Chill Out in Style: What to Wear to the Great Alaska Craft Brew and Barley Wine Festival in Anchorage

It’s time for the Great Alaska Craft Brew and Barleywine festival here in Anchorage, Alaska!  This annual event happens in the dead of winter every year. Well…every year, unless we happen to be having a pandemic.  In our defense, even the Germans cancelled Oktoberfest that year. Fortunately, now that the ‘Ronassance is over we are back on track to have the barleywine-guzzling, beer-swigging, bagpipe-marching, hootenanny drunkfest that is the GABBF.  

I want to talk about what is appropriate to wear to the this shindig.  First off, dress warm! Today we woke up to -19F degrees outside, here in Anchorage, and that is not a pleasant temperature to be wearing skimpy dresses and no coats. Downright dangerous when waiting curbside for a ride home! Fortunately, there is a coat check at the event, so you can stash your outerwear and emerge from your parka to show off the good looking attire underneath.  Men and women probably want to wear different things, although I am sure Johnathan Van Ness would totally rock a gorgeous beer themed dress to the fest. Beer leggings are probably more for gals than for guys. Lederhosen are traditionally dude wear, and if you have a pair, now is a good time to show off your German heritage.  Of course brewery gear is a  great idea. T-shirts, sweatshirts, ball caps, beanies, brewer button down shirts, and, although most people won’t see it unless you get really really drunk, brewery brand underwear. Yes, Ted at Turnagain Brewing, you should wear your special Turnagain Brewing boxer shorts.  Clark Pelz from Cynosure Brewing wears an elaborate western button up shirt with a hop pattern embroidered on it, he looks very stylish in it.

If you wonder why the rubber chicken is a GABBF staple, then you can read about it here in my previous blogpost. The rubber chicken necklaces are a gift from Phil Farrell, a long time attendant, and BJCP beer judge at the fest.  Pretzel necklaces serve two functions: they look cool and keep with the German vibe, but also feed the hungry beer drinker.  It is important to eat a lot of food when imbibing in as much beer as you probably will drink at this event.  I suggest preloading with greasy, heavy foods that coat your stomach, so you won’t get the spins before the session is over. 

We offer a lot of my artwork on beer themed clothing at our RedBubble site.  We also have two kinds of beer-themed socks available at our booth. Did I mention I will be there selling my art? Have a drink, or three then stop by and visit me! I want to see your cool beer apparel. There just ain’t nothing quite as cool as seeing someone slurping the suds while wearing cool beer duds.  So grab your pretzel necklace, eat some fries, get on down at Dena’ina Center for the big beer and barleywine festival!!!  

Ten Years Since the “Year of Beer” Project Began!

Can you believe the Year of Beer project happened 10 years ago? For newer readers, here’s a bit of a background. In 2014 I started releasing a new beer painting every day for 365 days, and writing a blog post about each one, and posting them on social media. That project solidified my career as an artist known for beer art. So, now that it’s 2024, I stopped to think about the beer industry now vs. ten years ago, and how the Year of Beer project would be different, if I were to do it now.

In 2014 there were 3,418 registered craft breweries in the United States. In 2024 we have 9,709 – nearly three times as many! In 2014 canning lines were for established breweries and the printed cans were expensive to order, requiring large runs for flagship beers that would meet expectations of sales. Along came the crowler in 2015, and then about eight years ago everyone started packaging beer in fancy pint four packs. The price of beer went up, but so did the quality and quantity. Glass growlers became less favorable; why fill a 64oz bottle when you could have four portable pints that don’t oxidize the way a growler does? Nobody enjoys cleaning growlers. Breweries still have flagship beers, but the options are so much more diverse with one-off hazy IPAs coming out every two weeks with new artistic labels.

