The featured beer painting of the day is of King Street Brewing Company’s Irish Gael Export Stout. I was on the fence about putting this beer in the series for three reasons: first, I had never had it; second, I have already painted several King Street beers; and lastly, to my knowledge, this beer is only available in Alaska. That being said, I had a plan for this one — the label inspired me to put this sailing ship as the setting for this beer.
Once I cracked open the bottle, the stout validated my choice. Aged in barrels, it is one wicked stout — dark and perfectly balanced. The crew at King Street is using great recipes to make spot-on beers! I first met the founders of King Street at the Great Northern Brewers Club of Anchorage, Alaska. They got up and spoke about the brewery they wanted to open. Shane Kingry and Dana Walukiewicz were both serious home brewers that took their home brewing commitment to a new level, and built the King Street Brewery from scratch in their spare time. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe Shane still works full time at AT&T as an IT specialist, and Dana is working a full time job as CFO for the Bethel Native Corporation! Although both of these guys are working fulltime jobs, they still have enough time to manage this amazing brewery, putting out the cleanest, most consistent beer in Anchorage. David Short, another home brewer turned pro, is their full-time employee and head brewer! He has been winning contests and kicking butt as a home brewer as long as I have been attending the club, and is a great addition to the King Street team! I just sent a bottle of this Export Stout along with the Nobility Barleywine to my buddy Rich in Pennsylvania. I hope he’ll share, even though the bottles are only 11.2 oz.
King Street is only a few blocks from Midnight Sun Brewing Co. One of my favorite things to do is to go to MSBC and pick out a strong beer, maybe grabbing a 6 oz serving of barleywine, or some other ridiculous imperial beer. After I chill there for an hour, sipping the strong beer, I head over to King Street, and make a pub crawl out of it, drinking a pint of pilsner or something equally refreshing.
Cheers to beers! King Street is rapidly becoming the King of Anchorage beers. If you guys can ramp up production, I am sure your product will meet the best of the best!
You can purchase this painting, or a limited-edition print at my Etsy shop.
View the complete Year of Beer Paintings gallery.
Year of Beer 07.16. Irish Gael Export Stout by King Street Brewing Co. Oil on panel, 8″x10″.
Real Art Is Better! 