Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #150. Midnight Still Imperial Stout by Holy Mountain Brewing Co.

Holy Mountain Brewing is a fresh new Seattle brewery that has been leading the Emerald City to new heights and flavors in the craft beer community.  Colin Lenfesty and Mike Murphy opened their doors in 2014 (the same year I was painting a new beer painting every day), and were overrun with beer enthusiasts so much that they ran out of clean glassware.  Holy Mountain is the new type of brewery with a barrel aging program and amazing fresh pale ales and traditional styles that are often overlooked in the local beer scene in Seattle.  Midnight Still is a great barrel aged imperial stout.  I was lucky enough to be stationed next to Holy Mountain’s table at the Culmination Beer Festival hosted by Gabe Fletcher at Anchorage Brewing Company, and had a taster, or two of this amazing stout.  The Bourbon notes are delightfully blended with the robust, dark, coconut, vanilla, raisiny, plum-like flavors and aromas that this black dank brew encompasses.  As far as barrel aged imperial stouts go, you really can’t do much better than this.  Midnight Still is a perfect example of what BAIS should be!  This beer is hard to get, and I feel lucky to get to try it.  I got to meet the cool dudes from Holy Mountain at Culmination, working at the table, serving up beers and giving me a break so I could go around and sample the other great brews.

Cheers to Midnight Still!  When you drink this, your night will be tranquil for sure!  A beverage for those late night quiet hours to be enjoyed silently and with sophistication.

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

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #150. Midnight Still by Holy Mountain Brewing Co. 8″x10″, oil on panel. By Scott Clendaniel.

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Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #90, September 15, 2016, Topcutter IPA by Bale Breaker Brewing Co.

The beer painting of the week is of Topcutter IPA by Bale Breaker Brewing Company in Yakima, Washington!  This IPA is top notch!  No wonder.  A brewery in Yakima, where 77% of the United States hop crop is grown, has access to the freshest hops!  Luckily, I randomly picked up a six-pack of this beer last October when I was driving around the Pacific Northwest.  There is a reason that this beer rates 91 on Beer Advocate.  This IPA is clean and fresh, especially around this time of year as the new hop harvest is coming in.  Expect a solid grapefruit and citrus flavor explosion, followed by pine and hop floral loveliness.  I drank one sip of this beer and wished I had bought a case.  The best thing is that this beer is affordable.  This is not your $4 dollar a can boutique IPA, this is a regular, working man’s offering at about $8.00 a six-pack.  I wish it was distributed to Alaska, but I will buy this again next time I am in Washington for sure.

I looked at the last three Thirsty Thursday entries and realized that they have been IPA heavy.  Well, right now I’m in Philadelphia, and I painted live today at two different breweries, and will be posting those paintings in the future.  Hope you all like IPA, but if you don’t, stand by, I’ll try to mix it up a bit.  I love touring to different breweries around the country, and on Sunday I will be embarking on an epic journey.  My next post will be written as I travel across the country with my buddy Sam, hopefully buying as many tasty brews as I can afford along the way.

Cheers to great beers found along the journey!  May your next beer be an undiscovered gem just like Topcutter IPA!

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

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #90 by Scott Clendaniel. September 15, 2016. Topcutter IPA by Bale Breaker Brewing Co., 8″x10″, oil on panel.

 

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #82, July 21, 2016, Rainier BEAR

Raaaaain-Niiiier-Beeeaaar!

This week’s Thirsty Thursday beer painting was inspired by this breaking news story: Bear Downs 36 Beers, Passes Out at Campground

The funny thing is that he had options of Rainier or Busch, and the discerning palate of this thirsty bear chose the Rainier.  After sampling one Busch beer he went back for more of the Yakima hops and clean glacial water of the great Washington brew known as Rainier beer!  I’ve painted Rainier before, and when I read this story I knew it would make a great painting.  Talk about being thirsty!  But don’t be like this animal and drink yourself into a stupor.  Enjoy the brews in small doses, so you don’t get trapped by the local constabulary like this fuzzy guy.  I think I would have gone for some craft beer, but hey, when you’re camping, a good cold one right out of the chilly bin sometimes can’t be beat!

Cheers to the Rainier BEAR!  I hope he doesn’t make a habit out of this!

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

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #82 by Scott Clendaniel. July 21, 2016. Rainier BEAR. 11″x14″, oil on panel.

 

 

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #59, February 11, 2016, Dark Star Imperial Oatmeal Stout by Fremont Brewing Co.

A few months ago in the faraway city of Seattle I bought this beer, known as Dark Star Bourbon Barrel Aged Oatmeal Stout from Fremont Brewing.  I was eager to drink it, but I had other beers I needed to try first.  Finally, I unleashed this Imperial beer last week and sampled the contents.  I was blown away!  This beer tastes like the dark side of barley wine!  It is a blend of barrel aged stouts, aged for 8, 12 and 18 months in Kentucky Bourbon barrels, then blended together.  The oats and massive dark grain blend together nicely with the warmth from the bourbon barrel aging.  It is a menacing beer coming in at 14.5% ABV, so part of that warmth is the booze itself.  Watch out though, this beer will bring out the rebel in you.  Surrounded by the dark-side, you will come out firing all your blasters, against all the odds!  This beer is like a great movie.  It starts with a bang, will last you for two hours, then leave you with fond memories!

Cheers to Fremont’s Dark Star!  Its imperial nature will take you to new places in the universe of flavors!

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

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #59 by Scott Clendaniel. February 11, 2016. Dark Star Bourbon Barrel Aged Oatmeal Stout by Fremont Brewing Co. 11″x14″, oil on panel.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #31, July 30, 2015

Rainier Beer!  How does a Rainier Beer taste?  Like American adjunct lager, but it goes down smooth when you are in the mountains.  Lighter than Budweiser, or even Pabst Blue Ribbon, this West Coast classic beer is a mere 4.6%.  The iconic red R has been in use since the turn of the 1900s, and to this day frames an image of the mountain that people jokingly say was named after the beer.

I found this can at the McCarthy-Kennicott Historical Museum.  The President set it aside for me to treasure.  I said I would return it, but she said, “Oh, don’t worry about it.  We are drowning in these old bottles and cans.”  Along with the Rainier there is a German Budweiser bottle, a classic Pabst Export can, and some steel Budweiser cans.  We also found a capped bottle of Guinness that is still half full of a dark liquid.  We assume it’s beer, but don’t really want to find out.  I guess someone was saving it for later.  I was trying to find out what date this can is from, but I guess it could be as old as 1911, or as young as 1950, or so.  Not much activity in the area after that, until cans were aluminum and didn’t require a can opener.  Anyway, we thought this can has character, so I made a painting of it.  I hope you enjoy the mild flavor and choicest ingredients of this classy beer container.

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

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #31 by Scott Clendaniel. July 30, 2015. Rainier Beer. 6″x12″, oil on panel.