The featured beer painting of the day is of Triomphe Belgian Style India Pale Ale by Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I received this beer from my Beer Club offerings at La Bodega in Anchorage, Alaska. I find Belgian ales to be great, but I really enjoy Belgian IPAs. I traveled through Belgium, and finding a Belgian IPA there is not impossible, but harder than you would expect, especially in a can. Brewery Vivant is inspired by small farmhouse breweries in southern Belgium and northern France, and cans its beer to decrease its impact on the environment.
Triomphe was fruity up front, with the Belgian yeast being very evident. The sweet flavor of the yeast muted the hops, so this is not your average American-style IPA. The biscuit-like malt flavor is very much like Belgian amber ale, but with the hop characteristics of an IPA — a match that is, well, triumphant! I know this arch in the background of the painting is from Paris, not Belgium, but I immediately thought of it when I was planning the background for this beer. On the border between Belgium and France is where I found an IPA that satisfied my hop lust. So I put the iconic Arc de Triomphe in the background even though Grand Rapids, Michigan is a far distance a way. The spirit of Europe is there and I wanted to depict it as so.
Triomphe! May all your endeavors at Brewery Vivant be triumphant! I know your Belgian Style IPA is a big hit, and I hope you “can” keep it up! Cheers!
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 07.25. Triomphe Belgian-style IPA by Brewery Vivant. Oil on panel, 8″x10″.
Real Art Is Better! 