The Year of Beer was so successful, because there were popular flagship beers and breweries with a big following. So when I released a painting of Pliny the Elder, Heady Topper, or Spotted Cow, fans of those beers were delighted! Side note, in 2022 Russian River Brewing asked me to stop selling art featuring its beer labels, despite having given me permission to paint live in the taproom in 2016. The project would be possible today, but I feel it would be a lot less successful, since there are simply too many choices available. Flagship beers don’t have such a strong following any more, since there are so many other excellent options that are easier to get. Beer is dramatically more expensive in 2024 than it was in 2014. I actually haven’t bought any beer yet this year, since I stocked up for New Years Eve. In 2014 the average price of a six-pack was around $8, now it’s about $12. And this is for regular shelf beer bought at a liquor retailer. Beer at specialty shops, or at breweries costs more. Patrons don’t blink an eye as they shell out $18 – $24 for a fancy four pack. Meanwhile, Gabe Fletcher of Anchorage Brewing Company finally hit $100 a bottle on Tavour for his world famous barleywine called A Deal with the Devil. In 2014 we used to buy it for 22 bucks for twice as many fluid oz! 

The world is changing, and beer has been elevated to a higher status. People respect the juice of the barley more than they ever did before. New flavorful hops have evolved and beer is an entirely different product than ever before. I feel that Hazy IPA had its heyday a few years ago, and although it will always be a popular brew, west coast IPAs are back in fashion along with the new rage, cold IPA. What threw me for a loop is the gluten fearful people who all feel they should be drinking seltzers. I would rather drink a Natural Ice around a campfire any time over a White Claw.

I will always remember 2014 fondly as one of the best years of my life. I started painting live at breweries that year, met so many wonderful beer lovers all over the world online, and in person. Some of them are still good friends to this day! I traveled to dozens of different breweries, and traded beer with many patrons of beer art. Some breweries even mailed me hoodies, hats, and other fun merch!

There are still a few originals available at my Etsy shop, and prints. Keep in mind that I love to make commissions of your favorite brew. Whether it be macro, micro, craft, home-brewed, or even a wine or a seltzer. Let’s keep enjoying and see where the industry goes! Cheers, and thank you for following my beer art career all these years, and for all your support!

How to Mail Beer

by Maria Benner

If you are a homebrewer, you may want to mail your beer to share it with close friends, or family who live far away. Or maybe you are a beer nerd who loves to try new releases from other States, and you have trading buddies. There are many reasons why people want to mail beer, and especially during the holidays, because beer is the best gift! So, here is some information about how to mail beer successfully.

Legality of Mailing Beer

Basically, it’s illegal for consumers to mail beer to other consumers. You are breaking the law, so if you decide to mail beer, you’re doing so at your own risk. There are many laws pertaining to various destinations: intrastate, interstate, international, etc. Here is a picture of a letter from the Enforcement Unit Supervisor for the Alaska Alcohol Beverage Control Board, stating that Alaska does not regulate alcoholic beverages imported into the state for personal consumption and not for resale.

UPS: Shippers must possess a valid retailer or brewery license in their home states, and where applicable obtain a license or permit in the destination state. All beer shippers must enter into a UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers.

FedEx: Individuals (consumers) cannot ship alcohol via FedEx. Businesses that hold appropriate alcohol licenses and are enrolled in the FedEx alcohol shipping program may ship to their customers in select states or countries.

USPS: Completely illegal.

How to Pack the Beer

If no one finds out what’s in your box, then are you really breaking the law? Well, yes, but you better hope no one finds out. One way for everyone to find out is if beer starts leaking out of your box. Oops! To prevent your bottles/cans from breaking, I recommend following these steps:

• Pack the beer as if you are mailing raw eggs. Do not take any chances. If your box leaks, the shipping company will immediately throw it away, and the liquid could also damage other peoples’ shipments. Even worse, you may have to face consequences for breaking laws.
  • Use a brand new, sturdy box. If possible, double up boxes.
  • Line the box with bubble wrap.
  • Wrap each beer in several layers of bubble wrap. Obviously, glass is more fragile, and the bottle cap could be knocked off, so take extra care wrapping glass bottles. Tape the bubble wrap so it does not come unwrapped.
  • Place each beer in it’s own Ziploc bag, and seal it. This will prevent leakage if the bottle/can breaks.
  • Then put all the beers in a big plastic bag, place that bag in your box, and tape the bag shut.
  • If there is any empty space in the box, fill it with packing paper, cardboard, bubble wrap, whatever. As long as there is no space for the bottles/cans to move.
  • Seal the box with package sealing tape. Seal all the folds, gaps, corners, etc. Make sure it’s bomb-proof.
  • Put a note inside the box that says “liquid yeast samples”.

