and the language, while his parents became acclimated with the country’s fine beers. Bill’s father took up the hobby of homebrewing around the year 1979 as it became legalized during the Carter administration. His father immediately enlisted Bill as his unpaid assistant, giving Bill an early look and feel for the process of brewing.
Over the years the fascination with brewing persisted, and on one memorable Christmas, 1985 to be exact, Bill purchased an extract homebrew kit as a Christmas gift for his good friend Ron. The two agreed to brew together and their first joint effort turned out to be — no surprise here — a German beer style.
“We made a weissbier,” recalls Ron. “The first attempt dumped all over the floor during a transfer, scalding hot. After that mishap, we pretty quickly decided to move off the kitchen stove to all-grain brewing, ‘professional style.’ Our unfortunate mistake may have inadvertently sped up our brewing learning curve.”
A Plan Comes Together
As is so common in the craft beer industry, the draw to beer and brewing came from dejection of other career options. Ron was working for the Defense Department near Washington D.C., less than inspired with his then current job and future prospects. Bill achieved a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1985 and then began working as a graphic artist. Both single at the time, they could change career paths relatively easily toward something more fulfilling.
“Looking at the landscape at that time, I believed there was a market for this thing we’d later call ‘craft beer,’” said Ron. “I had no idea how big that market would be, but I felt strongly that there would be opportunities to make a career in that field.”
The two friends set out on a beer-centric overseas vacation in 1987 where they got to experience some of the world’s finest brewing cultures first hand. Traveling to Belgium, then Germany, it was somewhere in Germany’s Black Forest where the two finally began contemplating creating a brewery of their own.
The Influence of Theo
Taking action toward his ever-crystalizing goal a couple years later, Ron got a job as an apprentice working for legendary lager brewer Theo DeGroen, with the “still-in-planning” Baltimore Brewing Company (BBC). Not only would this provide extremely valuable real-world experience, it would also satisfy an apprenticeship requirement for the next step of his plan: Studying at world-renowned brewery Weihenstephan’s Technical University of Munich in Germany, where some of the world’s best future brewmasters are trained.
Working alongside DeGroen as the brewery was built and opened benefited Ron in many ways. Not only did he learn the nuances of producing world class lagers (in an otherwise nascent ale-dominated craft landscape), working through the process with BBC gave him the confidence to repeat the process on his own a few years later. Meanwhile, knowing Ron would be giving up his post at BBC for his German studies, Bill applied and became Ron’s successor at BBC. Becoming Baltimore Brewing Company’s second apprentice, Bill also gleaned valuable industry knowledge from DeGroen, where he stayed on for five years until he and Ron had their business plan fully completed in January 1995. During his stay at BBC, Bill also had the opportunity to study for a time at the Doemens Academy in Germany, a private school for brewers.
“I did the Doemens International Course in Brewing Technology in 1993,” said Bill. “You had to be working in the beer industry at the time to get into this school. It brought people together from all over the globe. Phil Leinhart (who would later go on to become the Brewmaster at Brewery Ommegang for more than a dozen years) was my roommate.”
In reflecting on the impact of working with a brewing legend such as DeGroen, the two future Victory owners reminisced about their fond memories and positive experience.
“I think that Theo entered our lives at the perfect moment in that we were hungry for the vast knowledge and opportunity he afforded us and he was pleased to have two guys younger than himself who were willing to work their butts off,” said Bill. “All parties appreciated the arrangement!” Ron added: “My time with Theo was literally life changing. He gave me the chance to make a living doing something I really loved — brewing. He also stressed the importance of doing things correctly from the start. And last but not least, he opened a beer hall where I met my future wife and mother of my four children!”
What’s in a Name?
Having both completed their German studies and returned working stateside (Bill back at Baltimore Brewing and Ron at Old Dominion Brewing Company), the longtime friends ramped up their conversations about brewing for themselves. The pair made a commitment to write a business plan at a New Year’s Eve party in 1993. Now both married for just over a year to incredibly supportive wives, the plan came together quickly and was completed in just under three months. With each wife holding down a career-type job, it allowed the husbands the time and financial stability to start the business. Incidentally, the site of the party was Bill’s home, a home the two friends refurbished that would later become the collateral for the SBA loan needed to finance Victory Brewing Company.
Nowhere in that business plan was the name Victory Brewing Company. In fact, Independence Brewing was the company’s first unofficial name. The inspiration behind the original name not only reflected nearby Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and its symbol of independence, but it was also about independence from the Reinheitsgebot, the German brewing law limiting brewing ingredients to water, grain, hops, and yeast. While wanting to honor and respect German brewing tradition, they did not want to be limited to strictly traditional ingredients.
“I wanted to bring German quality to America but to be ‘liberated’ from the Reinheitsgebot,” said Bill. “I wanted ‘brewing independence.’”
Before long, a cease and desist letter arrived from another group claiming to own the rights to the name. Feeling as if progress was stalling, and with money getting tighter and tensions rising, Bill recalls saying “this will be a real victory if we actually achieve our goal.” At that moment, a new name was born.
Victory is Theirs
February 15, 1996 saw the opening of Victory Brewing Company. The celebratory honeymoon period didn’t come without its fair share of challenges, however. A decision to self-distribute and sell on-site caused waves with local wholesalers. One wholesaler approached retail accounts encouraging them to not support the fledgling brewery. Their argument was that because Victory was selling its beer on site, the company should be considered a competitor. Despite the unforeseen challenge, Victory forged on undeterred — not to upset wholesalers, but simply believing it was the only way its nascent new brand would see the light of day.
“By taking the reins and making our success dependent on what we did, rather than being buried among a bunch of imports and contract breweries with a wholesaler, was one of our biggest keys to success,” said Ron. “Today, we certainly consider our wholesalers to be our partners.”
“We originally resisted wholesalers because they didn’t know the value of our product at the time,” said Bill. “We sensed that if we created our own story through festivals, self distribution, and other creative methods, we could eventually hand them something that had a market.”
