Victory Village Ale @ Whole Foods

The beers at Bourbon, Beer and Bryson showcased the interesting flavors that develop when a beer spends some time in oak/bourbon barrels. However, this past Friday the focus wasn't beer mingling with bourbon. Instead the fusion was an eye opening blend of coffee and beer.

Steve Hackman & Rob Alteri

The Cold Point Pub at Whole Foods in Plymouth Meeting was the site of a convergence of coffee and beer. Steve Hackman (President), Robert Alteri (Sales Development manager/ Co-Founder) and Woody DeCasere (Roaster) of Souderton’s One Village Coffee were on hand to promote their collaborative venture with Victory Brewing. Their work with Bill Covaleski and Ron Barchet of Victory Brewing produced Victory Village Ale. A British style Brown ale blended with Village Coffee’s Smart Blend.

 The result is a smooth, way too drinkable, well balanced beer that doesn’t knock your senses with bitter coffee intensity. The coffee comes out quick in the aroma and on the first sip but the brown ale flavor is never lost. The maltiness and sweetness even give it an almost ice coffee quality. At 5.1% abv it may be on the higher end for some session drinkers but having a couple of these and keeping your head straight shouldn’t be a problem. Since the abv is on the tame side it’s one of the few flavorful coffee beers that can claim session status. Here’s hoping that this isn’t a one off. A beer this good needs to be brewed often and eventually make its way into bottles.

Where can I get some?
As of Sept 1st,
Capone's
London Grill
Teresa's Next Door