WSU vs. San Jose State: Baxter’s Beer of the Game

This week, for WSU’s home opener against San Jose State, Baxter’s Beer of the Game is a little different. Typically, i give a brief bio of the brewery, explain a beer style, and give a little review.

Today, I’m calling an audible.

The beer for this week is Drie Fonteinen Intens Rood (Intense Red in English). I’ve written about this brewery, and even this style, before. You can find that here if you want. For this game, I’m going to tell a personal story about this beer.

On the day Tyler Hilinski took his own life, I had flown to Chicago on work trip. That’s not abnormal, I do that a lot, However, this trip was different because it was the first time I had left my daughter since she was born. I missed her, a lot.

The next day I went through the motions at my (now former) HQ, trying to keep it together. That night, I did what I typically do: dinner at a beer bar and a trip to a beer store to see I could find something unique.

That trip to the beer store was fruitful. I found that Intense Red, an uncommon thing in the United States. Typically, that beer would be something I’d save for a while, to share with others on a special occasion.

This was not a typical day.

When I got back to my hotel room I decided to take a photo of the beers I had scored at the store. When I did that, the big “3” on that Drie Fonteinen (Drie = 3) bottle stared back at me, and I lost it. Full-on sobbing cry.

After that, I decided to open that beer in the hotel room, by myself. As I sipped it, I thought about how much I missed my daughter, having seen her just 20 hours prior. Then I thought of the Hilinksis, who had just lost their son. I cried some more.

So for this home opener unlike any other we’ve experience as a WSU community, I wanted to honor the Hilinksis in some way. They’ll be there raising the flag before the game. I hope we can all provide them with love and support.

Of course, the Hilinksis have been amazing in starting the Hilinksi’s Hope foundation to combat the stigma of mental illness. Together with CougFan.com, we’ve already raised over $11,000 for Hilinksi’s Hope via our “Unit3d” t-shirts.

If you haven’t purchased one, or just though of someone else that would like one, please visit here to help us further crush our initial goal.

As a side note, every beer I’m drinking and sharing at the tailgate will incorporate a “3” in some way. It’s kinda silly, but it’s really all this extreme beer nerd knows at this point.

So that’s what we’ll be having on Saturday. Let us know what you’ll be doing in the comments.

And remember:

If you feel like you are suffering in silence, tell someone and don’t be afraid to seek out help. It can get better. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.