A market opened up, indeed, and the brewery continued to grow, expanding its footprint rather rapidly. Victory started to become a household name far beyond Pennsylvania, making its mark throughout a large portion of the United States. Currently, Victory distributes its beers in
32 states.
The brewery reached its zenith as the 26th largest American craft brewery in 2016, according to the Brewers Association. In 2020, Victory produced a high water mark of 154,000 barrels of beer, steadily reaching new highs year-after-year.
Now part of Artisanal Brewing Ventures, along with Southern Tier, Sixpoint, and Bold Rock Hard Cider, the partnership now ranks #8 on the Top 50 craft brewing companies based on sales volume and #17 of the Top 50 breweries, overall, according to the Brewers Association’s annual report of 2020. (Read more about Artisanal Brewing Ventures in the sidebar, below.)
Finding a Home In Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Why Downingtown? With water being the predominant ingredient in beer, having a great water source, as well as a location that could process large volumes of wastewater, was absolutely essential in considering where the brewery would be located.
Ron’s brother-in-law worked in radio marketing and helped Bill and Ron study demographics of three major metropolitan areas: Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. With “microbrewed” beer being a very new (and unresearched) concept, the group instead focused on studying “import” beer consumption trends. They came to find that the west side of Philadelphia showed great promise when it came to import beer consumption. It just so happened that a western suburb, Downingtown, was filled with manufacturing facilities and was set on a nearby water source ideal for brewing.
The search led Bill and Ron to a defunct Pepperidge Farms facility, equipped with sloped floors and professional drainage, precisely what a brewery requires. Since the building was abandoned, the price was right and the pair were able to rent 23,000 square feet, eliminating a need to relocate as the brewery grew.
Between the East Branch and the main brewery primarily lies Amish and Mennonite farms, with no industry beyond agriculture, helping the water to remain extremely pure. Interestingly, along the river’s path lies a township called West Nantmeal. “Nant meal” is a Welsh term meaning “sweet water.” A bit of serendipity for a brewery that requires it.
“The very clean incoming water is a significant part of making quality beer,” said Ron. “It’s only a dozen or so miles from the headwaters of the Brandywine Creek. With little to no industry in between that and us.”
It’s all About the Beer
A brewery can muster an impressive beer list over a 25-year period. HopDevil and DirtWolf lead the way for hopheads, driven by lifelike images (and singular names without spaces) that personify the beers. Prima Pils delivers the goods for lager traditionalists by honoring hundreds of years of brewing tradition while pushing it to the stylistic edge. Golden Monkey, the company’s flagship and biggest selling beer, sets the standard for Belgian tripels brewed in the U.S.
Sought after and temporarily retired, Storm King imperial stout made its triumphant return in 2021. For years, a specialty pale ale named Headwaters paid tribute to the water that makes all of Victory’s beers so enjoyable. Mad King’s Weiss, St. Victorious Doppelbock, and Festbier all pay tribute to the owners’ reverence for their German brewing background. The list goes on, but let’s dig a little deeper into a few of the fan favorites (and with which we are providing clone recipes straight from Victory at the end of this story).
Dirtwolf
Victory employs the use of whole cone hops, believing they provide the best flavor and aroma experience. As the market evolved and consumers craved hops like never before, the brew team developed a line of beers called The Ranch Series, which focused on single varietals of hops from specific hop growing ranches. DirtWolf was one of the later creations that came from this specialty line of beers, and became its first year-round bottled beer to be dry hopped.
A purposefully unbalanced beer to the hop side, DirtWolf retains some gravity at fermentation’s end to help balance out the abundant hop character, but to a lesser extent than Victory’s caramel malt-driven traditional IPA, HopDevil.
Storm King
The former #1 ranked beer on RateBeer.com in the summer of 2003, Storm King imperial stout returned to the Victory lineup of beers in 2021 as a limited special release in honor of Victory’s 25th anniversary following a brief four-year hiatus. This extremely dark, hop-forward, robust stout was seemingly ahead of its time.
While most imperial stouts are designed to showcase the malt first and foremost, Storm King was always about the hops. Storm King doesn’t possess the body of a thick and viscous imperial stout, nor the traditionally subdued hop flavor and aroma.
Storm King won “Best of the Mid-Atlantic/Southeast region” at the United States Beer Tasting Championship in 2003, 2004, and 2005, but never received recognition from some of the larger national and international competitions — possibly because there wasn’t a real home for it, stylistically.
“It’s a hop-forward imperial stout, making it unique. It struggles in contests because of that,” said Ron. “When we entered the beer in competition in the past, there was no proper category for this beer that would now likely be considered by many to be a double black IPA. The hops make it an outlier for the style.”
Mad King’s Weiss
Bill and Ron’s European vacation from 1987 was on display in the creation of Mad King’s Weiss. Looking to traverse the bounds of a traditional hefeweizen, they created a beer that combined traditional German ingredients with Belgian characteristics.
Inspired by a local Philadelphia restaurant named Ludwig’s Garden, Mad King’s Weiss was built partly out of creativity and necessity. The restaurant wanted a beer contract brewed for them year-round, so Victory needed to employ a yeast that was always available. Mad King’s Weiss was designed to be a bigger, fuller-bodied, hoppier version of a hefeweizen that is fermented with a Belgian yeast strain, the same strain that ferments the brewery’s flagship beer, Golden Monkey.
At 35 IBUs, Mad King’s Weiss is significantly hoppier than traditional hefeweizens that generally clock in somewhere between 12–15 IBUs. The Belgian yeast strain delivers the traditional banana character of a hefeweizen, but without the clove, providing a familiar yet unique experience. At 6.2% ABV, a slight alcohol warmth can be detected, uncharacteristic of traditional hefeweizens. All these brewer’s interpretations may be considered “mad” by beer traditionalists, which led to the name that coincided with the famous German king, “mad” King Ludwig.
