The daily beer painting is of White Oak Ale by The Bruery in Orange County, California. Fifty percent ale and fifty percent ale aged in bourbon barrels, this beer is unique and flavorful. The large 25.4 oz bottle is shaped like a Pinot Noir bottle. This beer is known as a wheat wine, which has a delicious, strong flavor of grains. If there were a beer style called an imperial hefeweizen, this would be it. At 11.5% alcohol, you should sip this beer like wine!
People have been aging beer in oak barrels since the dawn of beer, but only a few breweries do it today, most opting for a more modern style of fermenting in steel tanks. The steel fermenters (used to ferment cheaper wines these days as well) allow the beer to ferment in a completely clean way, like in a glass carboy. Traditionally, brewers had to ferment beer in oak barrels because that was all they had. Fermenting beer in bourbon casks makes it pull a rich warm flavor right out of the oak into the beer. Being a 50 /50 blended beer makes this one exceptionally smooth, as the oak is subdued, but still evident. Vanilla and sharp fruit, followed by a light sense of oak makes this beer exceptionally pleasant to drink compared to other beers with the same potency. I would have another of these if I had it. This bottle was mailed to me from San Jose, California (thanks Josh)!
Cheers to The Bruery, a great brewery in So-Cal! Who would have thought brewers would start stealing some wine glory in that part of the world to make grade A beer? Keep it up!
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 05.28. White Oak Ale by The Bruery. Oil on panel, 8″x10″.
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