VICTORY BREWING CO

Victory’s story started with the fateful encounter of two fifth-graders - Bill Covaleski and Ron Barchet - becoming besties on a school bus. Despite going to colleges on opposite coasts, the two maintained their friendship due to their shared love for beer. In 1996, Covaleski and Barchet stood on their path to victory and established their own brewery - Victory Brewing Company. From then on, the two besties are committed to serve full-flavoured and innovative brews that put curiosity and inspiration from their travels and the world around them into each delicious, high-quality beer bottle.

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It all started on a school bus in 1973, when two fifth-graders Bill Covaleski and Ron Barchet stepped aboard and became fast friends on their way to school. The two maintained their tight friendship despite attending colleges on opposite coasts, all thanks to their shared love for homebrewing.

Covaleski started homebrewing with his father’s equipment and later gave Barchet a kit of his own as a Christmas gift. Barchet immediately took to the craft, quit his job as a financial analyst, and started an apprenticeship at Baltimore Brewing Company (BBC). After a year of working there, Barchet left to study in Germany to improve his German brewing knowledge.

Meanwhile, Covaleski took over Barchet’s role at BBC and created several German specialty beers, many of which won multiple awards at the Great American Beer Festival. After a year of education in Munich, Germany, Barchet started working as a brewer at Old Dominion Brewing Company, where he helped increase production from 1,500 barrels annually to nearly 15,000.

With all their knowledge and expertise, Covaleski and Barchet were finally on the road to victory, or in other words, Victory Brewing Company was born. In 1996, the two opened Victory in what was once a Pepperidge Farm factory in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

Victory’s signature brews

For Covaleski and Barchet, their top priority for the brewery is maintaining quality. From the start, the two brewed an expressive and top-quality beer that grabbed their drinkers by the tastebuds; the HopDevil. The HopDevil is a citrusy, piney IPA inspired by Sierra Nevada’s winter seasonal - Celebration Ale. Victory’s flavourful IPA paved the way forward for the brewery and eventually became one of its flagship beers.

In 1999, Victory created another beast that would take the craft beer world by storm - the Golden Monkey. The Golden Monkey was created to celebrate the birth of Barchet’s third child, and by 2010, it became Victory’s best-selling beer. The Belgian-style tripel went on to win multiple awards and continues to be a fan-favourite today.

Victory’s environmental commitments

Victory has always made it a priority to give back to the community that has supported the brewery since day one. The brewery goes beyond participating in charity events and donations; it also commits to sustainability. For instance, Victory Brewing is big on recycling, energy consumption, and even donates its profits to organisations that help preserve Brandywine Creek’s pristine waters.

Victory has also helped to plant trees alongside the Brandywine Conservancy, and the brewery’s efforts paid off as the team helped the Conservancy to achieve its goal of planting 50,000 trees!

In recognition of its extensive efforts in natural resources stewardship, watershed conservation, and community involvement, Victory Brewing has received the esteemed Clayton M. Hoff Award. This award was established by the Brandywine Valley Association in 1987 to commemorate Clayton Hoff, the organisation's inaugural executive vice president, and a pioneer in the small watershed movement in the United States.

Victory Brewing’s key to, well, victory

In an interview with Insider, Covaleski attributes the success of Victory to having a trustworthy partner and friend that he could always rely on when times are tough. The two besties truly got each others’ backs, as they both know that they are equally as invested in pushing Victory to greater heights.

The brewery’s success can also be attributed to its commitment to a core philosophy, which highlights the importance of adaptation and change. Today, Victory Brewing Company continues to produce high-quality, innovative beers and has expanded its reach to multiple states across the country!