St. Victorious Doppelbock
One of the few doppelbocks in the beer world that doesn’t end with the traditional “-ator” suffix, St. Victorious is a beer (and a character) created out of the owners’ appreciation for European brewing tradition.
“Salvator Doppelbock was always one of our favorite versions of the doppelbock style,” said Bill of the beer from Munich’s Paulaner Brauerei. “We loved the Monastic style of brewing. In that spirit, we created our own character, and built a beer around this fictional ‘Monastic saint.’”
The key to this beer was taking the characteristics of a traditional doppelbock and infusing a wildcard ingredient to add to the beer’s complexity. In a nod to another famous brewing region of Germany, a slight smoked malt addition took the traditional doppelbock base to a whole new and exciting level.
“It comes back to our love of German-style beers,” said Ron. “Instead of making a standard doppelbock, we made it like they might make it in Bamberg. The point was to create something different about it, even if the drinker wasn’t sure what that was.”
Prima Pils
The favorite beer of both Victory Brewing co-founders, Prima Pils is a Great American Beer Festival (GABF) award-winning traditional German Pilsner that pushes the limits of hopping within the style. Inspired by a beer they brewed while at BBC, the two set out to create the cleanest, most authentic Pilsner possible while packing as much hop character as the style would permit. At 5.3% ABV and almost 50 IBUs, mission accomplished. (Read more about Prima Pils in the sidebar, later.)
Victory 2.0: The Next Generation
While proud of all that has been accomplished over the past 25 years, the entire Victory Brewing team always has their focus set on the future. Preserving the company’s legacy, while remaining relevant in an ever-changing craft beer landscape is a constant challenge. A key component to accomplishing both is through the creation of Artisanal Brewing Ventures (ABV), a joint venture between Victory and a few other like-minded companies. This joint venture has given each of these companies a much larger presence when it comes to purchasing power, capital, and distribution opportunities. In addition to having new partners in the brewing business, Victory has joined the rapidly growing segment of seltzers with their line called Victory Waves.
While keeping one foot steeped in tradition, Victory Brewing Company has an eye toward the next 25 years and beyond in order to continue to satisfy its biggest fans while meeting the constantly changing demand of new consumers that may or may not yet have discovered this west Philadelphia brewing icon.
Prima Pils: A German Classic with an American Twist (Sidebar)
Pilsner has been the “world’s beer” since shortly after its creation in 1842 by German Brewmaster Josef Groll. Groll was contracted to brew “something new” for the people of the (now) Czech Republic. As the beer made its debut in the Czech city of Plzen, it was named after the town that inspired it. The beer’s popularity exploded, spawning many variations and offshoots of the style, quickly leading to lagers becoming the most popular and most consumed beer style in the world.
Prima Pils gives a nod to both German and Czech brewing heritage, but with an American twist. The same four ingredients used to make any traditional German or Czech Pils can be found in Prima Pils: Water, Pilsner malt, hops, and yeast. The difference lies in the amount of hops used. In true American spirit, the co-brewmasters at Victory upped the ante and delivered a Pilsner brimming with hop flavor and aroma, checking in at almost 50 IBUs.
The first Prima Pils was brewed on January 19, 1996. All hops found in Prima Pils are sourced from Germany and the Czech Republic. Saaz, Mittelfrüh, Spalt, and Tettnang are the four “noble” hops employed, along with Spalt Select. At times, Hersbrucker is sometimes used, depending on inventory and brewer’s discretion.
As a brewery grows over time, it begins to use different equipment and processes, each of which can have an impact on the beer’s profiles.
“Different types of mills were used throughout the years,” said Ron. “The boiling method went from high pressure steam jacketed kettle to low pressure steam external boilers. The size and design of the hopback was changed four times. With these step changes, efficiencies of extraction changed, so recipes needed to evolve in order to get the same results. For instance, our IBU efficiencies increased dramatically, requiring fewer hops to achieve the same IBUs/bbl. On the other hand, for late hopping and aroma, no efficiency gains were found. We use the same or more hops/bbl for the late hopping, which accounts for the vast majority of the hops in Prima Pils.”
While subtle recipe changes are required to capture the preferred profile of a beer, the intent and philosophy of Prima Pils has always been the same.
“The recipe changes yearly to account for crop year aroma/flavor changes and intensities in the hops,” said Ron. “Over the years we have not changed the aroma profile. In 2014, we did drop the IBUs from 55 to 50, followed in 2017 with another drop in IBUs to 45, where it currently stands as the target. The hops were shifted to the hopback, resulting in a more intensive aroma with 5 less IBUs. I believe this evolution has had a beneficial impact on drinkability.”
At the end of the day, Prima Pils can be considered a late-hop addition lager.
“As you can see by the recipe, we do not add much at all as a bittering hop,” said Ron. “Ninety-plus percent of the IBUs result from late additions of these aroma-type hops. For the BYO recipe, I used the Hersbrucker hop for this first addition. Homebrewers could easily substitute any of the other hops for that first small charge.”
Close relationships with hop growers ensure Victory has access to the finest hops available.
“We source our Tettnang hops directly from Bentele Hopfen in Tettnang, grown by Robert Bentele, a third-generation hop grower,” said Ron. “Those Tettnang hops make up a large plurality — if not majority — of the hops used in Prima Pils. We source our Spalt Select hops directly from Hopfen Kontor, a family farm in the Jura region of Hallertau. Interestingly, the majority of Spalt Select hops are grown in Hallertau, not Spalt. The Spalt Select supercharges the noble aroma notes.”
The remainder of the hops used in Prima Pils are purchased from these growers or local brokers who allow the team to select their choice of hops during or immediately following harvest.
Any Pilsner consists of over 90 percent water. To brew a beer as pure as Prima Pils, having the best quality water is paramount. The fresh, brewing-ready water from the headwaters of the Brandywine River is ideal for brewing a clean Pilsner. The East Branch of the Brandywine Creek feeds Victory’s Downingtown brewery while the West Branch of the Brandywine Creek feeds its Parkesburg brewery.
