Beer Painting of Solid Gold Premium Lager by Founders Brewing Co.

Solid Gold — ice cold!  I don’t know if I can call this the holy grail of beers, that distinction is reserved for barrel aged brews with an ABV over 10%.  The Solid Gold Premium Lager by Founders Brewing Co. in Michigan is way better than any other beer you can buy at this price point.  When I get done doing yard work here at our log cabin in McCarthy, Alaska, I don’t want a whale of a beer to quench my thirst and ice my aching hands.  I‘m looking for a traditional American premium lager, something that is thirst-quenching and not too strong for the after workday libation.  The first one goes down in about 10 minutes and that’s if I try to sip and savor.  If I were to start with something stronger, I might have a good time, but won’t be good for much, except rolling around in the moss giggling to myself.  This lager tastes as good as any premium Mexican lager, but at a much lower price point.  

Founders opened its doors in 1997 right about the time craft beer was still called microbrew, and discerning Americans were still drinking wine.  In 1997 ice beer was all the rage, and thank the heavens that Founders started to show the world that beer can be classy, should be drank from a glass, and should be valued rather than looked down upon.  I say if you are a macro domestic lager fan and are tired of supporting the Clydesdale of brewing, give Solid Gold a try.  A win-win — stay a bit less drunk and keep some extra money in your pocket.  Your friends will thank you at the next backyard bbq, when you show up with a case of the SG when they can still drive home after dominating the corn hole pitch.  A perfect brew for pong or any game that requires dexterity.  Try new beers, but keep drinking this premium lager as new brews are silver but this one is Solid Gold!

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

Solid Gold Premium Lager by Founders Brewing Co. Oil on panel, 8″x10″, by Scott Clendaniel.

 

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Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #155. Sierra Nevada Brewing Celebration Ale.

Today is Thirsty Thursday again and that means it’s time to look at and think about new beer art, not to mention drink beer!  This week’s beer painting is of Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Fresh Hop Ale.  About 15 years ago I used to not like IPA, and my go-to brew was actually porter, if you can believe that.  Way back then I was confused what Celebration Ale actually was, and I started to like what I was drinking and thought the nice floral qualities were simply spicy grains for a spicy holiday beer….right….wrong!  I learned it was a fresh hop IPA and I was like, “Oh yeah, maybe I do like IPA,” and I came around.  I can say I have been enjoying IPA for well over a decade now, and it has actually become my favorite style.  I wish that Sierra Nevada was able to brew Celebration all year long, but sadly the hop harvest season is in October and the first batch of Celebration is being bottled right now.  Two years ago in early November we made a pilgrimage to Chico to check out the facility and drink some Celebration right at the source!  I highly recommend doing this if you happen to be in California.  The guided tour is amazing!  The success story about Ken Grossman and his startup business makes me believe anything is possible.  The sheer size of the production facility is amazing and the copper kettles are so beautiful.  When you finish the tour you get a 2 oz sample of everything they are currently serving, which ends up being over 20 ounces.  I did a painting of the oaked Narwhal onsite after our tour.  One of my favorite things about Sierra Nevada’s facility is the outdoor seating in the beer garden.  Tasty food at super reasonable prices, and huge pints.  If you are there at this time of year you can get Celebration on draft!

Cheers to the Celebration Ale, a seasonal beer release that is worthy celebrating!

Only 1 original oil painting is available, and a limited number of prints at our Etsy shop RealArtIsBetter.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #155. Celebration Ale at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. 12″x14″, oil on panel. By Scott Clendaniel.

Copper Brew Kettles at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Chico, CA.

A room full of hops!

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #145. Blue Dot DIPA by Hair of the Dog Brewing Co.

One of my favorite places in Portland, Oregon is Hair of the Dog Brewing Company, and I go there every time I visit the City of Roses.  The taproom has an old school brewery vibe, but the brewery hasn’t stagnated, and continues putting out interesting beers, many of which are barrel aged.  I took a photo of the Blue Dot DIPA when I was there in February.  I love all the beers they make and the Blue Dot was exemplary.  We were walking back to downtown from the “brewery district” over there in East Portland.  I had just finished painting live at Cascade Barrel House, which was an extraordinary experience, and I was feeling celebratory.  Sitting at the bar at Hair of the Dog, we struck up a great conversation with a guy sitting next to us, who happened to be a homebrewer, and a member of the local homebrewing club.  He told me to join the American Homebrewers Association (and I did), and about the big homebrewing convention called Homebrew Con, America’s largest homebrew gathering, that is taking place in Portland this weekend.  Hence the timing of this beer painting, released on the first day of Brew Con.  I propose a toast to great beer, homebrew, or commercial!  I hope your pint is full and your libations fruitful!

