Don’t Hang Your Beer Paintings in the Bathroom!

We often hear of masterpieces getting stolen from museums, but how often have you heard about a painting getting stolen from a brewery’s bathroom?  Well, in Anchorage, it happened twice, and both times the paintings were Clendaniel originals!  I’m flattered just a little, but mostly very disappointed with these people’s choices, or maybe just one person’s.

When I was doing the Year of Beer project, Gabe Fletcher, the owner of Anchorage Brewing Co., purchased a few beer paintings, and when he built his new brewery, he hung a painting in each bathroom.  Then one day, the painting from the men’s room was gone!  It was of Calabaza Boreal, a collaboration brew by Anchorage Brewing and Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales.  It was a hard piece to make, because it had two different incarnations and I depicted both bottles in the painting.  Gabe put out a plea for the thief to hang the art back on the wall, and no questions would be asked.  The painting hasn’t been seen since.  Gabe bought another painting from me of the Experiment, to replace that one, but he didn’t hang it in the bathroom.

Fast forward a couple years, and the thief strikes again!  Maybe it was a different person.  We don’t know.  This time the scene of the crime was the bathroom at Odd Man Rush Brewing Co. in Eagle River.  Last year I painted a piece live in the taproom, and one of the owners purchased it, and hung it in one of the unisex bathrooms.  Several months later, the painting mysteriously disappeared.  Ironically, the beer painting was of the Enforcer IPA.

So the lesson is, don’t hang your 8″x10″ Clendaniel beer art in public bathrooms at your drinking establishment!  I don’t have a problem with the location, I like having my artwork displayed basically anywhere, as long as it is visible to people.  The problem I have with public restrooms is that people seem to believe the artwork on the walls is a free gift.

After hearing that the piece was yanked, I contacted the owners of Odd Man Rush, and set up a date to paint a new one at the brewery.  I completed this painting last Sunday of Enforcer IPA, while sipping on a couple delicious brews, including the NEIPA, and when I was done painting the glass and the beer, I got to drink the Enforcer while painting the background.

The new painting to replace the one that was stolen.

If you see either one of those stolen paintings, please grab it back for the rightful owners.  If you would like to return the stolen pieces, because you made a bad decision while you were a little tipsy, just put them back in the bathrooms, no questions asked.

Cheers to honesty!  Please don’t steal art, just contact me, and I’ll paint your favorite beer… no questions asked.

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Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #147. The Experiment by Anchorage Brewing Co.

Watch out!  You might start experiencing an encounter of the third kind.  It could be Kang or Kodos attempting to infiltrate Earth with a stick with a nail in it.  Maybe Lrrr is after your human horn, or simply the cork trail will lead you to this open bottle of The Experiment, a sour ale brewed with wild Alaskan blueberries by Anchorage Brewing Company.  This iconic-looking beer has been turning heads around Anchorage, and everyone seems to love the decadent sour ale fermented in oak foudres that is hammered with 5 lbs of fruit per every gallon of this supreme malt beverage.  Almost more of a country wine than an ale, this beautiful brew is really something to “phone home” about, I assure you.  If you haven’t gotten your elongated fingers on a bottle of this, I hope you have something decadent to trade for one, as it will be well worth it!  Cheers to blueberries and beer, a wonderful mixture of flavor and color!

This original oil painting, and limited-edition prints are available at our Etsy shop RealArtIsBetter.

Thirsty Thursday #147. The Experiment by Anchorage Brewing Co. 8″x10″, oil on panel. By Scott Clendaniel.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #118. Darkest Hour Imperial Stout with Coffee by Anchorage Brewing Co.

There is a darkest time of year, and for that time we need beer.  Not a golden, effervescent, belly-filling swill of a brew, but a dark, dank, barrel-aged libation.  As black as midnight on the longest night, and robust enough to warm even the weakest of souls.  Add coffee to combat the instinctual hibernation that is inevitable at this time of year.  You may find this in Java Cask Coffee Bourbon Stout, or Speedway Stout.  If you are an Alaskan you should drink Anchorage Brewing Company’s Darkest Hour Imperial Stout with coffee.  Happy Winter Solstice, the light begins to come back tomorrow!

Cheers to return of the light!  Celebrate Solstice!