“The water we use for brewing is super soft and not high in alkalinity, giving us a nice, blank slate with which to craft our beers,” said Ron. “It’s important to have softer water and lower alkalinity, especially for beers like Pilsners.”
At 5.3% ABV and almost 50 IBUs, Prima Pils brings nuanced complexity together with smooth, easy drinkability. Despite the heavy handed use of hops that provide notes of floral, spice, citrus, and lemon, Prima Pils will never be confused for a hop bomb of a beer. The beer drinks crisp and easy; the ingredients working together in perfect harmony.
This year, Victory released a small batch of dry-hopped Prima Pils using Southern Hemisphere hops (MotuekaTM, Vic SecretTM, and GalaxyTM). The release was hugely successful, and this specialty version of Prima Pils may make a reappearance as a more broadly available seasonal release in 2022.
Even though Prima Pils never had the honor of being the brewery’s flagship offering (that honor first went to HopDevil IPA and then transitioned to current flagship, Golden Monkey, in 2014), the beer is, nonetheless, adored by many. A silver medalist at the prestigious Great American Beer Festival in 2007 and Grand Champion of the United States Beer Tasting Championship in 2002–2005, 2013, 2014, and 2018, Prima Pils is an American craft classic, a favorite of craft beer fans and aficionados alike, as well as the favorite beer of both Victory founders, Ron and Bill.
Artisanal Brewing Ventures (Sidebar)
The old brewery playbook went something like this: Open a brewery, develop a following, expand your brewery with new tanks and more space, and if all goes extremely well, open another brewery. Victory has followed this playbook to a certain degree while simultaneously writing a new, interesting chapter.
When Victory Brewing Company was founded in 1996, it preceded the impending brewery explosion. Sure, breweries were opening with regularity, but not in the rapid-fire fashion to come soon thereafter. According to the latest data of the Brewers Association, there were 8,764 breweries in existence in 2020, almost ninefold compared to what existed when Victory opened its doors. For those wishing to compete on a bigger stage outside the local state or region, reimagining the business has become necessary to continue to grow in today’s market.
The brewery’s original location is at 420 Acorn Lane, Downingtown, Pennsylvania. Like most breweries, Victory began to grow as its market grew, eventually necessitating a second (and later a third and fourth) location.
As popularity grew, a new facility that now produces the bulk of the company’s packaged beers in Parkesburg, Pennsylvania was built in 2013. Further expansion took place with the emergence of the Kennett Square brewery and taproom (unfortunately, this facility is currently closed due to a fire that occurred in the building that houses this brewery). In October 2021, the newest Victory Brewery & Taproom opened in Philadelphia.
While expansion may be great for a beer brand, especially in developing a foothold in a home market, other creative options need to be in play to compete on a national level. Not only have mega conglomerate breweries such as AB InBev and MolsonCoors built up large craft beer portfolios by purchasing breweries, shelf space in the retail environment has continued to shrink with so many breweries competing for that space. Breweries that want to compete must become creative and maximize their strengths.
While some breweries have sold off to larger, well-funded brewing entities, others have found strategic alliances to be the key to success, including Victory. On February 16, 2016, Victory partnered with Southern Tier Brewing Company of Lakewood, New York, creating a new parent company called Artisanal Brewing Ventures (ABV). Sixpoint Brewing (Brooklyn, New York) and Bold Rock Hard Cider Company (Nellysford, Virginia) have since joined the venture to increase the efficiency and offerings of ABV in the marketplace.
“While seeking to retain our identity, the idea of creating our own platform of like-minded brewers on a scale and efficiency level struck us,” said Bill. “This led us to private equity investors that shared our vision, who had already started vetting the model that would become Artisanal Brewing Ventures. We admired the delicious beers and success that Phin and Sara DeMink had built at their Southern Tier Brewing Co. and so we decided to join them, to form ABV.”
The best part of the joint venture is that it allows each principal owner to remain involved in his/her original project and also have influence over the larger entity if they so choose.
“This model allows us to use capital and resources more efficiently, something that can be challenging as a solitary enterprise,” said Bill. “Having procurement, finance, human resources, engineering, and more as shared services amongst the four entities is tremendously more productive. Because of this model, we are a larger, consolidated buyer and we can better compete with the scale of other conglomerates.”
Besides the advantage of greater capital and buying power, the consolidation allows the best practices of each company to be extrapolated into the greater whole, as an “idea multiplier,” of sorts.
“The legacy we’ve created in our brands is methodically being handed over to the next generation of leaders within our company as we are afforded a Board of Directors view and position to continue to guide the successful outcomes,” said Bill. “It is working. I can assure you that the integrity of the partner brands is honored and respected while we solve evolving challenges of craft beer with a broader base of experience and empathy. But back to the scale aspect. At 26th in the U.S., Victory was more than a nuisance to the world’s largest brewers and, therefore, we had to acknowledge their competitive focus aimed at harming our prospects. Artisanal Brewing Ventures, at 438,000 bbls. in 2020, up from 235,000 bbls. in 2016, is of a scale where it can survive and thrive.”
The partnership with Bold Rock was key to expanding the portfolio beyond beer. And now, Victory has released its own line of craft hard seltzers known as Victory Waves that will ensure the company continues to appeal to the next generation of consumers.
While there are no current plans to expand the venture, the Victory brain trust won’t rule it out.
“It can grow, with new partners, but will only do so in an intelligent manner that respects the synergies already created and gained,” said Bill. “ABV is a proud step in our history to help preserve our independence in the face of incredible competition.”
With over 25 years dedicated to creating a craft brewing icon and all the amazing good fortune that came along during that time, one might say that the success of ABV is yet another in a long line of victories for Ron Barchet and Bill Covaleski.