Mailing Your Box

Choose the most affordable carrier to ship your box. Mail it as early as possible in the week, so it doesn’t end up in a warehouse during the weekend, or a holiday. Make sure the recipient has the tracking information, so they can receive the box as soon as possible. You don’t want it sitting out in the heat too long. Opt for ground shipping when available, to minimize the chances of bottle caps failing due to pressure changes in airplanes. If anyone asks what’s in the box, say it’s jam, bbq sauce, anything but beer. I know that’s lying, but everyone does it, so that makes it okay, right? Yikes.

Good luck! I hope your box arrives at its destination safely! In the meantime, lobby your lawmakers to legalize mailing beer, so we can all enjoy it no matter where we live!

Cheers!

Drinking on the Southside

Yesterday was a great day to go to the south-side of town to grab a beer at Midnight Sun Brewing and  Turnagain Brewing. My art show is up at MSBC for the month of January, and yesterday the brewery busted out dusty bottles of Sloth Belgian-style Imperial Stout from 2017! For those in the know, Sloth is one of the best beers MSBC has ever made. A Russian imperial stout that was originally brewed as part of the Seven Deadly Sins series in 2007. The brewery hasn’t brewed it since 2017! Sloth has a rating of 95 on Beer Advocate and is rated as the 90th best Russian Imperial Stout in the United States!  It is big, bold, dark, black, and has a nice Belgian yeast note to it. If there is any left on draft today, I would get on down there and get a glass.  If not, you can always find something noteworthy from the big offerings from MSBC.  I made this painting of Sloth in 2016 and it immediately sold. Limited edition prints are available at my Etsy shop. If you prefer an original oil painting, rather than a print, I can paint a custom one for you.

A 6oz pour of Sloth Belgian-style Imperial Stout

Meanwhile, right down the street, an amazing sour beer called Solera Eclipse was released today at Turnagain Brewing!  Since Maria and I are in the Mug Club at Turnagain, we had the opportunity to stop by to get first dibs on this amazing beer yesterday.  It is a pineapple and blueberry sour that originally was brewed in summer 2021 and was released in early November 2021.  Every year there is a contest called the Turnagain Tartside Challenge, and Anchorage home-brewers come by Turnagain Brewing to get a gallon of mostly fermented sour wort from the Solera. The idea is to flavor, finish, and package the wort to make a delicious beer. In 2021 I was the winner of this contest with the concept behind Solera Eclipse. Ted Rosenzweig (owner and brewer at Turnagain Brewing) and I conferred, and I designed a label, and Ted packaged the beer for individual bottle sales. It has to be one of the tastiest sour beers I have ever had, and today it is released again. At $7 for a 12oz pour or $7 for 12oz bottles to go, it is a good deal. My original recipe called for a whole pineapple and 1lb of blueberries per gallon!  Little to say, the fruit in this beer is very expensive, and I am unsure how much profit can be made when using so much fruit here in Alaska! I have included a picture of Ted stealing a sample from the barrel on Halloween in 2021.  I wanted to show off my original label and bottle design, because the packaging is different this year.  The pineapple brings the flavor, and the blueberries bring some aroma, and a great color!  

Anchorage is a great beer drinking town and I hope you brave the cold to get out to one of our lovely brewery destinations to revere our beer! Cheers to beers brewed in the North! 

Drinking and Reviewing NA Beer during Sober October, Part 2

In my last blog post I explained why I’m currently drinking NA beers, and reviewed three that I had tried so far. So, today I’ll be reviewing the rest.

We are in week 3 of sober October, and I have to say that we’ve been pretty good. I didn’t have any beer at the Alaska Craft Brew Festival, but I did have some at the Great Northern Brewers Club meeting.  Why would I go to a beer festival when I’m not drinking? I had a booth at the event to sell my beer art. Anyway, I am back on track and have just over a week left, and intend to finish strong.  It’s been great — I feel good, physically, and about myself too. I always tell people if they slip up on a detox from drinking to take heart and get back on the wagon. Your body won’t even notice the day you cheated on your discipline, but going back to old, bad habits is definitely going to hit you in the liver.  

