If you ever wanted to peek behind the curtain at Victory Brewing to see how they make their delicious beer, you better get your butt to Downingtown pronto. As of July 4th, Victory will no longer be conducting brewery tours, and if you’re one of the folks who loves their beers, it’s all your fault!
In a nutshell, the brewery is humming to keep up with growing demand, and the folks at Victory think things are moving too fast to have civilians wandering around the business end of the place. You could wind up in the brew kettle or dying a slow and wonderful death locked in the hop freezer. That would suck (kind of – the hop freezer thing actually sounds pretty good!).
While it’s kind of neat to see how the beer is made, most breweries are pretty similar, so you’re really not missing much. Victory may now have less to show, but there’s still plenty of awesome stuff to taste, which is the main reason for stopping in. It’s totally worth the trip for their inventive brewpub grub and to taste some of their taproom-only selections.
While the news is a bit of a bummer, we’re happy to see a place we love doing so well.
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Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
Glad I got my tour in years ago. Love the Brewpub. Wish they would update some of their lineup though. I say this a lot so I’ll shut up now.
I was there in the early spring and they had just updated their menu. that’s the good news. The bad news is the Gyro Pizza was gone, which was kind of crushing news to me.
I’ll probably never see that brewpub again since I don’t really have to much of a reason to go up there anymore. Sad sad.
Yet you’ll still bitch about the menu? 😉
No the food menu, their lineup of beers. Nothing to exciting gets released by Victory.
Meant to say “Not” the food menu.
Dave I have to disagree. Victory is releasing some really great new and interesting brews. Just recently they barrel aged Storm King Stout and created Dark Intrigue which is an amazing beer. Also, their new beer slated to come out called Otto sounds extremely interesting, it will be a smoked dubbel.
Oh, that. A new pale ale doesn’t get your blood going? Me neither, although Dark Intrigue was…uh…intriguing.
As a commercial insurance product manager I’m absolutely amazed they take random people back in the production area. Like you mention, most breweries are running the same type of equipment and have the same general feel. That means they’re all full of slip and fall hazards, machines that can maim people, broken glass, metal stairs, forklifts whirling about, and other general hazards. The only tour I’ve been on where they’re smart about it is Sierra Nevada. They have a walkway that goes above all the major equipment so you can see the brewery in action, but are removed from the hazards.
As craft beer becomes more popular and the general public becomes more interested in how it’s made I expect to see breweries change the way they offer tours. I was just on a tour at Lagunitas where people brought a stroller with an infant in the brewhouse. ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME?!?
Damn insurance guys ruining all the fun once again.
It’s technically not us; It’s the people who are too dumb to be careful getting lawyers who sue the brewery and, in turn, have to file a claim to defend themselves and pay the damages. There are some reasonable things businesses can do to avoid these types of lawsuits and from what I’ve seen breweries are just asking for a disaster by letting the public in the production area.
…but yeah, the fun ends up ruined.
People ARE too dumb. On a couple of tours they state specifically that flip flops and sandals aren’t allowed in any of the brewing areas, and yet people still complain when they’re told they can’t take the tour because they’re wearing them.
Where’s Darwin when you need him?
Jelly Belly candies has the safest tour ever, You get in a tram and they drive you around the warehouse, stop and show “VIDEOS” of the factory and how they make the candy. Seriously. hen they give you a small bag of candy. Safe it was and SUCKED it did. On the other hand the only reason I have a job is becasue of stupid people . Darwin rules!
I agree that some tours like the Jelly Belly one (which should be in Wisconsin Hall of Lame) are awful, but I disagree that Darwin rules. If he did, how can you explain all of those people in the food court? 🙂
Troegs is putting the finishing touches on their new facility in Hershey, PA. From what I’ve heard, it’s been built to accommodate production and tourists. I recall that most of the operations are visible from a central visitor area. It would be cool to eat lunch in the middle of a brewery!
Anyway, as the industry grow, I expect brewers to design their facilities with tours in mind, especially if they’re trying to support a food business.
Victory Brewpub is definitely worth a visit. Damn good food (Onion RIngs, Prosciutto and Mozzarella, and Ribs… OH MY!) and damn good beer! Also, it’s very reasonably priced. We’re headed out to Amishville for an overnight with the kids. Trying to fit in a visit to Lancaster Brewing Company’s brewpub. We shall see!
I just took the Victory tour last week and booties were required to be worn for open-toed shoes and eyeglasses were required. Not really sure how Hospital booties is gonna protect someone.
However, 2 years ago when I took the tour neither was required.
Victory should have posted what you can and can’t wear on their website for thier tours to let people dress accordingly. I mean come on it’s summer and spring.
It’s the damn lawyers, I tells ya!!
This is what happens when little businesses become big ones. I’m happy for them, but it’s not without its drawbacks.