Victory Clone Recipes
Victory Brewing Co.’s DirtWolf clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.076 FG = 1.010
IBU = 75 SRM = 6 ABV = 8.7%
A spectacular double IPA that fuses all the exciting flavors of modern hops in a way that does not focus on any one particular aroma, but rather the symphony of tropical fruits, citrus, pine, and wood.
Ingredients
12 lbs. (5.4 kg) North American Pilsner malt
6 oz. (170 g) Carahell® malt (10 °L)
2 oz. (57 g) acidulated malt
1.66 lbs. (750 g) dextrose sugar (5 min.)
3 g CaSO4 (50 min.)
3 AAU Mosaic® hops (50 min.) (0.21 oz./6 g at 14.1% alpha acids)
2 AAU Citra® hops (15 min.) (0.14 oz./4 g at 14% alpha acids)
2 AAU Mosaic® hops (15 min.) (0.14 oz./4 g at 14.1% alpha acids)
6.9 AAU Citra® hops (10 min.) (0.49 oz./14 g at 14% alpha acids)
2 AAU Mosaic® hops (10 min.) (0.14 oz./4 g at 14.1% alpha acids)
2.9 AAU Simcoe® hops (5 min.) (0.21 oz./6 g at 13.7% alpha acids)
5.3 AAU Azacca® hops (5 min.) (0.46 oz./13 g at 11.6% alpha acids)
5.5 AAU Citra® hops (5 min.) (0.39 oz./11 g at 14% alpha acids)
3 AAU Mosaic® hops (5 min.) (0.21 oz./6 g at 14.1% alpha acids)
0.71 oz. (20 g) Citra® hops (hopback)
0.35 oz. (10 g) Simcoe® hops (hopback)
0.95 oz. (27 g) Chinook hops (hopback)
0.71 oz. (20 g) Simcoe® hops (dry hop)
1.4 oz. (40 g) Mosaic® hops (dry hop)
1 g Yeastex yeast nutrient (15 min.)
1 Whirlfloc tablet (15 min.)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale), or LalBrew BRY-97 (West Coast Ale) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Mash in at 122 °F (50 °C) employing a medium-thin mash. Hold at 122 °F (50 °C) for 10 minutes. Raise temperature to 149 °F (65 °C) and hold for 10 minutes. Raise temperature again to 158 °F (70 °C) and hold for 15 minutes. Raise to 170 °F (77 °C) for mash out.
Recirculate for 10 minutes, or until clear. Once the wort is running fairly clear, start wort collection. Begin sparging the grains when they are first exposed during runoff, collecting 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort.
Boil for 90 minutes, adding ingredients at times indicated. If using whole flower hops, use a big enough bag to contain them while allowing proper circulation. Otherwise, use pellet hops, because it is imperative to have proper hop/wort contact time. When boil is complete, whirlpool and let set for 20 minutes. Chill to 61 °F (16 °C) and transfer to fermenter. Pitch a healthy, large amount of yeast and oxygenate thoroughly if using liquid yeast. Pitch at 61 °F (16 °C) and allow to ferment at 64 °F (18 °C). When beer falls below 1.030 SG, raise fermentation temperature to 68 °F (20 °C) to finish fermentation. Hold there until no diacetyl is detected, usually 1–2 days. Rack to remove yeast.
Cool to 50 °F (10 °C) and add dry hops. Hold at 50 °F (10 °C) for three days then remove or rack off. Cool the beer down to 32 °F (0 °C) over 3–4 days, then hold at or below 32 °F (0 °C) for a minimum of 1 week. Force carbonate to 2.5 v/v or add priming sugar to bottle ferment for carbonation.
Extract with grains version:
Replace the Pilsner and acidulated malts with 6.75 lbs. (3.1 kg) Pilsen dried malt extract and ½ tsp. 88% lactic acid. Heat 3 gallons (11 L) of water to about 155 °F (68 °C) and steep the caramel malt in a muslin bag for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, pre-boil then chill 3 gallons (11 L) of water to use later for topping up the fermenter. Once the steeping is complete, remove the bag, letting the liquid drain into the kettle.
Raise to near-boiling temperatures, remove pot from flame and stir in half of the malt extract. Return to flame and boil for 50 minutes, adding the hops according to the schedule in the ingredient list. Add the gypsum with the first hop addition, the Yeastex and Whirlfloc with 15 minutes remaining, and the remainder of the dried malt extract with 5 minutes left in the boil.
Follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe, topping the fermenter up to 5 gallons (19 L) after chilling with pre-boiled water.
Tips for success:
Dextrose is added late in this recipe simply to boost gravity while keeping the beer’s color intact (as opposed to the Storm King recipe where it is added earlier to aid in additional color development).
The timing and temperature of the dry hopping step can greatly influence the dry hop character of the finished beer. To best replicate DirtWolf, dry hop at 50 °F (10 °C) for the right balance of pure dry hop grassiness (a little), the juicy tropical notes (a fair amount), and citrus (a fair amount).
Victory Brewing Co.’s PrimaPils clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.047 FG = 1.006
IBU = 45 SRM = 3 ABV = 5.3%
Victory Brewing Co.’s award-winning, amped up German Pilsner with fresh noble hop aroma, bracing hop dryness, gentle malt character, and ultra clean fermentation.
Ingredients
9 lbs. (4.1 kg) German Pilsner malt
4 oz. (113 g) acidulated malt
1.6 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 3.1% alpha acids)
2.3 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (15 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g at 3.1% alpha acids)
0.9 AAU Tettnang hops (5 min.) (0.25 oz./7 g at 3.6% alpha acids)
1 AAU Spalt hops (5 min.) (0.33 oz./11 g at 3% alpha acids)
1.25 AAU Spalt Select hops (5 min.) (0.25 oz./7 g at 5% alpha acids)
1.65 AAU Czech Saaz hops (5 min.) (0.66 oz./13 g at 2.5% alpha acids)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Hallertau Mittelfrüh whole hops (hopback)
1.6 oz. (45 g) Tettnang whole hops (hopback)
0.5 oz. (15 g) Spalt whole hops (hopback)
0.15 oz. (4 g) Spalt Select whole hops (hopback)
0.28 oz. (8 g) Czech Saaz whole hops (hopback)
1 Whirlfloc tablet (10 min.)
0.5 g Yeastex yeast nutrient (10 min.)
