June 16, 2008
By: Ken Alan
kalan@aroundphilly.com
In the business world, far too many future failures have occurred due to that third round of drinks. You know, sitting at the bar with a buddy, the two of you brainstorming over that can’t-fail idea you’ve both always talked about doing. It keeps sounding better and better as your blood alcohol level gets higher and higher, doesn’t it?
Just like the time in college when my best friend and I suddenly decided to go into the dry-walling business together, a rash decision made while consuming a case of PBR’s. That particular idea had merit, or so we surmised, till we saw the end results of our first (and last) slapdash job together. The moral to that story: Don’t drink and drywall.
Yet sometimes, with certain people and the right vision, magical sparks can fly - a brainchild born, just like so many real babies have been after a night of drinking. All it takes are a few brewskies.
Such was the case with Bill Covaleski and Ron Barchet, two Collegeville locals, friends since the fifth grade. Each man possesses a passion for home brewing, so it came to be that on New Year’s Eve, back in 1993, they put heads together (both the cranial kind and the frothy variety) and toasted to their new business idea: Victory Brewing Company.
Fortunately, before they could just jump right in, more sober minds prevailed. Their respective wives demanding their hubbies to wait a few days for heads to clear so they could put together a real business plan.
The end result has been nothing short of award-winning: Since Victory opened in 1996, they’ve garnered multiple accolades, including Champion Ale at the 2002 Great British Beer Festival (for their Hop Devil Ale) and a Silver Medal at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival, which recognized their Victory Prima Pils. Plus, a slew of malt-advocating magazines, critics and – especially - fans and aficionados continually rave about the product they’re producing here in PA.
All that liquid goodness comes from the brewery and restaurant that Covaleski and Barchet own in Downingtown, just off Route 30, in a surprisingly residential neighborhood. There, more than 20 beers and ales are offered on draft daily (and lots of sixes and cases to-go) to complement the simple yet satisfying fare coming out of a recently expanded kitchen.
Actually, the whole pub has grown considerably in the last few months. In April, it was closed for 60 or so days to add 2,200 square feet to the restaurant, giving hop heads more room to quaff, as some of us were being turned away due to high customer counts.
I’ve been back to Victory a couple times since the renovations were completed and I am happy to report that both the added space and the expanded menu continue to work in Victory’s best interests.
Still carried are Angus burgers, salads, sandwiches and several vegetarian dishes, plus a tasty assortment of chicken wings (beer being incorporated in the various sauces), hearth-baked pizzas, and now, with the addition of a serious smoker, there’s a fine selection of barbecue items – chicken, pork, ribs, brisket, salmon, even house-cured pastrami. The last menu choices stem from Covaleski recognizing how underserved the local community has been by lack of barbecue.
Prices are from $6 (soups and apps) up to $21 for the eight-ounce filet and two sides. Barbecue items are about $15.
A recent family visit was an enjoyable one. The place, still retaining a warehouse atmosphere (it’s the site of the former Pepperidge Farm bakery), is spacious; classic rock bounces off beams and walls while the room resounds with patrons – not the Zen-est place in the world when busy (it is a brewpub after all), yet fun for families, business folk and many-a-drinker.
Victory’s look is beer-centric (‘natch) with Pennsylvania brewery paraphernalia lining display cases, and several huge domed copper kettle tops hovering above – beer vats that had been imported from a defunct Czech Republic brewery.
Pub grub ensues: mussels are steeped in a broth prepared with Victory’s Golden Monkey ale and peppered with tangy andouille sausage; “Wings of Victory” come in either a hot, mild or BBQ sauce; my wife’s pear and walnut salad is fresh, though to her, the dressing has too much of an artificial sweetener aftertaste.
Our shared white pizza is quite good, possessing a smoky flavor that seems quite pervasive here even - oddly though not unpleasantly - in my youngest one’s macaroni and cheese. It’s undeniable in my beer-marinated brisket on toasty flat bread, a winner dish with that delicious Donnybrook Stout.
There are several quality suburban Philly brewpubs, some serving so-so food and good beer (The Sly Fox) and others offering good food and decent brew (General Lafayette Inn). At Victory, good food gets a perfect pairing from some of the best beer in the country.
Unlike dizzy-minded business ventures that begin with a sip and end on a thud (“Let’s offer dry walling!”), Covaleski and Barchet have brought real passion and true commitment to their own efforts.
It all goes to show that something positive and even very successful can indeed come from making business plans when you’re just throwing back a few with a bud.