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

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #145. Blue Dot DIPA by Hair of the Dog Brewing Co. 8″x10″, oil on panel. By Scott Clendaniel.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #141. Grand Opening of King Street Brewing Company 2.0

King Street Brewing Company’s amazing pop top IPA tastes even better when you are on top of Bird Ridge, where you can chill your beer in the snow.  Bird Ridge is a grueling 4.6 mile (each way) hike with several false summits, so nothing is better than a tasty craft beer once you get to the top!  Oh, and the view is pretty good too.

King Street opened its doors in 2010, and I remember the two home-brewers, Shane and Dana, standing up at our local home-brew club meeting and proudly stating,  “We are going to open a brewery!”  They have been doing a bang up job, and their 10 barrel brewhouse just hasn’t been big enough due to popular demand.  They are going big and built a new KING sized brewery!  Other good news is that it is now much closer to Anchorage Brewing Company, so if you feel like a Brett-forward saison after a traditional King Street West Coast Style IPA, you can simply walk on over!  Unfortunately, still too far to walk to both Cynosure Brewing, or Midnight Sun Brewing, but totally an easy bike ride.  I love the Anchorage tetrahedron of breweries!

I didn’t know when the new King Street brewery was going to open, but I knew it had to be soon.  Luckily, I have Shane Kingry’s phone number, so I gave him a call this morning.  He told me that the new facility opens up at noon this Saturday, June 2nd!  Shane said the new place will be open, clean, and they will have tables and beer.  They also plan to have a food truck.

The month of June is starting out beertastic with my First Firkin Friday art opening at Midnight Sun Brewing.  I will be tapping the firkin at 5pm this Friday, June 1st.  Then on Saturday I will definitely be going to King Street Brewing’s grand opening.  I can’t wait to check out the new three-story building!

Cheers to growth and success!  Way to be King Street!  You are doing it the right way!

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

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #141. King Street Brewing Company IPA. 8″x10″, oil on panel. By Scott Clendaniel.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #116. Prairie Ale by Prairie Artisan Ales.

Whenever I get a chance to taste a brew from Prairie Artisan Ales, I take it!  I picked up this lovely saison when I took a speedy road trip across the country with a good friend from Philadelphia.  Although I was in Ohio when I purchased this bottle, I was stoked!  I look forward to the day when I set up my painting kit at either the Prairie Ales taproom, or at the brewpub, and make a painting live!  I have never been to Oklahoma, but when I do go I will be drinking Prairie artisan ales the whole time, and I plan on returning home with a suitcase full of this delectable brew!  Cheers to the brewers that bring a smile to my face!

This original oil painting, and 52 limited-edition prints are for sale at our Etsy shop RealArtIsBetter.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #116. Prairie Ale by Prairie Artisan Ales in Oklahoma. 11″x14″, oil on panel. By Scott Clendaniel.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #115. Chugach Session Cream Ale by Broken Tooth Brewing Co.

So I finally found out the history behind the iconic windmill on Spenard Rd.  Originally it was erected on east Fireweed in 1961, and was used as an advertisement for a liquor store called the Kut Rate Kid.  Owned by Byron Gillam until the 1980’s, the liquor store was a financial success.  Gillam would sell cases of directly imported beer for a small 2 cents per case profit, eliminating wholesalers and picking up sales of ice wine and liquor all at regular inflated Alaskan prices.  Gillam passed away, and the business sold.  The windmill then represented a pizza business that moved in, owned by a man named Mafia Mike.  Due to the economic downturn in the 1980’s, the windmill had to be moved from Mafia Mike’s pizza place, so it was given to Chilkoot Charlie’s to put in the parking lot there.  “Koots” is a crazy place, and inebriated clientele there threatened the structure by climbing it.  Consequently, the structure is now surrounded by a 6 foot fence with barbed wire at the top to prevent lawsuits and unexpected damage.

Chugach Session Cream Ale is a brainchild of Broken Tooth Brewing, a conglomerate of the  Moose’s Tooth Pizza restaurant group, including Bear Tooth Theatre Pub located about a block from the windmill.  Cream Ale is a traditional American style of ale, similar to American lager in flavor and drinkability.  It seemed like an obvious choice to put in the foreground for this composition.

Cheers to Spenard!  One of Anchorage’s most historic, diverse, fun and interesting districts.

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

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #115. Chugach Session Cream Ale by Broken Tooth Brewing Co. By Scott Clendaniel. 9″x18″, oil on panel.