SafLager W-34/70, White Labs WLP830 (German Lager), or Wyeast 2124
(Bohemian Lager) yeast
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Using a medium-thin mash, achieve a protein rest mash temperature of 122 °F (50 °C). Hold at 122 °F (50 °C) for 20 minutes. Raise to 149 °F (65 °C) and hold for 45 minutes for beta amylase conversion. Raise to 158 °F (70 °C) and hold for 15 minutes for additional alpha amylase conversion. Raise to 170 °F (77 °C) for mash out. Recirculate for 10 minutes. Once the wort is running fairly clear, begin wort collection.
Begin sparging the grains when they are first exposed during runoff. Using sparge water around 5.2 pH is ideal. Collect 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort.
Boil for 90 minutes, adding ingredients at times indicated. A vigorous, rolling boil is critical to limiting dimethyl sulfide (DMS). If using whole flower hops, use a big enough bag to contain them while allowing proper circulation. Otherwise, use pellet hops to have proper hop/wort contact time to achieve the correct results.
Once boil is complete, whirlpool through your hopback (or add these hops directly to your kettle if you don’t have a hopback or are using pellet hops), and let settle for 20 minutes. Chill as quickly as possible, then transfer to a sanitized fermenter. Once wort is at 52 °F (11 °C), pitch yeast and oxygenate thoroughly if using liquid yeast or repitching from a slurry. (Being a lager, it’s best to pitch at least double the amount of yeast as you would for an ale. You can accomplish this by making a starter if using liquid yeast, or pitching two sachets.) Pitch at 52 °F (11 °C) and let the beer ferment for about two weeks. Allow to rise to 56 °F (13 °C) to finish fermenting. Hold the beer at 56 °F (13 °C) until no diacetyl is detected, usually 1–3 days. Remove yeast or rack beer off of it.
Slowly cool the beer down to 32 °F (0 °C) over 10–14 days, then hold at or below 32 °F (0 °C) for a minimum of one week, but a longer lagering period of a few weeks is even better. If you plan to fine or filter the beer, do so before packaging. Package with proper carbonation of 2.7 v/v or add priming sugar to bottle ferment for carbonation.
Extract only version:
Replace malts with 5.1 lbs. (2.3 kg) Pilsen dried malt extract and 1 tsp. 88% lactic acid. Heat 3 gallons (11 L) of clean brewing water to near-boiling temperatures, remove from flame and slowly stir in half of the malt extract. Return to flame and bring to boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding the hops according to the specified schedule in the ingredient list. Add Whirlfloc and Yeastex with 10 minutes left in the boil, and the remainder of the malt extract with 5 minutes remaining.
Follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe, topping the fermenter up to 5 gallons (19 L) after chilling with pre-boiled water.
Tips for success:
The correct amount of clean, healthy yeast (coupled with good aeration if using liquid yeast) will result in a clean fermentation, which will allow all of the malt and hops goodness to shine.
High-quality hops in their freshest state will impart that beautiful bouquet. It is better to use fresh hops that are not on the ingredient list than to use older, less fresh hops that are.
Victory Brewing Co.’s Storm King Imperial Stout clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.086 FG = 1.018
IBU = 100 SRM = 50 ABV = 9.1%
A Victory classic that came out of the brewmasters’ love for rich malts and intense hops, the robust malt flavors are complemented and balanced with a huge charge of classic hop types. Storm King is a well-attenuated beer possessing a mouthfeel more reflective of a double IPA rather than a prototypical imperial stout.
Ingredients
13.5 lbs. (6.1 kg) Pilsner malt
2.25 lbs. (1 kg) Vienna malt
3 oz. (86 g) Caramunich® malt (58 °L)
11 oz. (325 g) Carafa® Special III
11 oz. (325 g) black roasted barley
6 oz. (170 g) dextrose (60 min.)
6.5 AAU Centennial hops (60 min.) (0.7 oz./20 g at 9.2% alpha acids)
4.9 AAU Centennial hops (30 min.) (0.5 oz./15 g at 9.2% alpha acids)
6.4 AAU Cascade hops (30 min.) (1.1 oz./30 g at 5.8% alpha acids)
6.5 AAU Centennial hops (15 min.) (0.7 oz./20 g at 9.2% alpha acids)
6.4 AAU Cascade hops (15 min.) (1.1 oz./30 g at 5.8% alpha acids)
7.2 AAU Chinook hops (15 min.) (0.5 oz./15 g at 13.6% alpha acids)
6.4 AAU Cascade hops (5 min.) (1.1 oz./30 g at 5.8% alpha acids)
9.3 AAU Cascade hops (hopback) (1.6 oz./45 g at 5.8% alpha acids)
1 Whirlfloc tablet (15 min.)
1 g Yeastex yeast nutrient (15 min.)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale), or LalBrew BRY-97 (West Coast Ale) yeast
¾ cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Mash in all malts (except the unmalted roasted barley) at 122 °F (50 °C) with a medium thick mash. Raise to 149 °F (65 °C) and hold for 45 minutes. Raise temperature again to 158 °F (70 °C) and hold for 30 minutes. Raise temperature once more to 170 °F (77 °C) for mash out. Spread the roasted barley grist evenly over the top of the grain bed. Recirculate for 10 minutes, or until clear. Once the wort is running fairly clear, begin wort collection. Lauter slowly to avoid a stuck lauter bed. Begin sparging the grains when they are first exposed during runoff, collecting 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort.
Boil for 90 minutes, adding ingredients at times indicated. If using whole flower hops, use a big enough bag to contain them while allowing proper circulation. Otherwise, use pellet hops, because it is imperative to have proper hop/wort contact time to achieve the correct results.
