Early afternoon on Saturday and the weather is lousy. Sounds like a perfect day to visit the Craft Ale House in Royersford. I start with a 21st Ammendment Live Free or Die. This is a very nice IPA. I follow that with a Coronado Hoppy Daze Belgian IPA. This is a great beer. It has a flavor that I can not compare to any other beer. You gotta try this one. Next up is an Ithaca Excelsior Ten. This is a fabulous beer. I like their Cascazilla Red and this one is like Cascazilla on steroids. Awesome.
I make my way back home and my wonderful wife says that she would like to have dinner at Victory Brewing Company in Downingtown. I said that would be satisfactory with me. So with wife and 3 daughters in tow we go to Downingtown. On the way, my 3-year-old falls asleep. My wife stays in the car with her and I take my 1-year-old and 5-year-old in to the Victory to get started. After 2 trips to the ladies room (1 trip for number 1 and a seperate trip for number 2) I am ready to enjoy the Braumeister Pils that is waiting for me. Great start to my dinner. This is a crisp enjoyable pilsner. Since I haven't been to the Victory in a long while, I decide to order a sampler. Victory has the best sampler deal I have ever seen. YOU CHOOSE the number of different beers you want in your sampler and YOU CHOOSE which beers you would like from ANY that are currently on tap including cask conditioned beers (i.e. no exceptions). These are not the little sample glasses you might be thinking of. And it can get expensive but it is still a great program.
The Wild Devil sample I got set me back $3.25. I loved this beer when it first became available but either the taste of the beer has changed or my taste has changed. I get the whole "wild yeast" thing and it seemed like the original version I had had a nice sour note, not overwhelming. The new version seems astringent and not nearly as pleasant. I say "original" and "new" version without knowing if Victory did indeed change the recipe.
The Harvest Ale (only $1.00) had a nice light taste not at all like the typical big Victory beers.
The Yakima cask ale sample was only $2.00 which I thought was a bargain. This is a fabulous beer. It is a dark copper color and all the big alcohol and big hops you would expect from the Victory. The cask conditioning ensured a nice mellow flavor despite the big hops.
The Storm King Stout which really is an imperial stout was satisfying as usual. Nice roasty flavor, it was like drinking a meal and for only $2.00.
Enough of these little glasses. I had to get a pint of the Yakima Cask Conditioned IPA. This still tasted just as good as it did in the little glass.
Oh yeah, we did eat also. My 3-year-old had the hot wings which in my opinion are the best wings on earth. My 5-year-old enjoyed her pizza. My wife had the El Paso Ensalada which turned out to be too sweet (dressing) for her taste. I had the Head Hunter sandwhich and this was great. Chicken breast, BBQ sauce, mozzarella cheese and onion rings all on a soft roll. Hurry if you want one of these. It is on their "seasonal" menu.
All in all it was a great day.
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