The original oil painting sold. Limited-edition prints are available at our Etsy shop RealArtIsBetter.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #118. Darkest Hour Imperial Stout with coffee by Anchorage Brewing Co. 8″x10″, oil on panel. By Scott Clendaniel.

Lines Imperial IPA by Monkish Brewing Co. and Anchorage Brewing Co.

Hello beer hunters, connoisseurs, and hop-heads.  I am glad to release a new beer painting that I finished just a week ago.  I was lucky enough to get my hands on an über fresh can of Lines Imperial IPA, a collaboration between California’s Monkish Brewing and our famous local favorite Anchorage Brewing.  This beer is delicious!  At first it was very mellow, but as it warmed up, a floral and citrusy hop flavor became very evident, yet not overpowering.  I was able to bend the ear of Gabe Fletcher while sipping on this delectable brew.  He divulged that this was a zero IBU IPA dry hopped with lupulin powder, the secret ingredient in this fine beer.  This batch of lupulin powder was a blend of Mosaic, Citra and Simcoe hops that had been flash frozen to extract the most potent part of the hop, the Alpha acids.  I was surprised he was selling it for 10 bucks a can, but when you consider how far a schlep to LA is from Anchorage, and how long I would have to stand in line to get this beer down there, then it’s a steal of a deal.

The name Lines has two meanings to me.  One is evident from the label, since the powder reminded the brewers of another kind of powered substance, but the second meaning may be a reference to the fact that every time Monkish releases a new canned offering, beer nerds line up for hours to get it.  I stepped up to the bar as soon as I walked into Anchorage Brewing and Gabe himself poured me the beer strait from the can.  On a side note, that’s when I found out that the tall tulip glasses at Anchorage Brewing hold 14 oz when filled to the rim.  I was surprised that only 2 oz remained in my cool shiny can.

I am fond of the shiny cans.  So far I have not been let down by one.  Every time I have bought or tasted one, it has been worth the price…  They always seem to be somewhere around $4 a can for offsite consumption.  So at a bar in Alaska 10 bucks is a deal.  Breweries use these cans for very small releases, because they can just slap a sticker on them, and don’t have to order thousands of pre-printed cans.  Word is that Gabe plans to brew this again, and will can it when his new canning line is operational, so more people will get a chance to try this tasty brew!

Cheers to Lines, but not the kind I have to stand in!

This original oil painting, and 30 limited-edition prints are for sale at my Etsy shop RealArtIsBetter.

Lines Imperial IPA by Monkish Brewing Co. and Anchorage Brewing Co. Oil painting by Scott Clendaniel. Oil on panel. 8″x10″.

 

Rondy Brew by Anchorage Brewing Co.

This time of year Alaskans start getting fed up with winter, but luckily, just before we all lose our minds, the annual winter festival in Anchorage called Rondy begins, and we all have something to do, and much to celebrate.  If you are in Anchorage, come down to 4th Avenue and watch the dog races, the Running of the Reindeer, and stop by our downtown studio, which will be open both Saturday and Sunday this weekend, as well as Saturday, during the start of the Iditarod next weekend.

I love living in an amazing little-big town like Anchorage.  We have all the benefits of living in a big city without all the congestion too many people bring with it.  If I get stuck in cross-town traffic I am still home in 20 minutes.  One of my favorite places across town is Anchorage Brewing Company.  Every year Gabe Fletcher from Anchorage Brewing makes a tasty malt beverage called Rondy Brew.  This year it is a single hop IPA made with Nelson Sauvin hops, which is a delicious treat.  This bottle is a collectors edition because it celebrates ten years of the Running of the Reindeer!  So, of course I painted it with a reindeer enjoying the brew. I imagined how much rowdier this pronged beast will be after getting a snootful of this hoppy stuff.  A double bottle serving of rowdy Rondy brew should bring this beast to its best form for the running.  Looks like this reindeer is chugging it too, only letting a little fall into the 4th Avenue snow.  I hope you contain your beast and remember to savor every sip of this delectable beer.  A bottle is $6 at the brewery, so stop in and have a glass and then Rondy with the rest of us!  Just remember to be “slick” it’s careful out there!

This original oil painting and only 30 limited-edition, signed art prints are for sale at my Etsy shop RealArtIsBetter.

