The featured beer painting of the day is of Alaskan Brewing Company’s Oatmeal Stout brewed in Juneau, Alaska. Alaskan Stout was released as a rough draft series in 1998 and rapidly became a local favorite. Historically, oatmeal was added to stout beer to give it more healthy nutrients, and it was considered a healthy beverage. When people think of dark beer they expect it to be bitter. Well, if you are trying to stay true to the English style, stout is a dark ale, while porter is a dark bitter. So, a stout should be sweeter than a porter. An oatmeal stout has more un-fermentable grain, so it retains the grain sweetness, and the grain brings its nutritional content higher, resulting in a great beverage for hardworking Alaskans. When I finish working on the cabin for the day I totally want a beer. I am thirsty and hungry at the same time, and an Alaskan Stout seems like a good idea after a hard day of building with logs. It is a true treat, chocolate and malt, with creamy, tan foam that washes down smooth even with a tart carbonation.
Here’s to Alaskan! Cabins, bears, salmon, berries, mountains, ocean, eagles, colossal rivers, glaciers, and stout beers! I hope everybody gets a chance to see the sublime land we Alaskans like to call home!
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 10.06. Oatmeal Stout by Alaskan Brewing Co. Oil on panel, 8″x10″.
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