Beer Drinker of the Week #6

Beer Drinker of the Week is a segment that will serve as a way to show off all that delicious beer you've been drinking, or just simply show us what beers you enjoy on a normal basis. This series allows you to present your beer in an artistic environment, tell us what you think about the beers you're trying, what beer is in your fridge regularly, or tell a story about how you acquired a hard to find beer. You and your beers are the focus here.

Beer Drinker of the Week #6: Amanda and Ned Brush

The Beers:Voodoo White Magick of the Sun, Abita Abbey Ale, New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red, Firestone Walker Walker's Reserve Porter, Grand Teton The Grand Saison, Stone Cali-Belgie IPA, Twisted Pine Le Petit Saison, Heretic Shallow Grave, Bell's Oarsman, Big Sky Moose Drool, New Glarus Fat Squirrel, Left Hand Stranger, Left Hand Fade to Black, Founders Dirty Bastard, Weihenstephaner Original, Bell's Two Hearted

From the Brush Family:

Most of our beer comes from Coaltrain, however we occasionally request bottles from faraway places when friends travel. I recently brought home a few Montana beers we can't get here, including a Kriek made with Flathead cherries from Big Sky Brewing. But I digress. Back to these beers. Many of these beers came from the Midwest when some buddies in our homebrew club went to Dark Lord Day at Three Floyds last summer. We love Bell's Brewery (Oarsmen and Two Hearted), and used to drink their beer all the time when we lived in Virginia. It is one of the breweries we miss most living in Colorado, and so far we haven't found anything to fill the hole left by their absence on the liquor store shelves. That's not to say there isn't fantastic beer here, but Two Hearted is easily one of the best IPAs in the country, and Oberon is a special favorite of mine. Jamil Zainasheff's Heretic porter (Shallow Grave) is a delicious example of the style. Roasty and dry. We acquired that one through an online ordering site, which is also where we purchased the White Magick of the Sun, by Voodoo Brewing, located in Pennsylvania. That beer is very similar to White Rascal, and quite enjoyable if you like coriander and orange rind. And it pairs phenomenally with green curry marinated chicken skewers. Yum! Firestone Walker is represented in these photos, but not as strongly as it should be. I would marry Firestone Walker if persons were able to marry corporations. The Velvet Merlin is my most favorite beer of late; however I have been drinking it by the pint at Trinity and wherever else I find it rather than out of the bottle at home. The Grand Saison Farmhouse Ale by Grand Tetons Brewing was excellent. I enjoyed it far more than their 6-pack beers. I would highly recommend anything of theirs that comes in a wine bottle with a Grolsch-style cap. Moose Drool is one of my guilty pleasures. I know it's not a high-brow beer, but I don't care - it's just tasty!Ned is the hop head in our family. (Who knows what kind of beer drinker Danny will grow to be. He will probably rebel against us and drink Bud Lite Lime or Chardonnay.) Anyway, there are a few incarnations of IPAs in these photos, such as Lefthand's Stranger and the Stone Cali-Begique, and those are mostly his selections. He also requested the New Glarus Belgian Red (Cherry) from the Midwest trip last summer. Although it is a great beer, we found we preferred the Raspberry Tart. The Fat Squirrel was nothing special. I'm surprised to see there aren't any sour beers in our empty bottle collection in the last couple weeks because those have become Ned's new drinking passion. His favorite brewery at the moment is Jolly Pumpkin, and we have an attempted clone of Bam Biere on tap in the kegerator that is wonderful - so complex and nuanced, and yet light, totally approachable, and thirst-quenching. Lastly I'll mention the Abita Abbey Ale. Ned and I have differing opinions on our beer and wine cellar. Ned enjoys drinking beer -- he doesn't enjoy spending a lot of money on beer. We abandoned 30-racks of High Life a few years ago, but Ned prefers homebrew or $8 six-packs for his everyday consumption. On the other hand, I am principally opposed to the idea that certain bottles of wine or beer can only be opened for special occasions. Life is short and uncertain and we should all try to find a way to make each day special. I could go on and on about both our perspectives on this, but the point is that Abita Abbey is our middle ground. It's a special occasion beer that is affordable enough to drink any day of the week. Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into our home drinking life.How Do I Become a Part of This?

If you are interested in being our Beer Drinker Of The Week please e-mail us at beerdrinker@focusonthebeer.com. You can propose to us which week you'd like to take, or we can pick the week for you and send you information and some basic directions. We'll try to post every Thursday (or so) the beers that one reader drank the previous week. We try to focus on the Colorado Springs drinkers but may be willing to expand, so email us!

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