So, I left off last time talking about Non-Alcoholic, or NA beer options.  I went into La Bodega and bought some beers to review: Athletic Light, Bitburger 0.0, Weihenstephaner Non-Alcoholic, Athletic Upside Dawn Golden, and Samuel Adams Just the Haze Non-Alcoholic Hazy IPA. 

I can’t recommend the Athletic brand, all three I’ve tried have that bad flavor of cooked alcohol in the beer.  And same with the Bitburger 0.0.  I was surprised, as Germans love their NA beers, and I would have thought Bitburger would have come through for me. I wanted something crisp and clean, but the beer Bitburger offered can’t hold up to the alcohol removal process.  I wonder why more breweries even try to make a beer and then remove the alcohol. Why not just make a malt and hop flavored soda? It seems to me that a beer-flavored drink would be easier to make than removing the alcohol.  The Russians have been enjoying Kvas for hundreds of years, and it has very little alcohol to begin with. I actually like drinking carbonated fruit juice beverages like IZZE and Blue Monkey more than an NA beer.  I normally cut them with sparkling water to extend the goodness, and to tone down the super sweet flavor of straight juice. 

The NA beers I can recommend are the Weihenstephaner, and the Sam Adams Just the Haze.  Germany comes through with the Weihenstephaner, it is a hefeweizen style of brew and has that estery quality that a good German weissbier should have.  Hazy and golden yellow with an aroma of cloves and banana. The mouthfeel is full bodied like a hefe, and the flavor is just like the aroma. If you love German wheat beers and can’t drink alcohol, this NA beer is a good choice for you. 

The Sam Adams not only won Gold at GABF for NA beer this year, it is actually really good! Also hazy and yellow, this NA beer provides a nice aroma of clean aroma hops.  The mouthfeel is slightly more watery than I would have liked, but the flavor makes up for it. They must have an expensive machine for taking the alcohol out of the beer, because if I didn’t know any better, I would call it a session IPA.  And session you can, since it has less than .05% alcohol content.  You would have to drink 100 of them to have the same alcohol that is in a regular beer.

Cheers to your health, your mind and your body! 

Drinking and Reviewing NA Beer during Sober October

Today is day five of sober October, yeah I started a day late.  I’m doing well, and haven’t had a sip of alcohol since Saturday. The first time I took a whole month off from drinking was in 2012 in McCarthy, Alaska. There is an event at the Golden Saloon that happens at the end of every season called Last Man Standing, which is a party the bar throws for the whole town to get rid of all perishables, such as food, beer, soft drinks, and NA beer.  Everything is free! In 2012 the bar shut down later than usual, in mid-October, and so that was the first time I ever drank non-alcoholic beer. At the time, my options were St. Pauli Girl NA, and O’Doul’s. I tried both. The O’doul’s was alright, it had a bit of a sweet and sour, grainy flavor and not much hops, but I had a couple at the party.  The St. Pauli Girl NA was definitely worse. The owner had a hard time getting people to drink the NA beer, so he gave me a 12-pack to take to my cabin.  I drank one every night, until they were gone.

Today, I am in Anchorage, and I thought some NA beer might be kind of good. I wasn’t hankering for O’Doul’s, so instead I got a six-pack of Lagunitas IPNA.  I have been drinking one per night for the last five days, and I have to say it is better than O’doul’s, or St. Pauli Girl.  Today I went to La Bodega and bought a mix pack of other NA beers.  Let me tell you, the NA beer market has really expanded since 2012! I had heard that Athletic Brewing Co. made a decent NA beer, so I picked up a few of those, as well as a couple German options and a Sam Adams Hazy NA IPA. I will review both the Lagunitas IPNA and Athletic Brewing Company’s Run Wild IPA today. Next time I will give you a rundown on the other five.

Lagunitas IPNA smells great, just like a regular IPA. It tastes like watered-down beer, but has a pleasant IPA and malt flavor.  The beer is clear and light brown, and doesn’t retain any foam like a real IPA should.  To me it tastes like the brewers took a bottle of the Waldo’s Special Ale, poured it into a gallon of water, added some caramel coloring, then carbonated, and bottled it into 12 bottles.  Overall, I would consider buying it again. It is good, and possibly a decent alternative to real IPA when one is trying to stay away from alcohol.

