Renovations underway at Victory Brewing in Downingtown
DOWNINGTOWN » With three locations in Chester County, Victory Brewing Company’s Downingtown site has always been the heart and soul of the company. Now it will soon be much more modern, with a $500,000 expansion and renovation project that is expected to be completed sometime in May.
“We’re trying to make it more spacious and more interactive,” said Bill Covaleski, president and cofounder of Victory Brewing Co. “The audience will have much better views into the brewery, and we will open things up to make it much more comfortable.”
A slight adjustment to the brewery wall, the removal of booths, plus a change to the Brewmasters Booth area, will result in more seating in the main dining room. The Beer Hall mural depicting Victory’s storied history will remain and the room will be decked with outdoor, festoon-style lights to give it a Germanstyle beer hall feel.
The bar will receive a few cosmetic changes. Across from the bar, guests will find more open space, featuring high-top tables and an extended bar rail, all illuminated with wagon wheel-style light fixtures.
Covaleski said the renovations will decrease wait time that customers sometimes encounter during peak periods. The work is expected to be finished by the first or second week of May. The majority of the work will be done during non-operating hours, resulting in only a short, 7to 10-day closure in late April or early May. Victory’s Parkesburg and Kennett Square locations will be open during that time for those who enjoy Victory suds fresh from the tap.
“We can honestly say that our Downingtown patrons have guided our brewing path, said Covaleski. “A key part of our research and development has been, and continues to be, direct contact with our Downingtown customers.”
Some of the equipment at the Downingtown site has been shifted to the Parkesburg and Kennett Square locations, and some has been moved to a 28,000-squarefoot building in Charlotte, N.C., Southern Tier and Victory Brewing companies recently joined forces to open a unique Artisanal Brewing location including a brewhouse, taproom and corporate offices in Charlotte, and it is scheduled to open in May.
Southern Tier and Victory are now currently ranked 13th overall in total annual production among craft breweries.
Victory’s Downingtown location remains home to its popular barrel-aging program that boasts more than 900 wine and bourbon barrels full of aging beer. It opened on Feb. 15, 1996.
Victory’s Downingtown location was once a Pepperidge Farm factory and in 1996 became home to a 144seat restaurant, 70-footlong bar and a full-scale brewery. In its first year, Victory Brewing Company brewed 1,725 barrels of beer. Since then, Victory has increased the size of the restaurant to 300 seats. The brewery has also expanded, producing 125,713 barrels of beer in 2014.
Covaleski said he envisions building another Victory location in Chester County sometime within the next decade.
“In a 10-year window, yes, it is a definite possibility, but when and where is just speculation,” he said.
Victory is one of only a few breweries in the country that uses whole flower hops in its beer. Almost all breweries used pelletized hops instead. Whole flower hops are a purer form, and Covaleski believes they impart better flavor and aroma to beer.
To celebrate the revival of the Downingtown location and Victory’s 22nd anniversary, the brewery is bringing back a few classics and fan favorites for Throwback Tap events on select Thursdays.
The highly innovative Ten Years Alt, with which Victory scored a first-ever synthesis between the German alt and doppelbock styles, launched the series on Feb. 22. Look for Covaleski and co-founder Ron Sarchet to guest bartend at the Downingtown and Parkesburg Taprooms during some of these special occasions. Throwback Tap Thursdays start at 5 p.m. and feature St. Boisterous on May 31; Sunrise Weissbier on July 26; Zeltbier on Oct. 4 and Scarlet Fire on Nov. 21.