Victory!
Victory is defined as an act of defeating an enemy or opponent in a battle, game, or other competition. Basically, Winning in the End. Shoot it, fat boy.
No longer will Victory beer fans have to drive over to the Keg to obtain a Prima Pils or the new DIPA Dirt Wolf (Louisvillebeer.com still encourages you to visit Todd and the Hoosier state!) Victory Brewing, out of Pennsylvania, is coming to Kentucky via distribution by Heidelberg and River City Distributing this January.
Victory Brewing has been brewing whole flower hop-loaded beers since 1996 with an annual production now at 93,000 barrels (25,000 more than two years ago due to an expansion). Victory is distributed to 34 states within the United States with a few overseas accounts. Yea, they are doing ok for themselves.
Victory looks to start off with their year round brands first with the opportunity for their seasonal lineup to follow. If you can, I recommend mixing a six-pack of each one to try:
HopDevil IPA (6.7%)- The flagship beer of Victory. A hopbacked American IPA with a healthy dose of malt combined with citrus and piney hops. Of all the year round brands, I’ve probably drank this one the most. A staple among year-round IPAs.
Headwaters Pale Ale (5.1%)- One of Victory’s “newer” beers with portions of its proceed benefiting environmental advocacy groups through the Headwater Grant. Headwaters is crushable (©Scott Lykins, 2013) especially during the summer.
Prima Pils (5.3%)- PRIMA! This German Pilsner uses whole flower German and Czech hops in this hop heavy pilsner. A light, crisp beer which could go down way to easy, which may prevent you from heading out on the Bundesautobahn.
Golden Monkey (9.5%)- Peter Gabriel would be shocked if you passed up this beer. This light bodied Belgian tripel fits the style with a sweet fruity aroma and taste. Drink it cold, but let it warm up a bit as well.
Dirt Wolf (8.7%)- The newest addition to the Victory lineup. Dirt Wolf is a Double IPA with a malt bill assaulted by whole flower Mosaic, Chinook, Citra, and Simcoe hops. I’ve yet to try this one yet, but if it’s anything like the movie Teen Wolf…it should be awesome!
Storm King (9.1%)- Finally, something dark! Storm King is an American imperial stout which will fill many glasses on those cold January evenings. Storm King is black as night with notes of dark chocolate and dark fruits. It also has an older brother named Dark Intrigue that spends some time in bourbon barrels.
Hopefully, Victory will be sending us some beers for our podcast (hint, hint…)