When the boil is complete, whirlpool and let set for 20 minutes. After whirlpool has settled, chill to 59 °F (15 °C) and transfer to the fermenter. Pitch a large, healthy amount of yeast and oxygenate thoroughly. As fermentation begins to slow, let rise to 60 °F (16 °C) to finish fermenting. Hold the beer at 60 °F (16 °C) until no diacetyl is detected, usually 1–2 days. Remove yeast or rack beer off yeast.
Cool the beer down to 32 °F (0 °C) over 3–4 days, then hold at or below 32 °F (0 °C) for a minimum of one week. Fine before packaging if desired. Carbonate to 2.55 v/v or add priming sugar to bottle ferment for carbonation.
Extract with grains version:
Replace Pilsner and Vienna malts with 7.3 lbs. (3.3 kg) Pilsen dried malt extract and 1.3 lbs. (0.6 kg) Goldpils® Vienna dried malt extract.
Heat 3 gallons (11 L) of water to about 155 °F (68 °C) and steep the caramel, Carafa®, and roasted barley in a muslin bag for 15 minutes. Once the steeping is complete, remove the bag, letting the liquid drain into your kettle. Raise to near-boiling temperatures, remove pot from flame and slowly stir in 4.3 lbs./2 kg of the Pilsen dried malt extract. Return to flame and bring to boil for 60 minutes, adding ingredients per the schedule and the remainder of the malt extract with 5 minutes left in boil.
Follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe, topping the fermenter up to 5 gallons (19 L) after chilling with pre-boiled water.
Tips for success:
The roasted barley and Carafa® (in the all-grain version) can make lautering difficult. Start slow and steady and only increase the rate of runoff midway through sparging.
The correct amount of clean, healthy yeast, good oxygenation (if using liquid yeast strain), and the cooler recommended fermentation temperature will result in a clean fermentation that will allow all of the malt and hop goodness to shine.
The mashing and fermentation should be intense, as one of the unique aspects of this recipe is it should yield a well-attenuated beer, with a mouthfeel more similar to a double IPA than the typical imperial stout. Mashing a little longer won’t hurt, but not mashing long enough may be problematic.
Victory Brewing Co.’s Mad King’s Weiss clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.055 FG = 1.008
IBU =30 SRM = 4 ABV = 6.2%
Originally made decades ago for the former Ludwig’s Garden Restaurant in Philadelphia, this beer continues to amaze with its balance of spice and esters. Hoppier and stronger than a typical Bavarian hefeweizen, yet more estery than a Belgian blond ale, the wheat malt plays well with the Belgian Trappist strain making it a favorite of many Victory Brewing fans.
Ingredients
9.8 lbs. (4.5 kg) German Pilsner malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) European wheat malt
5 oz. (142 g) acidulated malt
6 AAU Spalt Select hops (40 min.) (1.2 oz./34 g at 5% alpha acids)
3.3 AAU Spalt Select hops (30 min.) (0.66 oz./19 g at 5% alpha acids)
Wyeast 3787 (Belgian High Gravity), White Labs WLP570 (Belgian Golden Ale), or Mangrove Jack’s M41 (Belgian Ale) yeast
¾ cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Mash in with a relatively thin mash at 144 °F (62 °C). Hold at this temperature for 15 minutes. Raise to 149 °F (65 °C) and hold for 50 minutes, then raise to 158 °F (70 °C) and hold for 30 minutes. Raise to 170 °F (77 °C) for mash out. Recirculate for 10 minutes or until clear and then begin collecting wort.
Sparge the grains when they are first exposed during runoff, preferably using sparge water acidified to 5.2 pH. Collect 6.5 gallons (25 L) of water to account for boil-off and boil for 90 minutes, adding the hops according to the specified schedule in the ingredient list. When boil is complete, whirlpool and let set for about 20 minutes. Chill to 63 °F (17 °C) and transfer to fermenter, pitching twice as much yeast as usual. Oxygenate light to normal if using a liquid yeast strain. Note: Less oxygenation may increase some of the yeast character. As fermentation slows, allow temperature to rise to 65 °F (18 °C) to finish fermenting. Hold the beer at 65 °F (18 °C) until no diacetyl and minimal sulfur is detected, usually 1–2 days. Remove yeast or rack beer off yeast.
Cool the beer down to 32 °F (0 °C) over 3–4 days and hold for a minimum of two days.
Carbonate to 2.6 v/v or add priming sugar to bottle ferment for carbonation.
Victory Brewing Co.’s Mad King’s Weiss clone
(5 gallons/19 L, extract only)
OG = 1.055 FG = 1.008
IBU =30 SRM = 4 ABV = 6.2%
Ingredients
5.1 lbs. (2.3 kg) Pilsen dried malt extract
1 lb. (0.45 kg) wheat dried malt extract
1 tsp. 88% lactic acid
6 AAU Spalt Select hops (40 min.) (1.2 oz./34 g at 5% alpha acids)
3.3 AAU Spalt Select hops (30 min.) (0.66 oz./19 g at 5% alpha acids)
Wyeast 3787 (Belgian High Gravity), White Labs WLP570 (Belgian Golden Ale), or Mangrove Jack’s M41 (Belgian Ale) yeast
¾ cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by step
Raise 3 gallons (11 L) of clean brewing water to near-boiling temperatures, remove pot from flame and slowly stir in 3 lbs. (1.35 kg) Pilsen dried malt extract (DME). Return to flame and bring to boil. Meanwhile, pre-boil then chill 3 gallons (11 L) of water to use later for topping up the fermenter.
Boil wort for 90 minutes, adding the hops according to the specified schedule in the ingredient list and lactic acid at the start of the boil. A vigorous, rolling boil is ideal, but watch closely to avoid a boilover. Add the remainder of the DME with 5 minutes left in the boil.