Rondy Brew by Anchorage Brewing Co. 11″x14″, oil on panel. Beer art by Scott Clendaniel

The Culmination Festival

~ by Maria Benner

The Culmination Festival, which happened last night, is hands down the best beer festival I have ever been to!  Not only because each beer is hand-picked for being some of the best beer in the world, but also because most of these beers are normally not available in Alaska.  Gabe Fletcher has been the organizing force behind this event, which has been an annual occasion for four years now.  Scott and I have volunteered to pour every year, which is a great way to attend the event without having to pay the hefty price of $130 pp.  The cost is completely worth it, considering how many amazing and rare beers are in one place for you to try.  I wish the festival spanned over a period of three days, so I could try every beer.  Alas, I was limited by my liver to only try about 30%, as most beers are pretty strong.  As a bonus, this year the Masonry, which is a craft beer and wood-fired pizza bar in Seattle, drove a pizza oven all the way to Alaska, and served up delicious pizza all day long for hungry beer drinkers!  The tasting portion of the festival lasted from 2-6PM, and then the band Mos Generator started playing, and kegs of a session IPA were available for consumption.  The IPA, brewed by Gabe for the event was refreshing, fresh and delicious.

Pizza oven on its way to Alaska!

I was busy pouring 8 Wired Brewing Co. beer from New Zealand, and sampling beer during my breaks, so I didn’t take any photos, but luckily Scott captured some of the ridiculous beers he sampled.

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You’ll probably see oil paintings of some of these beers in the coming months.  The list of participating breweries is available at the Culmination Festival website.  My favorites were Apple Brandy Noir by Prairie Artisan Ales, Gatherer by Tired Hands Brewing Co, and Stacks on Stacks IPA by Other Half Brewing.  Brewers and reps flew up for this event from a hand-full of breweries, and it was great meeting them and finding out interesting details about the brewing process.  A common theme I noticed this year is using foraged ingredients in beers like mushrooms and herbs.  Some of the brewers fly up a couple days in advance, and brew collaboration beers with Gabe.  I look forward to sampling these beers in a few months to a year.  I know that Jolly Pumpkin brewed one, and so did Tired Hands.

As if Culmination wasn’t enough, Gabe also organized Hill Farmstead Brewery Day at Anchorage Brewing two days prior.  So instead of having to travel all the way to Vermont, we all got to drink these excellent offerings from Hill Farmstead right here in Anchorage.  Citra and Works of Love were the two best ones in my opinion.

Hill Farmstead Brewery beers on tap at Anchorage Brewing Co.

I’m curious to find out what will happen with the leftovers from the festival.  We’ll stop by the brewery to see if some of the beer is on tap today.

Thank you Gabe and everyone who makes this amazing beer festival possible!  Cheers to many more!

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #61, February 25, 2016, Rondy Brew by Anchorage Brewing Co.

Grab your Rondy pin, don your winter boots, put on that crazy fox-face fur hat that has been sitting in your closet all year, because it’s time to RONDY!  That means a carnival on 3^rd Avenue, directly across the street from my studio, a craft fair in the hallways here, dog races in front of the building both weekends, and the annual running of the reindeer.  Not to mention other odd events in the immediate area like snowshoe softball (may have to be studded shoes softball this year due to lack of snow), and the outhouse races! 

The annual Rondy Brew by Anchorage Brewing Co. is fabulous this year!  Brewed with Motueka hops and aged in fouders with Hibiscus and Brettanamyces.  The brew is a lovely rose color right now, but I bet that will fade with aging.  I am sure the traditional Saison flavor will increase if you cellar it, and the pink will possibly drop out into a sediment layer.  It is a tart, refreshing, floral brew right now.  I absolutely love it!  The Motueka Hops blend with the Hibiscus to produce a refreshing flavor that won’t shut down your Rondy groove, because the beer is only 6% ABV. 

The studio will be open from 11 AM – 6 PM all weekend, starting on Friday.  Come check out the view of the ferris wheel out my window, and peruse the large selection of prints, paintings and art cards.  If it’s not too busy, I can make a print of any painting that’s at my Etsy Shop.  I am also offering a free poster with any $20 purchase.  333 W 4th Avenue, Suite 4.

Cheers to another fabulous Rondy Brew! 

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #61 by Scott Clendaniel. February 25, 2016. Rondy Brew by Anchorage Brewing Co. 11″x14″, oil on panel.