Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #88, September 1, 2016, Stacks on Stacks IPA by Other Half Brewing Co.

Stacks on stacks of those C-notes!  Hopefully, that’s what Other Half Brewing Co. is bringing in with its über-tasty, super-fresh, Brooklyn-crafted brews.  I was lucky enough to be tasting these beers at the Culmination Beer Fest here in Anchorage.  They brought some amazing barrel-aged offerings, including Neighborhood Flock and Forgot About Drie.  I also sampled a beer called Topical Depression, a zero IBU IPA (all in the whirlpool, baby) with 400 lbs of Passion Fruit!  But I think the Stacks on Stacks Imperial IPA was the offering that stood out at the event, which was dominated by sours and imperial stouts.  Tasted like a fresh IPA from Vermont, and this was brewed within the buzz of NYC.  Other Half is following the formula that makes a world class brewery: growler fills, can releases of diggity dank IPAs, bottles of barrel-aged sour beer, that is what makes this place cutting edge.  They not only have emulated a great Belgian brasserie, but have assimilated the best of American craft beer culture as well.  Brooklyn just got a lot hipper in my opinion.  Not that it wasn’t my favorite borough of NYC already, but a place just gets better when a bad-ass local brewery springs up.  Like a forest full of beautiful mushrooms, moss, and lichen, cultural establishments such as handcrafted breweries and bean-roasting coffee shops improve an urban environment.  Other Half Brewing is bringing a lot of craft to its neighborhood.  I always stay in Brooklyn when I am visiting NYC, and next time I will bring my paint to work live at Other Half.    

Cheers to Other Half and the details that make life go from great to near-perfect!

The original oil painting sold, but you can purchase a limited-edition print, or commission a custom painting at my Etsy shop RealArtIsBetter.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #88 by Scott Clendaniel. September 1, 2016. Stacks on Stacks Imperial IPA by Other Half Brewing Co., 8″x10″, oil on panel.

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Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #20, May 14, 2015

I am sitting in my outdoor studio in McCarthy, Alaska on my first whole day of the summer season here in the Wrangell – St. Elias National Park. I am a happy camper, because I just went down to town to get the water I will need for the next two weeks and stopped in at the Museum where I met John and Barb Rice who brought me a homebrewed beer all the way from St. Louis, Missouri! It was a ginger-honey beer called the Drippy Hippy, brewed from a recipe I formulated with my friend Nick Pugmire about ten years ago. I love drinking this beer and I ran out of my own a few months ago. So I was very excited to hear that John’s friend Kevin Cummings brewed a batch using the recipe that I published on this blog several months ago, during the Year of Beer Paintings. Kevin nailed it! It tasted just like the Drippy Hippy I brew here in Alaska! Good brewing Kevin! I will see if I can send a homebrew back in your bottle at the end of the summer when John and Barb return home. Thanks Kevin and John for following this blog, and a huge thank you for brewing this beer, Kevin, and to John for bringing it all the way here from the other side of the country!

McCarthy is a beer-centric place where beer is like currency and everybody is drinking the golden suds in the Golden Saloon, in the middle of the street, or at the softball game. Last night after portaging my supplies from the truck to my tiny house, Maria and I sat around the campfire and popped the cork from a bottle of Abbey Ale by Brewery Ommegang. I’ve had this beer many times, and it is a real favorite of mine. I carried a bottle all the way to the top of Mt. Marathon in Seward in 2007, and it was one of the first beers I drank when I visited the brewery in Cooperstown last fall. I bought it originally because it’s premium beer with a cork! Perfect for celebrating, nothing starts a party like popping the cork of a premium beer – the pop is a true sign of good times! Thanks Ommegang for brewing such a delicious beer!

You can purchase this painting, or a limited-edition print at my Etsy shop.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #20 by Scott Clendaniel. May 14, 2015. Abbey Ale by Brewery Ommegang. 11″x14″, oil on panel.