Upon completion of the boil, chill to 63 °F (17 °C) and transfer to fermenter, adding pre-boiled and chilled water to top up fermenter to a total volume of 5 gallons (19 L). Pitch twice as much yeast as usual. Aerate light to normal if using a liquid yeast strain. Note: Less oxygenation may increase some of the yeast character. As fermentation slows, allow temperature to rise to 65 °F (18 °C) to finish fermenting. Hold the beer at 65 °F (18 °C) until no diacetyl and minimal sulfur is detected, usually 1–2 days. Remove yeast or rack beer off yeast.
Cool the beer down to 32 °F (0 °C) over 3–4 days and hold for a minimum of two days.
Carbonate to 2.6 v/v or add priming sugar to bottle ferment for carbonation.
Tips for success:
Package within 3 weeks of brewing to accentuate the yeasty mouthfeel.
Experimenting with the oxygenation rates will result in slightly different aroma profiles. For more ester production, try limiting the oxygenation. For a cleaner aroma and finish, oxygenate more vigorously.
Another option is to experiment with a new strain of Belgian yeast that is POF- (phenolic off-flavor negative). The yeast strains listed in this recipe are all POF+. Omega’s OYL-400 (Bananza) is one such strain that is a POF- weiss strain.
Victory Brewing Co.’s St. Victorious Doppelbock clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.080 FG = 1.022
IBU = 27 SRM = 21 ABV = 7.6%
A strong lager featuring many malts to add complexity across the palate, St. Victorious Doppelbock takes it a step further by adding a small addition of Beechwood smoked malt, a nod to the Franconian region in and around Bamberg, Germany.
Ingredients
9.5 lbs. (4.3 kg) German Pilsner malt
5.25 lbs. (2.4 kg) dark Munich malt (9 °L)
12 oz. (340 g) Caramunich® III malt (58 °L)
12 oz. (340 g) Weyermann Beechwood Smoked malt
8 oz. (227 g) Caraaroma® malt (150 °L)
2.5 oz. (70 g) Carafa® Special I malt
5.3 AAU Tettnang Mittelfrüh hops (60 min.) (1.33 oz./38 g at 4% alpha acids)
3 AAU Tettnang Mittelfrüh hops (15 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g at 4% alpha acids)
1 Whirlfloc tablet (15 min.)
1 g Yeastex yeast nutrient (15 min.)
SafLager W-34/70, White Labs WLP830 (German Lager), or Wyeast 2124
(Bohemian Lager) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Mash in at 122 °F (50 °C) using a thick mash. Immediately raise to 149 °F (65 °C) and hold for 10 minutes. Remove about a third of the mash using a colander to strain out most of the liquid. Raise this portion to 158 °F (70 °C), hold for 10 minutes, then raise to boil and boil for 15 minutes. Move the boiling mash to the main mash and stir, with the combined mash hitting a temperature of 158 °F (70 °C).
Decoct again, removing about 30% of the mash, and bring it to a boil for 5 minutes. Move the boiling mash to the main mash and stir, with the combined mash hitting a temperature of 170 °F (77 °C). Recirculate for 10 minutes, or until clear, and then begin wort collection.
Begin sparging the grains when they are first exposed during runoff, collecting 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort to account for the longer boil. Boil for 90 minutes, adding the hops, Yeastex, and Whirlfloc according to the specified schedule in the ingredient list.
Chill to 52 °F (11 °C) and transfer to the fermenter. Pitch a large, healthy dose of yeast and oxygenate thoroughly if using a liquid yeast strain. Three packages of yeast in a starter or two packages started separately should give you the right amount of liquid yeast to effectively ferment this huge beer. If using dried yeast, pitch three sachets. As fermentation begins to slow, allow to rise to 58 °F (14 °C) to finish fermenting. Hold the beer at 58 °F (14 °C) until no diacetyl is detected, usually 2–4 days. Rack beer to remove yeast.
Cool the beer down to 32 °F (0 °C) over 7–10 days and hold for a minimum of four weeks. Force carbonate to 2.6 v/v or add priming sugar to bottle ferment.
Partial mash version:
Replace Pilsner malt with 5.2 lbs. (2.36 kg) Pilsen dried malt extract. This large lager will require a 3-step extract process. The main base malt will come from the dried malt extract, while the dark Munich and smoked malt will need to be mashed. The caramel and Carafa® malts will only need to be steeped.
Raise 3 gallons (11 L) of clean brewing water to achieve a mash temperature of 149 °F (65 °C) once you add the muslin bag containing the crushed Munich and smoked malts. Hold for at least 60 minutes. Meanwhile, pre-boil then chill 3 gallons (11 L) of water to use later for topping up the fermenter. During the last 15 minutes of the mash, add the muslin bag of steeping grains (containing the caramel and Carafa® malts). Once the mash/steeping is complete, remove the bags, letting the liquid drain into the kettle.
Raise to near-boiling temperatures, remove pot from flame and slowly stir in half of the malt extract. Return to flame and bring to boil for 60 minutes. Add ingredients at times indicated and the remainder of the malt extract with 5 minutes left in the boil.
Follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe, topping the fermenter up to 5 gallons (19 L) after chilling with pre-boiled water.
Tips for success:
The decoction mashing (in the all-grain version) can make lautering difficult. Start slow and steady and only increase the rate of runoff after you have begun sparging.
The decoction routine in this recipe took several iterations to hit the correct temperatures so use this as a guide knowing you may need to adjust to the peculiarities of your system. Decoction does increase the color, so if you cannot (or do not want to) use the described decoction method, increase one of the darker malts to achieve the same color.
As with all lagers, but particularly strong dextrinous doppelbocks, yeast quantity and quality is critical to determine the ultimate drinkability and quality of the beer.
It is practically impossible to over age this beer. As it ages, the flavors smooth, and the drinkability increases. Victory prefers a minimum tank time of two months but even better results can be achieved in 3–4 months.
