• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 1308 0

home region, which proved a smart move. With little marketing, the company quickly became one of the most powerful players in the craft beer landscape, with 110,000 barrels of brewing capacity (and 60,000 bbls output currently, and trending upwards). A visit to Victory affords a chance to try twenty of their current brews on tap in immaculate condition (and a half dozen more on hand pumps) and to soak up some Philadelphia beer culture in the making: the company is only fifteen years old (as of 2011) but already feels institutional, part of the fabric of things. This was by design. Covaleski has an eye for populist imagery, and together with the archival WWII photos in a dining room area of the pub and the old copper brewing kettle tops that decorate the main bar space, he’s managed to make a space that feels authentically lived in.

PHILOSOPHY

The Old World exalted. Using mostly whole flower hops and an “uncommon” number of yeasts, Victory melds traditional brewing methods with new technology in the brew house to create distinctive styles of beer. In other words, once-moribund styles sparkle with new depths and dimensions in the able hands of the brewers.

KEY BEER

Victory’s Prima Pils, a floral-accented, full-bodied golden sipper, has converted many a skeptic from domestic to craft, but it’s the Braumeister series of Pilsners exhibiting different hop varieties (including grassy Tettnang and spicy Saaz so far) that truly show what Covaleski and his cohorts are capable of.

TERESA’S NEXT DOOR

124 North Wayne Ave. • Wayne, PA 19087 • (610) 293-9909 teresas-cafe.com • Established: 2007

SCENE & STORY

With twenty-four taps and several hand pumps (in addition to a vast two-hundred-plus bottle list) this beer geek’s hideaway opened in 2007 in the affluent enclave of Wayne (just outside of Philly), drawing immediate acclaim. It’s a long, sleek space with stone accents, recessed lighting, brewery-specific glassware, a long bar, and padded booths along the back wall. The bar organizes taps by style, so regulars know that number five, for example, will typically feature Belgian blondes and Belgian pale ales. There are frequent beer events and tastings, including a spring dinner utilizing tangy spring hoop shoots, an asparagus-like delicacy used in Belgian cuisine.

PHILOSOPHY

Beer is treated with the proper respect here, but not pretentious solemnity. There’s always a sour beer on, and the bartenders, chefs, and owners are all passionate about craft beer.

KEY BEER

The unofficial house beer is Russian River Damnation, a deliciously spicy-strong Belgian-style pale ale from California (7.75% ABV). Or try Petrus Aged Pale Ale (7.3% ABV) on tap from Belgium’s Brouwerij Bavik, a medium-bodied and not-too-puckering sour with vinous, woody notes and a bracing acidity. It would make a nice complement to the rich kitchen offerings, which include braised rabbit and wood-fired baby back ribs.

YUENGLING

501 Mahantongo St. • Pottsville, PA 17901 (570) 628-4890 • yuengling.com • Established: 1829

SCENE & STORY

Founded in 1829 by German immigrant David G. Yuengling in Pennsylvania coal country, this is America’s oldest brewery, and has enjoyed a surge in popularity in recent years, propelled by its easy-drinking flagship brew and nostalgic image. Pronounced “Ying-Ling,” the company produces seven beers, and is still a privately-held, family-run organization, helmed by Dick Yuengling Jr., the fifth generation of Yuenglings to run the show and the father of four daughters, all of whom work for the company.

Touring the Yuengling plant is not remarkable in any technical, beer-making sense; there’s no wood or stone fermenters like you’d find in certain old Belgian or British firms. But you’re here for the history. Its traditional rathskeller, or cellar bar, opened in 1936, and is the end of the line for popular free tours offered on weekdays, after which visitors are treated to a pair of free drafts. The company hit 180 years in 2009, and has surged from producing 127,000 barrels of beer in 1985 to over 2 million in recent years.