Located in
Downingtown, Pennsylvania – about a 30 minute drive to the west of
Philadelphia, Victory Brewing Company has about a dozen regular beers, another
ten or so seasonal beers, and an often active and busy brewpub that I look
forward to revisiting the next time I’m in the area. If you happen to be a
classic movie fan, it’s worth noting that, aside from being home to Victory and
their outstanding brews, Downingtown’s claim to fame is its host to the diner
scene in the 1958 sci-fi horror movie entitled The Blob, which was largely filmed in the surrounding area. The
diner today, named Chef Mcjon’s Downingtown Diner, still stands, and for
reasons of nostalgia, it is worth the visit.
Victory was first
opened back in 1996 by two life-long friends – Ron Barchet and Bill Covalski,
both of whom are well-trained and thoroughly experienced brewers: Ron studied
at the Technical University of Munich at Weihesnstepan and worked at the
Baltimore Brewing Company and the Old Dominion Brewing Company in Virginia, and
Bill studied at the Doemens Institute in Munich and also worked at the
Baltimore Brewing Company. And their expertise and experience certainly shows
in Victory’s Prima Pils – a decidedly fine, year-round, 5.3 percent ABV
representation of the best traditions of the pilsner style, but with stronger
bitter character that gives Prima Pils some distinctiveness.
Life outside the bottle begins with a transparent, light-golden or straw
color, culminating in a medium-sized and relatively resilient white head. The average
amount of lacing artfully and lastingly decorates the side of the glass. The
nose of Prima Pils is a rich mixture of standard pilsner notes, including the assertive
Saaz hop presence. Bready and earthy, the background aroma is accompanied by more
focused citrusy and flowery notes – all definite marks of a good pilsner.
Taking a mouth full reveals a medium-light body and generous amounts of
carbonation, making this a very refreshing summertime treat. Like the aroma,
the flavor of Prima Pils is the undeniable mark of an excellent pilsner,
although it’s a bit more bitter than most Continental varieties. With its
grainy texture, the moderate malt presence provides a nice backbone for the
more intense citrusy flavor from the hops. With a bitterness that begins about
halfway between the start and finish, Prima Pils rounds out by delivering a
mildly dry and bitter punch, and then slowly fades away over the course of
another minute or two.
All in all, Prima Pils is a fine, yet distinct representation of the
pilsner style. While I found the head to be a bit timid both in size and
resiliency (emphasis on the bit), the aroma and flavor hit their marks
precisely. The hop forward notes are delicately and harmoniously supported by
the maltier side of life, and the timing of the hop bitterness is spot on. While
some brewers concoct more experimental varieties under the pilsner name, but
then fail to catch the essence of the style, with Prima Pils, Victory in my humble
view shows the creativity it takes to craft a beer that slightly challenges the
boundaries of the style; but they also show the discipline and maturity is
takes to capture the more traditional representations of the pilsner style.
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