Athletic Brewing Co’s Run Wild IPA has a copper color, and beautiful foam that stays around for a long time. The flavor is weird, not really like an IPA. It reminds me more of an O’Doul’s. It has a nice body to it, and the mouthfeel is spot on. The smell is grainy, and a bit like smelling malt extract straight from the barrel. It only has a hint of hops. There is a pronounced bitterness after the sour grainy flavor dissipates.  As it warms up, the weird sour grain flavor gets stronger. But, if you want to look like you are drinking IPA, it fits the bill perfectly.  And I would drink it again, especially during sober October.  

Next week I will review a few more of these beers, and let you know which one is the best. So far Lagunitas IPNA is the best NA beer I have had.  I know the Germans like to drink a bunch of NA beer, so maybe they make something decent. NA beer has got to be better for you than sugary sodas, and more tasty than drinking sparkling waters. 

Cheers to sober October!  I hope you are having a good time, whether participating, or not!    

Termination Dust

Termination dust on the Chugach mountains

Happy Fall Equinox! During our five-mile run this morning we marveled at the gorgeous termination dust on the Chugach mountains that arrived overnight. For those of you who are not up on Alaskan lingo, “termination dust” refers to the first dusting of snow on mountain tops, signaling the termination of summer. This means something to the beer drinking crowd of Anchorage.  When we see that first snow, we know that Midnight Sun Brewing is about to release Termination Dust Belgian Style Barley Wine.  It is only released when Lee Ellis, President of the brewery, sees snow on Flattop mountain.  Well, I looked up at Flattop today, and the snow stopped right above Flattop mountain.  So, I assumed the brewery would hold out, but to my surprise, I saw on social media that the release is happening today!  I have a bottle of this beer in my beer fridge from two years ago, so maybe it is time to drink that one as well, since it is Equinox, and I feel celebration in the air.

When Alaskans see termination dust, some take a big sigh of relief, and others start feeling depressed, depending on how one feels about the impending winter. I personally like winter more than summer, so I get very excited about longer nights, cozy evenings around a fire, movie nights without FOMO, football season, fat-biking, and most importantly, alpine ski season.  I love skiing, and I especially love skiing at Arctic Valley Ski Area!  I am a lifetime member of the Anchorage Ski club. Maria and I already bought our season passes, so seeing termination dust on the front range on Equinox makes me feel hopeful for a great upcoming ski season! I am certainly glad to live in Alaska! Now, I’m off to Midnight Sun Brewing to sample this year’s Termination Dust. Cheers!

Prints of this beer portrait are available at my Etsy shop

Montucky Cold Snacks Beer Painting

Montucky Cold Snacks is a light and refreshing beer, just like a good “adventure” beer should be.  For this painting I imagined three white horses prancing around a Montana ranch, while a cool farm hand stands watching by the property’s fence, sipping on a Cold Snacks at the end of a long day of ranchin’.  It is this type of dream of Montana that inspired this beer to be made, and inspired me to paint this composition.

I love a good, cold, American-style lager. It is the perfect beer for after a long, hard, sweat-filled workday, or a grueling play day.  I would drink it on a box, I would drink it with a fox. I would drink it here, I would drink it there! Basically, I could drink Montucky Cold Snacks anywhere! The cool thing about this beer, is the brewery donates 8% of its profits back to local causes.  Remember, the first two are for hydration. 

The original oil painting, and signed prints are available at my Etsy shop.

Montucky Cold Snacks Beer Painting by Scott Clendaniel. 11″x14″, oil on panel.

 

Yuengling Traditional Lager at Citizens Bank Park

When I was growing up in Anchorage, Alaska, my parents were saving every penny so they could help pay for all four of us to go to college.  We used to shop at thrift stores, and we played a lot of baseball.  My brother found this Phillies fan jacket and he instantly became a fan. I indirectly also became a fan, because he wore it all the time. 

