Beer Geek Interview: Taylor Brady

Beer Geek Interview: @youmeandbrew Click on the BeerSelfie.com bio link to find out what Taylor has to say about craft beer, homebrewing, his Top 3 Breweries, and more. #linkinbio #CraftBeer #Beer #BeerGeek #YouMeAndBrew #Top3Breweries @eqbrewery @rushingduck @glenmerebrewingco @victorybeer

A post shared by Beer Selfie (@beerselfie) on Mar 13, 2017 at 10:40am PDT

Please introduce yourself.

Hello Beer World!! My name is Taylor Brady and I live in Orange County, NY, an up-and-coming craft beer destination with tons of breweries to be excited about. I work in construction which is all fine and dandy; however, my biggest passion in life is, of course, beer. My love for craft beer began almost 10 years ago, but I recently began homebrewing which is slowly becoming an addiction rather than a hobby.

What’s your relationship to craft beer?

I am, along with hundreds of thousands of other beer drinkers, a beer enthusiast. As I previously mentioned, I began my craft beer journey almost 10 years ago during my final year in college. My relationship with craft beer most recently hit marriage-like status when I decided to take up homebrewing. Beer tourism and beer trading quickly followed. I’m miles into this beer journey, but there’s no end in sight!

Tell us about your instagram/blog/website/etc.

Since becoming more entrenched in the beer world, I have decided to share my journey with the beer enthusiasts that reside here. I created an Instagram account, @youmeandbrew. It’s initial purpose was to keep somewhat of a journal for my homebrewing experience; however, it has quickly grew into a display for my love of everything craft beer. I like to think my page is best known for the #crushingcans photos. With my IG account came a blog so I can write about my experiences along the way. You can follow me at www.youmeandbrew.com.

What’s the coolest thing to happen to you as a result of your instagram/blog/website?

In all honesty, the coolest thing to happen to me has been the amazing people that I have met. To be able to share my experience with homebrewing and just craft beer in general with thousands of craft beer enthusiasts has been such an amazing experience in itself. I look forward to the many more I will meet as I continue on this path.

Favorite beer style?

I love all styles, but give me a choice and I’ll usually go with an IPA. The hazy/juicy IPA’s are good, but if you hand me both a traditional, clear IPA and a hazy IPA, I’ll go for the traditional 100% of the time. More recently, I have gotten extremely into sours and berliner weisse’s. Beer’s that are completely opposite from an IPA, but are excellent nonetheless.

What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

My three favorite breweries are all local breweries that I think everyone should know about: Equilibrium Brewery, Rushing Duck, and Glenmere Brewery.

Equilibrium Brewery is located in Middletown, NY and was first started by MIT grads. According to their site, Equilibrium Brewery applies scientific principles and a passion for craft brewing to balance drinkability and massive flavor. Although I have never had Treehouse beers, I have even heard a number of people compare their beers to Treehouse.

Rushing Duck is a small family owned and operated brewery located in Chester, NY. They have brewed some of my favorite beers to date: War Elephant, Imperial Beanhead, Divided by Zero, and Brux IPA. They are arguably one of the best breweries in New York State in my honest opinion.

Glenmere Brewery is located in Florida, NY, a hop, skip, and a jump from my living quarters. A very recent startup, they were one of the first breweries I featured on my IG account. If you ever get a chance to stop in and they have Wicked Witch on tap, try it! A black raspberry/dark chocolate stout, it has become arguably my favorite stout.

What was the first beer that turned you onto craft beer?

Funny story (which can be read on my blog), my first ever craft was the beer that didn’t necessarily turn me on to craft beer, but it was a beer that nearly turned me off: Victory’s Hop Devil. You can read the longer version on my blog, but long story short, in college I was heavily into drinking the likes of Bud Light and Keystone, so you can only imagine how my first sip of Hop Devil went. Flash forward to today and I have a completely new appreciation for Hop Devil.