Bourbon County Brand Stout at Soldier Field

Da Bears. Will it be a 2018 Super Bowl victory for Chicago?  No one knows, but one thing is a winner for Chicago, and that is the delicious flavor of Bourbon County Brand Stout made by Goose Island Brewing Company.  Yes, this brewery is owned by InBev, but the benefit of being owned by a gigantic corporation, is being able to brew at large capacity, and to distribute far and wide.  This year there was so much of this beer available, that we were able to buy it here in Anchorage, and we didn’t even have to wait until Black Friday!  A member of the FB group Alaska Beer Nerds posted that a couple liquor stores in Anchorage got a shipment of BCBS, and my wife hit the road right away, and bought three bottles.  There was no line.  That’s one of the benefits of living in Alaska.  Beer hype is not really a thing here… yet.

Drinking BCBS is one of my favorite Black Friday traditions, going back to 2014, the Year of Beer Paintings.  This year I drank a 2015.  Every year this beer is consistently excellent!  So I hope you are lucky enough to get some.  In this painting I paired Chicago’s favorite beer with its favorite NFL team, a match made in heaven…  well, Soldier Field is probably heaven to some devout Bears fans.

So, I invite you to raise your tulip glasses high.  Cheers to Bourbon barrel aged brews, the NFL, and Black Friday sales!

This original oil painting, and 52 limited-edition prints are for sale at our Etsy shop RealArtIsBetter.

Bourbon County Brand Stout by Goose Island Brewing Co. at Soldier Field in Chicago. By Scott Clendaniel. 14″x11″, oil on panel.

Incarnation IPA by 4 Hands Brewing Company

When Sam, Jerry and I were road tripping across the USA, on the way to Sam’s son’s wedding, we stopped briefly at an amazing beer store in St. Louis, MO.  I loaded up with a case of unique beers including a six-pack of Incarnation IPA by 4 Hands Brewing Co.  This beer was fresh and loaded with Mosaic hop goodness!  I had a hard time keeping one for Maria to try, but I was successful in getting it home to Alaska despite its delicious nature.  Since the beer is dry hopped with Mosaic, I made a hop mosaic for the  backdrop of this composition.  There are about three types of hops I like the most for a great IPA: Mosaic, Simcoe, and Citra.  I think that if you have one, or a combination of the three you have a recipe for success!  Incarnation IPA is not the only great beer from St. Louis.  The town is known for beer (ahem, Budweiser).  I feel lucky to have gotten to sample some great St. Louis offerings despite the fact that I am in a completely different distribution zone.  Cheers to the Incarnation IPA, may your beer be enlightening!    

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

Incarnation IPA by 4 Hands Brewing Co. Oil painting by Scott Clendaniel. 8″x10″, oil on panel.

 

2×4 DIPA by Melvin Brewing Co.

2×4 is a great DIPA that will knock your hat in the creek with a 2×4.  I’m glad Melvin Brewing canned this strong beer.  Easier to pack on adventures that way, and more bang for your buck!  It has so much hop bitterness and floral aroma, you’ll feel more manly after drinking it.  There’s even National 2×4 Day, which I missed, because I didn’t know about it, but apparently it happened on 2.4.2017.  Oh well, next year.  I see that one bar in Alaska is supposed to have this beer on 2×4 Day, Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse, of course.  Better put it on my calendar.  This beer from Wyoming is one I was lucky enough to try when I drove across the country last fall with my buddy Sam.  We bought beer from four different distribution areas, and Melvin was one I was lucky enough to procure while stopping briefly in Colorado.  Brewed near Jackson Hole, this beer is making me feel like I want to plan a ski trip to Wyoming!  Maybe I will head there next year!  Cheers to strong bold DIPAs, this one is tremendous!

This original oil painting, and 24 limited-edition prints are for sale at my Etsy shop RealArtIsBetter.

2×4 DIPA by Melvin Brewing Co. Oil painting by Scott Clendaniel. 8″x10″, oil on panel.

Big Dipa Double IPA by Denali Brewing Company

Up here in the Great Land, everything is big.  Alaska is the biggest in the Union by a considerable margin.  We joke that Texans better not make us mad, or we’ll divide Alaska in half, and make Texas the third largest State.  One thing we love here in Alaska is big IPAs.  There is a big craft brewery named after the biggest mountain on the continent, Denali Brewing Co.  They just came out with a beer called the Big DIPA, which references our state flag and depicts Ursa Major, or the Big Dipper on the can.  A Double IPA is often referred to as a DIPA, hence the Big DIPA name.  The beer is full of hop flavor, and I recommend picking up a six-pack, but remember that this beer is not session-able, unless you’re a 350lb logger.  Cheers to Alaska, and Denali’s Dig DIPA!  May the stars guide your beer purchase tonight!

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

Big Dipa Double IPA by Denali Brewing Co. Oil painting by Scott Clendaniel. 8″x10″, oil on panel.