During 2014, I worked my little tail off making a beer painting every day. This is when I went from being a beer fan to a straight-up beer nerd.  I had heard of Yuengling, the oldest brewery in America, but it doesn’t distribute to Alaska. I picked up a following in Pennsylvania during my Year of Beer project, and one of my followers mailed me a can.  I was impressed, since the beer was different than the regular pre-prohibition style lager I expected it to be.  During 2014 I made over 365 paintings, and some of them were more inspired than others.  I wish I had made this Yuengling painting at the Citizens Bank Park back then. 

In 2017, I took my second trip to Philly and I spent some time tasting beers there. My great friend Sam Magdowitz (a local Philadelphian) has season tickets to the Phillies, so I got to go to a game!  Thanks Sam!  He is a huge MLB fan, and has been to every ball park in the country! I was telling him about my history with the Phillies when we parked, and took the train on in.  This is Sam’s secret plan to avoid the traffic; park at a train station a ways out, and ride the train 10 minutes to the stadium.  Ba-da-boom, ba-da-bing, way less time stuck in traffic. I had been beer tasting all day with Rich Morgan that day, another great beer drinking friend whom I met during my Year of Beer, and I am glad I wasn’t behind the wheel.  I did make it until the game went into extra innings and was on my second wind when Sam suggested leaving early since he had to work in the morning.  It was after 10pm, so I was on board.  I watched the Phillies win back in his kitchen while sharing a bottle of Denali Brewing’s Louisville Slugger sour ale with Sam’s wonderful better half, Tamar.  Sam crashed out for the night. Great experience, thanks Sam and Tamar! 

Brad Lewis is a local Anchorage Phillies fan, originally from Philadelphia.  He brought me this can of Yuengling with the Phillies logo on it!  I was stoked to finally get another taste of this iconic brew and finally capture my experience with Sam at the stadium!  Cheers to a little help from our friends! Without so many great people in my life I would not have been able to put this painting together! Go Phillies! Drink a Yuengling, if you are lucky enough to get one!

This original oil painting, and signed prints are available at my Etsy shop.

Yuengling Traditional Lager at Citizens Bank Park, by Scott Clendaniel. 14″ x 11″, oil on panel.

Zip Kombucha Taproom Review

~ by Maria Benner

I try to find places to hang out before they get discovered by everyone else, and become too crowded for my comfort.  Mostly because I dislike waiting in line (like a typical Alaskan), and prefer less noisy environments where I can easily communicate with my friends.  The Zip Kombucha tap room is one of those places that is still mostly under the radar.  I shouldn’t even tell you about it, but at the same time, I want it to prosper.

I prefer brewery taprooms over bars, because they offer a comfortable setting without the meat-market/sketchy vibe that most bars have.  This taproom is unique in that it offers draft beer in a brewery-taproom setting, but can stay open past 8pm.  It can also have live music and games.  The craft beer selection is really top-notch.  Last week it was the only place in Anchorage that had No Woman No Cryo IPA by Girdwood Brewing on tap.  The price is a very reasonable $5 per pint!  For those who don’t want to drink alcohol, or are gluten-free, kombucha is on tap in several delightful flavors like blueberry, ginger, or mint.  Wine is also on the menu.  Delicious and healthy food is available as well.  Recently, Glacier Bowl teamed up with Zip to offer poke bowls.  Several nights a week there is live entertainment including open-mic night, and music by local musicians.  The large space in the brewery even has enough room for dance lessons.  The taproom also exhibits art by local artists.  In April the featured artist is Scott.  His oil paintings and limited-edition prints are on display and available for sale through Zip until May 2nd.  This place has it all!

What is kombucha?  It’s a beverage produced by fermenting sweet tea with a culture of yeast and bacteria.  It tastes sweet and sour at the same time, but the flavors are not overwhelming.  The yeast eats most of the sugar, so this beverage won’t rot your teeth, and it’s loaded with probiotics.  Added flavors like ginger, berries and mint really shine in this clear and fizzy drink.

So next time you’re looking for a quiet, yet hip space to meet your friends where you can get food, craft beer, and non-alcoholic, gluten-free beverages, along with entertainment, and art, check out the Zip Kombucha taproom at 3404 Arctic Blvd.  The location in midtown is convenient, with plenty of parking.  Open every day 4-9pm.

Kombucha and draft beer menu.

Live music in the Zip Kombucha taproom.

Ahi poke bowl by Glacier Bowl.

Mint kombucha.