2014 marks the twelfth annual Victory Chili Challenge, pitting Victory Brewing Company employees against one another for bragging rights, a little cash, and the coveted People’s Pepper. About a month ago I got the email to be a judge at this year’s cook off, making it year number three that I am on the panel. Unless I am dead or incapacitated, I will always attend this event. Where else can you get your fix of tasty chili and some of the best beer we have on the East Coast? t The answer is no where; hands down, this is one of the best beer gatherings out there and for those that missed it we have the full scoop here.
Every year the chili challenge gets better and better, so I was very excited to sit down and get my judge on.
Judging the chili is simple, with points being given for originality, aroma, texture, flavor, and visual appearance.
As usual, we have to set out and judge each team’s presentation. It’s all about being creative and having the chili to back up your gimmick.
The event starts at 11:30am on the dot, and you wouldn’t believe the influx of people that flood in within the next ten minutes.
One thing that I have never seen in the three years of doing this is the note sheet they give to the normal patrons of the day. These two gentlemen were grabbing a beer to wash down the dozen chili’s they had and compared some notes.
Not only to they get a grading sheet of their own, but everyone has a chance to vote for the People’s Pepper.
Every year the trophy changes. I have seen glass and fully welded metal, but this year’s Pepper takes the cake for over-all coolness.
After we had ourselves some chili, we had to have some beer before heading to the floor for judge presentations.
There were a lot of cool presentations. I am an 80’s nerd and Dukes of Hazzard fan, so naturally I was a fan of the General Lee Chili. Here’s Bo, Luke, and Daisy slinging it with their moon shine glasses.
Breaking Bad might be off the air but that doesn’t mean we can’t dress up as Heisenburg and Jesse.
By the hammer of Thor – no, wait, I mean Victory.
Who wouldn’t want to be wanted for kicking too much ass.
One of my favorite things about the chili challenge is that Bill Coveleski can always be found serving up a more local chili.
This year he teamed up with local hot sauce maker, Home Sweet Home Grown. They recently got together and used Victory Storm King Stout to create a hot sauce they call Punch Drunk.
Now that the crowd has had a few hours to digest their chili samples it was time to announce the People’s Pepper.
At the end of the day, the Hosts from Hell would win over the crowd with their River Styx Chili. The proper gimmick and perfect for pairing with a Victory Hop Devil.
As always it is a blast to hang out with our friends at Victory, especially when the chili cook off rolls around. I would like to thank my judges on the panel: Carl Harper, Gregory Barsh, Alan Brown, Amy, Angela, Mary from The Town Dish, and Mat Falco from Philly Beer Scene. If you have missed this event the past twelve years you should have no excuse next year. I don’t know of any brewery that does anything like this around here – if there is, do invite I Drink Good Beer as we would love to cover it. Thanks to Madeline and the staff at Victory for having us. As usual, we hope to have an even better time next year. Cheers.
-Brian