And you thought Victory Brewing Company was all about beer. As it turns out, it’s about root beer—and ice cream. Can you say float?
Available at the company brewpub in Downingtown, Pa., since 1997, Victory root beer is now available by the sixer and by the case at the company’s retail shop, attached to the restaurant.
The ice creams are now sold in the store, too. Triple Monkey is a banana ice cream made with the wort of the brewery’s Golden Monkey with peanuts and caramel. Hopped Up Devil is a cayenne and cinnamon ice cream made from Hop Devil wort and chocolate-covered coffee beans. Storm King Crunch is chocolate ice cream made with the wort from Storm King Stout, with chocolate malt balls.
It’s all part of Victory’s family orientation.
“Co-owner Ron Barchet and I loved root beer growing up,” owner Bill Covaleski said, “so when we started Victory Brewing Company, we knew we’d be brewing root beer as well as traditional beer. Thanks to our restaurant we’ve always been able to focus on appealing to people of all ages, not just the 21 and over crowd. Bottling root beer so everyone can enjoy a cold Victory at home just made sense.”
So next time you’re in the mood for a Hop Devil Ale or Prima Pils, don’t forget you roots. Go to the source. Even if you don’t stay for lunch or dinner, the brew is worth the drive to D-town.
Grin and Beer It
And speaking of things beer, don’t forget that it’s Wilmington Beer Week. Get out there and start tasting. And stay tuned for more on the Delaware State Fair homebrew challenge.
Tricky Rooney’s
Pasta isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of traditional Irish fare. Yet Catherine Rooneyʼs Irish Pub & Restaurant is making a big deal about it. Among other changes to its menu, revised for summer and debuted on July 4, there’s grilled salmon over pappardelle tossed with peas, red onions, roasted plum tomatoes, and capers in a lemon-white wine sauce.
Both locations—Main Street in Newark and Wilmington’s Trolley Square—are in on the changes. Among them, Rooney’s excellent crab cakes, with special house seasoning, are now served over spinach sautéed with honey and Pernod and rice pilaf.
There is more in store, so check it out. With a good number of students absent from Newark for the summer and cozy dining on the Trolley sidewalk, there’s no better time of year. For rezzies, call 369-7330 (Newark) and 654-9700 (Wilmington).
James Street and Vine
Looking ahead, James Street Tavern in Newport will host its summer Wine Dinner on August 10—and it’s managed to lure Delebrity chef Matt Haley up from the beach to help. Four courses, $40. Feast on gazpacho-microgreen salad with Zazo Moscato rose followed by grilled mahi mahi with local squash, shaved chilis, fresh cilantro and lime paired with Don Olegario Albarino. Course three: roasted skirt steak with baby red onions and wilted greens in brown sugar vinaigrette. The wine will be Abadia Retuerta Rivola Cabernet Sauvignon. There is a dessert course and a dessert wine, but we need to keep something a surprise. Call now for a reservation.
James Street’s one of our neighborhood faves. For more, click here.
