Victory Brewing Co. opens brewpub in Kennett Square

It's only been a couple weeks since Victory Brewing Co. opened its new Kennett Square location to Chester County's thirsty masses, but one thing is clear already:

Downingtown, this ain't.

As it turns out, the 220-seat, seven-barrel spot is actually the smallest brewing facility of Victory's three locations. Which, on its face, doesn't sound like an attribute — except that it will allow brewer Mike McLaughlin to use Kennett as a testing location with unique, site-specific brews made in-house.

"We will always have some site-specific beers at Kennett," says Victory president and brewmaster Bill Covaleski. "We did not want to replicate Downingtown."

To that end, Covaleski and co. have moved their Downingtown location's head chef, Owen Kolva, over to Victory at Magnolia in order to tend more toward daily additions, small plates, and local flair. As a result, Kennett's approach to food is as different as their approach to booze.

"Kennett is really a blackboard opportunity for Chef," Covaleski says. "There are very few menu items from Downingtown."

Still, there are plenty of menu options, including Kennett Square-ified dishes like mushroom sandwiches and soup. Also available are hand-tossed pretzels with Hop Devil cheese, a stable of cheeseburgers, and, of course, beer-infused ice cream.

For the little ones, Victory offers a kids menu with items like hamburgers and mac & cheese that run between $4 and $5.

At Victory, however beer is the real star. The Kennett location currently offers more than 30 styles on tap, including nitro and cask varieties. You can also pick up a bottle, six-pack, or case at the Victory store at the front of the restaurant — right alongside Victory ice cream, cheese dip, popcorn, and t-shirts.

Your best bet for liquid refreshment, though, is Kennett's massive 49-foot bar, which, incidentally, is constructed from reclaimed mushroom boards, thanks to some enterprising Victory employees. There, you can get just about any Victory brew your heart desires — except the Kirsch Gose, which I'm told is "sold out everywhere."

Hours are currently 11:00 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday, and until 10 p.m. on Sundays. We can expect outside seating alongside West Cyprus Street starting at the end of the month.

But the expansion won't stop there: Expect Victory to open its Parkesburg location later this year.